--- title: "COVID-19: Targeted Nutrition Support - Zinc" description: "COVID-19: Targeted Nutrition Support - Zinc | OptimalDX.com Functional Blood Chemistry Analysis" --- [The Optimal DX Research Blog ](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog) # [COVID-19: Targeted Nutrition Support - Zinc](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-zinc) Written by [ODX Research](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/author/odx-research) | Jul 30, 2021 9:00:00 PM ## Targeted nutrition support in COVID-19: In sync with zinc ### Dicken Weatherby, N.D. and Beth Ellen DiLuglio, MS, RDN, LDN ### The ODX COVID-19 Series 1. [COVID-19: The pandemic that has become endemic](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-comorbidities-risk-factors-blood-biomarkers) 2. [COVID-19: Overlapping risk factors and chronic disease](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-overlapping-risk-factors-and-chronic-disease) 3. [Nutritional status COVID-19: A covert factor in disease susceptibility](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/nutritional-status-and-covid-19) 4. [COVID-19: Blood chemistry biomarker patterns - Clues and patterns lurking just under the surface](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-chemistry-biomarkers-clues-patterns) 5. [COVID-19: Blood chemistry biomarker patterns - Down the research rabbit hole](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-chemistry-biomarkers-down-research-rabbit-hole) 6. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Neutrophils](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-neutrophil) 7. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Albumin](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-albumin) 8. [COVID-19: BloodBiomarkers - Cytokines](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-cytokines) 9. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Interleukin-6](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-interleukin-6) 10. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Interleukin-10](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-interleukin-10) 11. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Vitamin C](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-vitamin-c) 12. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Vitamin D](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-vitamin-d) 13. [COVID-19: Blood Biomarkers - Zinc](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-biomarkers-zinc) 14. [Biomarker characteristics and blood type - help sharpen the COVID-19 clinical picture](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-blood-type) 15. [COVID-19: Initial indications and conventional interventions](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-initial-indications-conventional-interventions) 16. [COVID-19: Long-term risk reduction - Naturopathic, functional medicine, and nutrition-based approaches to prevention](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-long-term-risk-reduction) 17. [A healthy diet is primary prevention for COVID-19](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-health-diet-for-primary-prevention) 18. [You should have a gut feeling about COVID-19](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/gi-microbiome-and-covid-susceptibility) 19. [Beyond dietary food patterns…plant-based compounds may mitigate COVID-19 risk](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-plant-based-foods-may-mitigate-covid-19-risk) 20. [Targeted nutrition support in the battle against COVID-19](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support) 21. [Targeted nutrition support in COVID-19: Armed with vitamin C](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-vitamin-c) 22. [Targeted nutrition support in COVID-19: In sync with zinc](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-zinc) 23. [Targeted nutrition support in COVID-19: Micronutrients and phytonutrients are important players](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-micronutrients-phytonutrients) 24. [Optimal Takeaways for improving immunity and reducing susceptibility to COVID-19](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-optimal-takeaways-for-improving-immunity-reducing-susceptibility) 25. [Optimal - The Podcast: Episode 8 -Blood Biomarkers and Risk Factors for COVID-19 and its Comorbidities](https://www.optimaldx.com/blog/optimal-the-podcast-episode-8-covid-biomarkers-risk-factors) Zinc is able to inhibit coronavirus replication and may have some therapeutic benefit if administered early in the infection.[i] Zinc may also be efficacious as adjuvant therapy to chloroquine-based drugs which help increase intracellular zinc where zinc, in turn, drug efficacy. However, long-term high-dose zinc is not recommended due to potential side effects including copper deficiency, anemia, reduction of HDL, and potential genitourinary consequences.[ii] A 2000 randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial involving 48 subjects evaluated the effect of ~80 mg of elemental zinc on cold symptom duration. A dose of 12.8 mg of elemental zinc in the form of zinc acetate lozenges was taken every 2-3 hours while awake for 4-5 days. The supplemented group experienced significantly fewer days with symptoms, with an average duration of 4.5 days versus 8.1 days in the unsupplemented group.[iii] Pay close attention to zinc competency when evaluating risk or severity of COVID-19. Next Up - [Targeted nutrition support in COVID-19: Micronutrients & Phytonutrients](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-micronutrients-phytonutrients) ## Research [i] McCullough, Peter A et al. “Pathophysiological Basis and Rationale for Early Outpatient Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Infection.” The American journal of medicine vol. 134,1 (2021): 16-22. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.07.003  [ii] Rahman, Mohammad Tariqur, and Syed Zahir Idid. “Can Zn Be a Critical Element in COVID-19 Treatment?.” Biological trace element research vol. 199,2 (2021): 550-558. doi:10.1007/s12011-020-02194-9 [iii] Prasad, A S et al. “Duration of symptoms and plasma cytokine levels in patients with the common cold treated with zinc acetate. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.” Annals of internal medicine vol. 133,4 (2000): 245-52. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-133-4-200008150-00006 [View full post](https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-zinc) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "ODX Research" }, "dateModified" : "2021-08-13T20:56:25.153Z", "datePublished" : "2021-07-30T21:00:00Z", "headline" : "COVID-19: Targeted Nutrition Support - Zinc", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 500, "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/5340373/COVID-19_Update_1000x500.png", "width" : 1000 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.optimaldx.com/research-blog/covid-19-targeted-nutrition-support-zinc", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "name" : "The Optimal DX Research Blog" } } ```