How to Improve Zinc Uptake to Boost Immune Health Analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola STORY AT-A-GLANCE Your immune system is your first line of defense against infectious diseases, and there are many different ways to boost and improve its function Zinc is one nutrient that plays a very important role in your immune system’s ability to ward off viral infections, and may play a vastly underrated role in the COVID-19 pandemic Zinc is vital for healthy immune function and a combination of zinc with a zinc ionophore (zinc transport molecule) was in 2010 shown to block viral replication of SARS coronavirus in a cell culture within minutes Zinc alone is incapable of fully stopping viral replication as it cannot easily enter through the fatty wall of a cell. Getting all the way into the cell is crucial, as this is where the viral replication occurs The antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine appears to work against COVID-19 by improving zinc uptake into cells. Natural zinc ionophor...