Do you know what aphthous stomatitis is? It’s the $10 word for those painful canker sores that show up in the mouths of so many people.
Some people think they are due to a virus. Some think it’s stress. But the point is this. No one knows for sure what causes them.
And the other thing is that when you get them, there really isn’t much you can do about it. But what if you didn’t get them anymore?
A new study shows that up to a quarter of patients with recurring aphthous stomatitis can probably kiss them goodbye simply by taking one of the most commonly deficient minerals there is.
The authors of the study looked at 25 patients who had recurring aphthous stomatitis and compared their blood zinc levels to 25 people without the problem. They found that the patients with the ulcers were more than six times more likely to have a zinc deficiency than the non-stomatitis group. And here’s the thing.
Blood zinc levels are not all that great for determining who needs zinc and who doesn’t. Like so many minerals, the tissues can be depleted of zinc long before the blood levels become low. I like to routinely check the vitamin and mineral levels in my patients using a different technology than conventional blood levels.
The laboratory is called Spectracell Labs, and they offer a way to test for deficiencies that is much more sensitive than blood levels. It’s called the Functional Intracellular Analysis. And when I use that test, I have to say that about 30% of everyone I test comes up deficient in zinc. Even me. You can learn more about the test at www.spectracell.com.
So if you are one of those unlucky people who get canker sores, have your doctor check you for zinc deficiency. But even if you don’t come up positive on the blood test, let me suggest that you try a zinc supplement anyway just in case. My favorite form of zinc for this condition is zinc picolinate. I would suggest that you take 60 mg of zinc in the form of zinc picolinate for two months.
If you stop having canker sores, then there is your proof. In that case, all you have to do is to determine how much you need to take on a regular basis to keep the bad boys away. That could be as little as one or two capsules a week in some cases.
Sources:
de Brito-Ashurst, I., M. Varagunam, et al. “Bicarbonate supplementation slows progression of CKD and improves nutritional status.” J Am Soc Nephrol., 2009 September;20(9):2075-84.