How Zinc Optimizes Recovery and Surgical Wellness

Zinc levels fall 47% with major surgery and this drop can last up to 8 days. This is because the liver is storing extra zinc to make other proteins that fight inflammation. But this takes away from the available zinc for wound healing, immune supporting properties, and the 200+ other basic daily functions of zinc!

Zinc is involved in every phase of wound healing- from stopping bleeding to cleaning up debris to building collagen and new blood vessels. We obtain and maintain zinc from eating a “balanced healthy diet.” This includes meat, shellfish (oysters have a lot in them!), legumes, vegetables, eggs, and dairy products. If we aren’t eating that “well balanced diet,” or if we are under stress from surgery or other type of inflammation and not focusing on healing foods, then we need to refocus our diet and/or start a supplement to fill the bucket until we can do it through diet alone.

Long-term use of zinc supplementation can be harmful by lowering the body

of copper and this leads to another set of problems. Thus, do not take high-dose zinc supplements for longer than a few months at a time.

Contact me at info@centerforholisticsurgery.com and we can find a time to chat about how I can support you to your best surgical health.