Health and Nutrition
Zinc Is an Essential Mineral and Its Deficiency Matter for Health
Here are some key points that we should consider regarding this vital mineral and micronutrient
Purpose of the Article
As I wrote numerous articles about valuable nutrients, some subscribers specifically requested to obtain my findings and perspectives about zinc from diet or supplements.
As zinc is a crucial mineral for bodily functions and extremely important for brain health, I summarize my research on this mineral, leveraging credible and reliable information sources.
This story does not include health advice. It is for information, inspiration, and awareness purposes.
What is zinc, and why does it matter?
Zinc is an essential mineral as our bodies cannot create it. Therefore, we need to get it from food or supplements. However, as both plant and animal products include zinc, its deficiencies in whole food and balanced diets are not considered typical. But there is more to deficiency points, as I explain in the next section.
Zinc matters because the body needs it for various biochemical processes. For example, as informed by NIH:
“Zinc is involved in many aspects of cellular metabolism. It is required for the catalytic activity of hundreds of enzymes, and it plays a role in enhancing immune function, protein and DNA synthesis, wound healing, and cell signaling and division. Zinc also supports healthy growth and development during pregnancy, infancy, childhood, and adolescence and is involved in the sense of taste.”
Zinc deficiency is associated with several health conditions, such as the common cold, pneumonia in children, HIV in children and adults, acute childhood diarrhea, age-related macular degeneration, type 2 diabetes, and Covid. NIH provides more information about zinc use for Covid in this paper.
As a fun fact, in some cultures, oysters are considered an aphrodisiac for men. Some scientists link this belief to zinc. For example, a 2009 animal study concluded, “Zinc therapy improves sexual competence of male rats; the effect is dose-dependent. An increase in testosterone levels is beneficial in this regard. However, an increase in prolactin is responsible for the reduced libido index.”
Key Points About Zinc Deficiency
Even though deficiency is considered rare, ironically, as documented in this paper, “zinc deficiency in developing countries affects nearly two billion people, mainly because of the high level of phytate in their diet (beans and bread), which impairs the absorption of this element.”
According to this 2015 scientific report in Nature, in 2011, “3.5 and 1.1 billion people were at risk of calcium and zinc deficiency, respectively, due to inadequate dietary supply.” Calcium and zinc are two critical minerals for the body.
So the problem of deficiency does not seem to be not getting enough zinc in the diet but some antinutrients affecting its bioavailability. For example, if one eats zinc-rich food like oysters or beef with beans and whole-meal bread, such a meal might lead to deficiency.
Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) by National Health Institute (NIH) is relatively low for children and adults. It is 11 mg for men and 8 mg for women. I have provided the RDA table below for reference.
According to NIH, the following group of people might face the risk of zinc inadequacy.
People with gastrointestinal disorders or who have had bariatric surgery
Vegetarians (especially vegans)
People who are pregnant or lactating
Older infants who are exclusively breastfed
Children with sickle cell disease (SCD)
People with alcohol use disorder
As the NIH paper highlights, “vegetarians and vegans usually have lower dietary intakes of zinc and lower serum zinc levels than non-vegetarians. In addition, the bioavailability of zinc from vegetarian diets is lower than from non-vegetarian diets because vegetarians typically eat large amounts of legumes and whole grains, which contain phytates that bind zinc and inhibit its absorption.”
However, as pointed out by NIH, vegetarians might get zinc “in some cases, fortified foods with zinc and dietary supplements are useful when it is not possible otherwise to meet needs for one or more nutrients (e.g., during specific life stages such as pregnancy).”
According to the Australian Government Health Direct, “zinc deficiency can result in skin changes that look like eczema at first. There may be cracks and a glazed appearance on the skin, often found around the mouth, nappy area, and hands. The rash doesn’t get better with moisturizers or steroid creams or lotions.”
The source also mentions symptoms such as hair loss, changes in their nails, diarrhea, more infections, feeling irritable, loss of appetite, impotence, eye problems, weight loss, wounds that take a long time to heal, lack of taste and smell, slowing a child’s growth and delay them reaching sexual maturity.”
As advised by Health Direct, if you think you or your child may have zinc deficiency, see your doctor. They may do a blood test, although this is not very reliable for people with mild deficiency. Often the best way of diagnosing zinc deficiency is to see if the symptoms improve with a zinc supplement. If you or your child have skin problems related to zinc deficiency, they should start to clear up within 72 hours of taking a supplement.”
What type of foods includes zinc, and what amount?
The richest zinc content is oysters. Just three ounces of cooked oysters include 28.2 mg of bioavailable zinc, covering around 256% of recommended dietary allowance. The next zinc-rich food is beef.
I have provided the table by NIH below for reference.
Is excessive zinc a problem?
Like all good things, too much zinc, especially from supplements, might cause mild and severe health issues depending on the dose and duration. I summarized the key points from the fact sheet provided by NIH.
In general, high zinc consumption might cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, gastric distress, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
Excessive and prolonged zinc use, such as over 50 mg, can interfere with copper absorption. When the body cannot absorb copper, the immune system is compromised, and good cholesterol (HDL) levels might be lower.
If the amount is very high, like 142 mg, it might disrupt magnesium absorption and cause magnesium imbalance in the body. As I mentioned in a previous article, magnesium is a critical mineral with 300+ biochemical reactions in the body.
In addition, overuse, primarily through zinc cream, might lead to neurological symptoms such as sensory ataxia and myelopathy, and anemia.
Here’s the table indicating tolerable upper intake levels for zinc.
Interaction of Zinc with Medication
According to NIH, “Zinc has the potential to interact with certain medications. In addition, several types of medications might adversely affect zinc levels. The common ones are antibiotics, penicillamine, and diuretics.”
Zinc and antibiotic together seem to affect the absorption of each other. For example, antibiotics adversely affect zinc absorption and vice versa. Therefore they need to be taken at least two hours after each other. The same caution applies to penicillamine.
The risk with diuretics is increasing the zinc excretion in the urine, which might lower the concentration in the bloodstream.
There might be other drugs that are not documented in the literature. Therefore, we need to consult our family doctors or specialists when we are on medication to keep the balance of zinc in the body.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Like many minerals, zinc is also essential for the body playing many metabolic and catalytic roles in hundreds of enzymes.
In addition, zinc is necessary for the immune system, wound healing, cell signaling, cell division, and protein and DNA synthesis. Furthermore, it is critical during pregnancy and for the growth of children.
Scientists and nutritionists recommend minerals and vitamins be consumed from whole foods. It applies to zinc too.
The good news is that zinc exists in both animal and plant foods. However, we need to be careful with antinutrients in our food. In zinc’s case, it is a high level of phytates in legumes and wheat products.
As deficiency might cause serious problems, it is crucial to obtain support from qualified healthcare professionals and consider supplementing based on their advice.
We also need to be concerned with overconsumption of zinc as excessive amounts might lead to issues of nausea, dizziness, headaches, gastric distress, vomiting, and loss of appetite.
In addition, overdose and prolonged use of supplements, especially from creams, might lead to more severe issues, such as immune, anemia, cholesterol, or even neurological disorders.
There is some evidence that zinc supplementation might increase libido in men. Therefore, zinc is added to some sexual enhancement products for men, but further studies are needed to confirm the preliminary findings.
As the body does not like too much or too few nutrients, a delicately balanced diet is ideal for survival and well-being. Adequate zinc intake is critical for physical and mental health.
I also wrote about other valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
I aim to increase the hormonal intelligence of my readers and write about various hormones and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, acetylcholine, norepinephrine, adrenaline, glutamate, and histamine.
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