Vegan, manufactured in the USA
The product description on the product page here on Amazon states that this supplement is “suitable for vegans.” This is borne out by the ingredients from which the capsules are made: Hypromellose, microcrystalline cellulose, and magnesium stearate. There is no gelatin listed, which is of animal origin.<br /><br />The RDA for zinc is a mere 8 mg for women and 11 mg for men, and it is contained in virtually every multivitamin on the market. I take a multivitamin daily, but I also typically take a separate zinc supplement containing 25 mg of zinc per tablet. It does, however, seem to be fairly common these days for zinc to be sold in a somewhat elevated dose of 50 mg. such as this supplement offers.<br /><br />Information on the Healthy Origins Company<br /><br />There are endless companies manufacturing zinc supplements and, over the years, I have purchased at least six or seven different brands of zinc, usually always zinc picolinate (see below). These days, many different brands of zinc supplements, including this one, offer zinc in chelated form (see below). Healthy Origins, the brand of this particular supplement, is a small company located in Pennsylvania. It is listed with Dun & Bradstreet and, according to D&B, it has only 3 employees and has been in business since in 1997. The company’s website states that it is a family-owned business. It is not BBB accredited, but it does have a BBB A+ rating.<br /><br />Though Healthy Origins is the brand name on the bottle for this supplement, they clearly and proudly state in their product description that the actual source of the zinc bisglycinate chelate offered within this supplement is Albion Laboratories. This Utah corporation has been in business since 1956 and considers itself to be a world leader and innovator in the field of mineral amino acid chelation, which is considered to be the most bioavailable means of human supplementation with minerals. Albion’s website states that it does not sell supplements directly to consumers. Instead, its business model is to assist small supplement companies, such as Healthy Origins, who wish to sell Albion’s amino acid chelates under their own company’s brand name. Albion also lists an additional customer base of pharmaceutical companies and food and beverage manufacturers who include chelated minerals in their products. Albion has recently been bought out by Balchem, a huge, publicly traded, nutritional supplement corporation which was originally founded in 1967 and has its main headquarters in New Hampshire.<br /><br />In researching Albion’s zinc bisglycinate chelate, I discovered that Healthy Origins is not the only supplement company that sells it. A partial list of other companies that sell it under their brand name includes: Vitacost, Prescribed for Life, Bluebonnet, Swanson, and Smoky Mountain Naturals, most of whom are vendors here on Amazon. Since they are selling the same type of zinc, a savvy consumer who wishes to purchase that type of zinc would be well advised to figure out which one of them offers the most competitive price.<br /><br />Explanation of Mineral Chelation<br /><br />Because it is difficult for the human body to efficiently absorb zinc on its own, it is almost always attached to a chelating agent in commercial supplements. Thus, the fact that this particular supplement is chelated is not something new or special—though the manufacturer, Albion, as stated above, believes they do it better than anyone else.<br /><br />A chelating agent is a substance that bonds with zinc to create a compound that is more bioavailable to the human body. Chelated zinc is mainly made by utilizing one of the following compounds: amino acids, organic acids, or inorganic acids. Typical amino acids which are used are: glycine (zinc glycinate, as is in this particular supplement), aspartic acid (zinc aspartate), methionine (zinc methionine) and monomethionine (zinc monomethionine). Typical organic acids which are used are: acetic acid (zinc acetate), citric acid (zinc citrate), gluconic acid (zinc gluconate), orotic acid (zinc orotate), and picolinic acid (zinc picolinate). Typical inorganic acids are: sulfates (zinc sulfate) and oxides (zinc oxide).<br /><br />For years the most bioavailable forms of chelated zinc have been considered to be: zinc picolinate, zinc gluconate, zinc citrate, zinc acetate, and zinc monomethionine. However, recent research has indicated that the form of chelated zinc included within this supplement, zinc bisglycinate, may be more bioavailable than many other chelated forms of zinc. Zinc bisglycinate is a zinc chelate comprised of one zinc molecule bound to two (bis = two) molecules of the amino acid glycine. There is limited research on the differences between the many other forms of chelated zinc compared to zinc bisglycinate as to the latter’s absorption levels AKA bioavailability. However, I did find several studies which indicate that zinc bisglycinate is more bioavailable than zinc gluconate. (See: DiSilvestro and Gandia.)<br /><br />General Information on the Health Benefits of Zinc<br /><br />Immune Enhancement. Zinc is most famous for improving immune function, especially for fighting off colds and preventing or healing pneumonia.<br /><br />Preventing Eye Disease. There is strong evidence that zinc can slow the progression of age-related eye disease, most notably, macular degeneration. However, during the two most notable studies done in regard to utilizing zinc to protect eye health (See: AREDS 2001 and AREDS 2006), the following supplements were also included in these trials as a daily dose along with the zinc:<br /><br />—Zinc oxide 80 mg.<br />—Vitamin C 500 mg.<br />—Vitamin E 400 IU<br />—Beta-carotene 15 mg. OR vitamin A 25,000 IU<br />—Copper as cupric oxide 2 mg. (this prevents copper-deficiency anemia, a side-effect of high doses of zinc)<br /><br />As you can see, 80 mg is ten times higher than the RDA for zinc. Though this research has indicated that it can be useful for seniors to take a higher dose of zinc in order to protect their eyes from age-related eye disease, there is a caveat. In higher doses, it is important to also take the above supplements at the same time, especially copper. Fortunately, many multivitamins marketed to seniors contain copper and beta-carotene, and it is easy to find vitamin E and vitamin C sold as individual supplements in these recommended doses.<br /><br />Detoxifying Cadmium. Research has indicated that zinc can help remove cadmium from the body. (See: McCarty.) Cadmium is a mineral which is highly toxic. Not only is it carcinogenic, it also damages every major system in the body, including the renal, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Cadmium is a ubiquitous environmental hazard. Typical sources of human intake of cadmium include: uptake into edible plants from cadmium-contaminated soil (soil containing volcanic ash is naturally contaminated), tobacco smoke, air pollution via the mining and smelting of cadmium, industrial manufacturing utilizing cadmium, including: batteries, plastics, plating and pigments. Cadmium and lead are found, in particular, in high concentrations in glazed pottery. (See: Liao.) Research has indicated that cadmium and lead are most likely to be released into warm or hot drinks placed in ceramic mugs, especially when heated in a microwave oven. (See: Rebeniak.)<br /><br />There is another crucial issue surrounding cadmium and zinc. Unfortunately, when zinc is extracted from the earth, it always exists in mineral deposits in close connection with cadmium. This means that it is crucial to purchase a zinc supplement from a reputable manufacturer which carefully removes all traces of cadmium from its zinc supplements, and validates that removal by independent laboratory testing. (See: Dolan and Krone.) The problem is, I can’t find any evidence on the Albion website that this issue is of concern to them, and they’ve adequately handled it. However, at this time I can’t yet recommend any other zinc supplement for which I’ve found any evidence on the manufacturer’s website that they have dealt with the issue of cadmium either.<br /><br />RELEVANT RESEARCH<br /><br />Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. AREDS Report No. 8: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Clinical Trial of High-Dose Supplementation With Vitamins C and E, Beta Carotene, and Zinc for Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Vision Loss. Arch Ophthalmol. 2001 Oct;119(10):1417-1436.<br /><br />Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. The Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS): Design Implications AREDS Report No. 1. Controlled Clinical Trials. 2006 Jun;20(6):573–600.<br /><br />Barrie, S., et al. Comparative absorption of zinc picolinate, zinc citrate and zinc gluconate in humans. Agents Actions. 1987;21(1-2):223-228.<br /><br />DiSilvestro, R., et al. Comparison of four commercially available zinc supplements for performance in a zinc tolerance test. FASEB J 2008;22:693.3.<br /><br />DiSilvestro, R., et al. Enhanced aerobic exercise performance in women by a combination of three mineral chelates plus two conditionally essential nutrients. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2017;14:42.<br /><br />DiSilvestro, R., et al. Moderately high dose zinc gluconate or zinc bisglycinate: effects on plasma zinc and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase in young adult women. Biol Trace Elem Res 2015;168(1):11-14.<br /><br />Dolan, S., et al. Analysis of dietary supplements for arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. J Agric Food Chem. 2003;51(5):1307-1312.<br /><br />Gandia, P., et al. A bioavailability study comparing two oral formulations containing zinc (Zn bis-glycinate vs. Zn gluconate) after a single administration to twelve healthy female volunteers. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2007;77(4):243-248.<br /><br />King, J. Zinc: an essential but elusive nutrient. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Aug;94(2): 679S–684S.<br /><br />Krone, C., et al. Cadmium in zinc-containing mineral supplements. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2001 Jul;52(4):379-82.<br /><br />Liao, Q., et al. Association of soil cadmium contamination with ceramic industry: A case study in a Chinese town. Sci Tot Envir. 2015 May 1;514:26-32.<br /><br />Little, J., et al. Zinc and cardiovascular disease. Nutr. 2010 Nov-Dec;26(11-12): 1050-1057.<br /><br />McCarty, M. Zinc and multi-mineral supplementation should mitigate the pathogenic impact of cadmium exposure. Med Hypotheses. 2012 Nov;79(5):642-648.<br /><br />Rerksuppaphol, L., et al. Efficacy of adjunctive zinc in improving the treatment outcomes in hospitalized children with pneumonia: a randomized controlled trial. J Trop Pediatr. 2020;66(4):419-427.<br /><br />Rebeniak, M. et al. Exposure to lead and cadmium released from ceramics and glassware intended to come into contact with food. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2014;65(4):301-309.<br /><br />Saper, R., et al. Zinc: an essential micronutrient. Am Fam Physician. 2009 May 1;79(9):768-772.<br /><br />Vishwanathan, R., et al. A systematic review on zinc for the prevention and treatment of age-related macular degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013 Jun 12;54(6):3985-98.
