Know about Zinc

Importance & Recommended Amounts

Food is a vital element for human endurance. Safeguarding good health requires a balanced diet that comprises ample macro and micro-nutrients. The major micronutrients that have come into attention in recent times are Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamin-B complexes, and Zinc. The basic reason is that each of these nutrients has a crucial role in the proper functioning of our body’s immune system.

Zinc is a nutrient that plays many elemental roles in our body. It has a vital role in supporting a healthy immune system. A zinc-deficient person is more susceptible to a variety of pathogens. As our body doesn’t naturally produce zinc, it must be obtained through food or supplements. Therefore it is considered an essential nutrient. The recommended daily amount is 8 mg for women and 11 mg for adult men.

Foods Sources of Zinc

With a varied diet, our  body usually gets enough zinc.

• Oysters are the best source
• Red meat, poultry, seafood are also good sources.
• Legumes are a Vegetarian-Friendly supply of zinc
• Nuts and Seeds are also good sources of this elemental micronutrient.
• Whole Grains –oats, whole wheat, quinoa, brown rice provide zinc besides other minerals
• Fortified Breakfast cereals
• Milk and Dairy products
• Dark Chocolate

Signs of Zinc deficiency

In individuals suffering  with marginal deficiency, clinical signs are :

• depressed immunity,
• impaired taste and smell,
• commencement of night blindness,
•  impairment of memory, and
• decreased spermatogenesis in males

Severe deficiency is characterised by :

• severely depressed immune function,
• frequent infections,
• bullous pustular dermatitis,
• diarrhoea,
• alopecia, and
• mental disturbances

Zinc Supplements

Zinc interacts with medications or other dietary supplements

It is reported that zinc dietary supplements can interact or interfere with medicines taken. In some instances, medicines might lower zinc levels in the body.

• Taking a zinc dietary supplement along with quinolone or tetracycline antibiotics reduces the amount of both zinc and the antibiotic that the body absorbs. They can reduce the efficacy of penicillamine (a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis) or thiazide diurectics that the body absorbs.
• Taking the medicines at least 2 hours before or 4–6 hours after taking a zinc dietary supplement helps lessen this effect.

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References

Shankar AH, Prasad AS. Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infection. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Aug;68(2 Suppl):447S-463S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/68.2.447S. PMID: 9701160

Walsh CT, Sandstead HH, Prasad AS, Newberne PM, Fraker PJ. Zinc health effects and research priorities for the 1990’s. Environ Health Perspect 1994;102:5–46.

Zalewski PD. Zinc and immunity: implications for growth, survival and function of lymphoid cells. J Nutr Immunol 1996;4:39–80.]

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