First here’s what we do know about zinc and Botox injections to date.
Botox actually does require a bit of zinc to work properly. Botox is part of the enzyme family zinc metalloproteinases, so zinc works as a sort of catalyst. It’s been shown that too much or too little zinc can prevent optional function of the Botox protein in lab studies.
It’s also been shown that Botox, when treated with an agent that removes zinc entirely, doesn’t work. These agents are called chelators.??And finally, phytase by itself can help a person with a zinc deficiency, as it helps with the absorption of dietary zinc.
However none of those facts proves that Zinc does in fact help Botox perform better.
The sudden stir has been caused by a recent study done by a Dr. Charles Sopakar at Methodist Hospital in Houston.
This study suggested that Botox can be made more effective when combined with a tablet of zinc. Alternatively it can also be combined with zinc and the enzyme phytase. In the study, both combinations were shown to make Botox effective in 41 of the 44 people tested. The test was performed in 44 blepharospasm patients, and the supplements were used for 4 days prior to injections.
So… can zinc really help Botox injections perform better?
Perhaps.
My opinion is that these results are pretty inconclusive thus far. I think if the study is repeated in a controlled way, in patients suffering the normal cosmetic wrinkles rather than patients who have abnormal neuromuscular issues happening, we might become better informed as to whether or not this supplementation really helps much.
So my thoughts are if you want to take a zinc supplement a few days before treatment (not long term) then go for it and you can let me know if it seems to help your treatments work better. In the meantime, I’ll be following the developments of this theory, and keep you posted once there are some really definitive results.
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