Zinc bisglycinate 15 mg
Taken early, it shortens colds slightly. Taken continuously at high doses, it unbalances copper.
The short version
What it does As lozenges sucked from the first hours, it shortens a cold.
What it does not do It prevents nothing. Started on day three, it is useless. And long term at high doses it causes copper deficiency.
What the studies say
Hemilä’s systematic review on zinc lozenges finds a reduction in the duration of cold symptoms, provided dosing starts within the first 24 hours and the dose is sufficient. The form and the vehicle matter: acetate or gluconate lozenges without chelating agents showed the effects, the others did not.
No demonstrated effect on PREVENTING colds. And long-term zinc at a high dose induces copper deficiency.
This is a crisis product, not a background one. You take it when it starts, not all year round.
How to take it
Relevant from the first hours of a cold, especially if your colds drag on. Useless as prevention. Also relevant in documented deficiency, common on a plant-based diet.
As lozenges to suck, not to swallow: the documented effect comes through contact with the throat. Start within 24 hours, repeat during the day as directed, for 5 to 7 days maximum.
If you did not start on the first day, the expected effect disappears — keep the box for next time. A metallic taste and nausea are the most common effects.
What is inside
Zinc acetate or gluconate for lozenges. Bisglycinate or picolinate for background supplementation. Zinc oxide is poorly absorbed.
For lozenges: check there is no citric acid, sorbitol or mannitol, which chelate the zinc and cancel the effect — that is why many trials came out negative. For background use: read the dose as ELEMENTAL zinc.
Above 40 mg a day long term, copper deficiency becomes a real risk. Leave 2 hours around certain antibiotics and iron.
Cautions
- Prolonged high-dose use
- Interacts with certain antibiotics
The three options
Albion™-labelled bisglycinate
The lozenges from the trials do not exist here
Zinc ACETATE, the form used in the trials that shorten colds, cannot be found on Amazon.fr — we looked. Failing that: a bisglycinate under the Albion™/TRAACS® chelation label, verifiable with a third party. Reservation: the list starts with maltodextrin and rice starch, two fillers, before the active ingredient.
For whom — Anyone wanting to reproduce the protocol that works, from the first hours.
Bisglycinate, two ingredients
Two ingredients, the active one first
Zinc bisglycinate and microcrystalline cellulose: the shortest list in the aisle. 400 tablets, which is thirteen months, for less than the option above.
For whom — Crisis use, once or twice a winter.
Gluconate 15 mg, 200 tablets
15 mg, which is 150 % of the reference intake
Zinc gluconate, 200 tablets, two technical agents. Gluconate is absorbed less well than bisglycinate — the 15 mg more than compensates for correcting an insufficient intake.
For whom — Plant-based diet, documented deficiency.
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