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The Health Edge: translating the science of self-careAuthor: Mark Pettus MD and John Bagnulo PhD, MPH
Its not what we dont know that gets us into trouble. Its what we know that aint so. Will RogersWe believe the explosion of life science research from many disciplines had catapulted ahead of our capacity to process, integrate, understand, and apply. We are interested in translating all that is out there as news to use. A fundamentally different understanding of human biology has emerged. The implications from the perspective of self-care are profound. We are rapidly moving away from the debate of nature versus nurture toward an understanding that life emerges from a dynamic landscape of nature via nurture. We are passionate about the science. We are passionate about the implications. We believe in the capacity and possibility made possible by being alive here and now! We are beautifully designed to be on the African Savannah, living fully integrated with our planet, and in the context of social relationship. Our modern environment is not well designed to promote human health and the capacity to thrive. Many are struggling to maintain balance and traction in lives that often feel overwhelming and frightening.The challenge is to better leverage our superb ancestral adaptation for a different and radically challenging modern environment. Everything that touches us today has the potential be be very familiar or totally foreign. The less aware one is of the day to day distance between what we are biologically , as a species, familiar with and what we actually encounter, the fewer the possibilities for more effective alignment. Leaving ones health trajectory to chance in our modern environment is a very risky proposition. We are interested in holding the science to the light with an open and humbled mindset. Like you, We are intrepid explorers interested in how we emerge in the midst of our relationship with the environmental inputs of our liveshow we eat, how we move, how we sleep, how we navigate the mind fields of conflict in our lives, how socially conn Language: en Genres: Alternative Health, Health & Fitness, Medicine Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Zinc and Metabolic Health
Wednesday, 26 August, 2026
Send us Fan MailDaylight savings may be on the chopping block, but the bigger health disruption we can actually fix today might be hiding in plain sight: low zinc status. We walk through why zinc is an essential micronutrient you cannot store, why it often slips past routine medical testing, and why modern diets can create a quiet gap between “zinc consumed” and “zinc absorbed.” If you care about energy, immunity, fertility, and healthy aging, zinc deficiency and zinc bioavailability deserve a spot on your radar.From there, we get into the strongest part of the evidence: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on zinc supplementation in type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, and prediabetes. We unpack what improved most, including insulin resistance markers like fasting insulin and HOMA-IR, along with inflammation (C-reactive protein) and oxidative stress measures (malondialdehyde and total antioxidant capacity). We also explain why zinc’s role in antioxidant enzyme systems such as superoxide dismutase can matter when inflammation and reactive oxygen species are driving cardiometabolic risk.We then make it practical: which groups are most likely to struggle with zinc status (older adults, people with GI issues, post-bariatric surgery, pregnancy and lactation, and long-term acid suppression users), and which foods reliably deliver bioavailable zinc. We also add a crucial nuance many people miss, the copper to zinc ratio, and how high-copper patterns can shift that balance in ways that may affect infection risk and cardiovascular disease risk.If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who is working on metabolic health, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. What’s one change you’d make to improve zinc intake or absorption starting this week?For slides and open source references: www.thehealthedgepodcast.com
