What is Zinc?
Essential mineral zinc is naturally found in food, added to foods, or offered as a supplement. Also, zinc can be found in over-the-counter (OTC) cold medicines. In addition, it helps the body metabolize cells. In fact, zinc helps with immune function, wound healing, cell division, DNA synthesis, and protein synthesis. Further, it is vital during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence for proper growth and development. Finally, it helps with taste and smell. Since the body does not store zinc, you must ingest it daily.
Zinc helps treat the Common Cold, Eczema, Flu & Stomach Flu, Gout, Health & Beauty, Illness Recovery, and Whipple Disease.
How much zinc should you take?
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is how much zinc can be taken without causing negative side effects in the majority of people. Here is the RDA of zinc:
| Age | Female | Male | Pregnancy | Lactating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-6 months | 2mg* | 2mg* | ||
| 7-12 months | 3mg | 3mg | ||
| 1-3 years | 3mg | 3mg | ||
| 4-8 years | 5mg | 5mg | ||
| 9-13 years | 8mg | 8mg | ||
| 14-18 years | 9mg | 11mg | 12mg | 13mg |
| 19+ years | 8mg | 11mg | 11mg | 12mg |
How is zinc used?
Zinc is used for a variety of medical conditions. In fact, zinc helps improve symptoms from the following health issues:
- Common cold
- Wound healing
- Immune function
- Diarrhea
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Iron and copper interactions
What foods contain zinc?
There are a variety of ways that people can obtain zinc. For example, foods that contain zinc include the following:
- Baked beans
- Cashews
- Cheese
- Yogurt
- Pork
- Beef
- Oysters
- Crab
- Lobster
- Cereal
- Pumpkin seeds
- Milk
- Oatmeal
- Chickpeas
- Chicken
- Almonds
- Kidney beans
- Flounder
- Peas
In addition to food, the following supplements are great sources of zinc:
- Zinc sulfate
- Zinc gluconate
- Zinc acetate
How do you know if you aren’t getting enough zinc?
In most cases, a zinc deficiency has symptoms, such as:
- Loss of appetite
- Growth retardation
- Decreased immune function
However, in severe cases, people may experience the following symptoms:
- Diarrhea
- Hair loss
- Impotence
- Delayed sexual maturation
- Eye and skin lesions
- Hypogonadism in men
- Weight loss
- Taste abnormalities
- Delayed wound healing
- Mental lethargy
In addition, a few groups of people are at higher risk of developing a zinc deficiency. For instance, here are the at-risk groups:
- Vegetarians
- Women who are pregnant or lactating
- People with GI or other diseases
- Sickle cell disease patients
- People with alcoholism
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