Zinc supplements might boost a child's immune system, keeping diarrhea and other infections at bay, according to a new study.

Malnourished children face a plethora of health issues, diarrhea being the most common. Researchers of a new study found that zinc supplements can boost the immune system of such children. This in turn, will reduce the risk of suffering from diarrhea and prevent child deaths.

Zinc is an important nutrient required by the body for proper growth, better immune, nervous and reproductive systems. Unfortunately, the body cannot produce this nutrient on its own and hence it needs to make up for it through a proper diet.

In this study, researchers looked into whether zinc supplements can reduce child deaths and diseases, and promote better growth along with a stronger immune system. For this, the researchers examined data from 80 trials involving 205,401 children aged six months to twelve years, mostly in low and middle income countries.

"We should remember that supplements are not a substitute for a well-balanced diet," said senior researcher Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta, in a press statement. "However, in countries where zinc deficiency is common, supplements may help to reduce child deaths and related diseases in the short-term."

Researchers noted that children with inadequate zinc intake were more likely to suffer a bout of diarrhea as compared to those who consumed enough zinc. Researchers also noted that such children were also shorter than their peers.

"Eating foods with balanced energy, protein and multiple micro-nutrients would probably have a larger effect for many malnourished children," said Evan Mayo-Wilson, the lead author based at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland.

Researchers did note that zinc consumption increases vomiting but they said that the benefits of zinc outweighs its side effects. More than 16 percent of children round the world are deficient in zinc. Moreover, one in every 58 childhood death is due to zinc deficiency.

"Policymakers in low and middle income countries need evidence that directly address the needs of their own health services," said Dr David Tovey, Editor-in-Chief, Cochrane. "This comprehensive review makes a very valuable contribution to the evidence based around interventions and may make an important contribution to improving Global Health."

The study was published in The Cochrane Library.