Vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin D and zinc, are micronutrients essential to the healthy functioning of your body’s chemical processes. Each micronutrient has a specific purpose, but there is some overlap among vitamin groups and minerals in function, and sometimes, one micronutrient depends upon another to work properly.
Immune Response
One area of overlap between vitamin D and zinc is in regulating your body’s immune response. Both nutrients are critical to the production of T-cells, the white blood cells your body deploys to fight off an invading pathogen. Infections, viruses or parasites are treated as invaders by your body’s immune system. Vitamin D and zinc both ensure your body has the necessary ammunition to fight such invaders. Zinc aids in T-cell generation, while vitamin D aids in T-cell function.
Absorbtion
Because they work as complementary factors, vitamin D and zinc are thought to be dependent upon one another to work properly. Studies attempting to isolate the connection between vitamin D and zinc have been inconclusive and sometimes contradictory, but there are indications that healthy levels of vitamin D are required for the efficient absorbtion of zinc.
DNA
Vitamin D and zinc are physically linked in DNA, your body’s fundamental building block. DNA is what makes you, you. The most active form of vitamin D is a steroid hormone called calcitriol. Calcitriol binds to vitamin D receptors, or VDR, in the cell. Zinc also binds to VDR and modulates the function of vitamin D-dependent genes.
Oxidative Stress
Both zinc and vitamin D are associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is caused at the cellular level when production of reactive oxygen outpaces the cells' ability to detoxify. Zinc deficiency induces oxidative stress, but vitamin D has antioxidative properties that helps to mitigate cell damage.
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