{"id":16167,"date":"2022-10-26T20:57:31","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T20:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=16167"},"modified":"2023-04-17T16:06:06","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T16:06:06","slug":"vitamin-c-vs-zinc-for-immunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/vitamin-c-vs-zinc-for-immunity\/","title":{"rendered":"Vitamin C vs. Zinc for immunity"},"content":{"rendered":"A runny nose, a slight tickle in your throat-those early signs of getting sick might have you doubling down on your vitamin C, a \u2018cold remedy\u2019 that\u2019s been around since scurvy-ridden pirates figured out that eating citrus fruits helped them recover quicker. Fast forward to 2022, pirates have sinceditched their scurvy (and their peg legs), and another vitamin has stepped into the limelight: zinc. Vitamin C and Zinc are two essential nutrients that are often saluted as the holygrail of immune health, but when you\u2019re all sniffles and chills, do you ever wonder if increasing your intake is actually helping you recover? Are you better off taking just one or maybe, both? Here, we get into the benefits of both, and how they each support your immune system.First, what is vitamin C?It\u2019s an essential vitamin that your body can\u2019t make on its own so it must be obtained from the food you eat. And because vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and not stored in your body \u2013 it needs to be replenished regularly. Luckily, it&#8217;s easily absorbed by your tissues, so eating just onekiwi or one handful of strawberries for example, will give your body its daily needs. Mega-doses: Is more better?The short answer: No. More is not necessarily better. To net all the benefits of vitamin C, consistency is more effective than mega doses. So, it\u2019s best to regularly include citrus fruits, OJ or supplements in your daily routine.Vitamin C and immunityWhen it comes to your immune response, vitamin C is undoubtedly a key player and offers multiple layers of support. First, It\u2019s a vitamin that\u2019s also an antioxidant that fiercely fights free radicals, which are harmful molecules that can damage cells when they start to build up.Vitamin C also helps strengthen your body\u2019s first line of defense \u2013 the physical barrier, which includes your skin, hair and mucus. A healthy physical barrier helps protect your body from toxic compounds or harmful pathogens from entering your body. (Washing your hands helps too!)But what happens if germs break through this physical barrier? Don\u2019t worry. Vitamin C has your back then too. It supports both your innate and adaptive immunity. If you\u2019re not familiar with these, here\u2019s the gist: Innate is the natural defense system you\u2019re born with \u2013 your body will use any method to destroy what doesn\u2019t belong in your body to protect you. Adaptive immunity is learned immunity. Any time your body fights a harmful invader, your immune system keeps records about the best way to defeat it, in case it encounters it again. A reason you don\u2019t get some illnesses twice in your life.So how does it help innate and adaptive immunity? Vitamin C plays a role in creating, managing and functioning of different types of your white blood cells (WBC), specifically lymphocytes and phagocytes that help patrol and protect your body against infection and illness.1Foods rich in vitamin Cred bell peppersorangesgrapefruitkiwi\u00a0strawberries\u00a0broccoli\u00a0brussels sprouts\u00a0Next, what is zinc?Zinc is an essential mineral that\u2019s found pretty much everywhere throughout your body. It does thingslike help you smell and taste, aids in wound healing and helps your immune system to run properly. And like vitamin C, it\u2019s an essential nutrient, meaning it\u2019s not naturally formed in your body so needs to be attained through diet or supplementation. Luckily, it\u2019s easily found in food and you only need a small amount to reap all its benefits, but it\u2019s always recommended to check with your healthcare provider to ensure you\u2019re getting enough \u2013 especially since it\u2019s so crucial to your immune health.Zinc and immunitySimilar to vitamin C, zinc is also a rich source of antioxidants that helps stabilize free radicals and defend cells from weakening and becoming vulnerable to harmful pathogens.And it also plays a critical role in your three layers of immunity by aiding the health of the lining and cells in your skin, making your physical barrier more resistant to invasion. It also aids with innate and adaptive immunity, by helping with proper functioning of your immune system by activating T-cells, which are WBC that help regulate your immune response by attacking foreign invaders.2Pro Tip: If you walk down the remedy-aisle in search for zinc supplementation, you\u2019ll probably find different forms, like zinc gluconate, zinc picolinate, zinc carnosine among others. Your best bet: zinc gluconate, which when taken in a lozenge form, is believed to shorten the duration of some illnesses like common cold according to research.3Foods rich in zincoysterscrabred meatbeanspumpkin seedschickpeaswhole grainsTakeawayBoth vitamin C and zinc are incredibly important for your immune health, and even though both nutrients support all three layers of your immunity, they each play their own critical part. And while drinking a gallon of OJ or eating a dozen oysters won\u2019t necessarily prevent or fix the common cold \u2013 making sure you\u2019re regularly meeting the recommended doses for both nutrients can support a strong and effective immune response.About GabbyGabby is a nutritionist with a master\u2019s degree in strategic communications. She loves using her nutrition-fluency with storytelling to encourage positive change. Before Persona, she worked at a mental health clinic helping clients manage stress, anxiety and other mental health issues through diet.Do you have questions about supplements? Reach out to one of our experts, or take Persona\u2019s free nutrition assessment, and learn exactly what you need to take your wellness to the next level.*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal, or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A runny nose, a slight tickle in your throat-&nbsp;those early signs of getting sick might have you doubling down on your vitamin C, a \u2018cold remedy\u2019 that\u2019s been around since scurvy-ridden pirates figured out that eating citrus","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":16185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[675,1891,1933,247,1893,1903],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-16167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-immunity","category-vitamin-101","category-vitamin-101-immunity","category-wellness-2","category-wellness-journey","category-wellness-journey-immunity","tag-vitamins-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16167"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16279,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16167\/revisions\/16279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}