What You Need To Know About Zinc

What Are The Benefits of Zinc?

Zinc is needed for various functions in your body. It's good for your immune system health, wound healing and other roles in the body.

Some of zinc's many roles in the body include:

Maintaining a healthy immune system
Required for normal growth and development
Helping your body use carbohydrates, protein and fat
Helping heal wounds
Assisting in activity of numerous enzymes
Having a function in normal fetal development
Required for making genetic material
Maintaining your sense of smell, taste, and vision

Common Food Sources of Zinc

See the table below for the zinc content of some common foods:

Food Group	Food	Serving size	Zinc (mg)

Vegetables and Fruit	This food group contains very little of this nutrient

Grain Products
	Wheat germ	30 mL (2 Tbsp)	2.4
	Cereal, bran	30 g	1.7
	Wild rice, cooked	125 mL (½ cup)	1.2

Milk and Alternatives
	Cheese (ricotta)	125 mL (½ cup)	1.8
	Cheese (cheddar, Swiss, gouda, brie, mozzarella)	50 g (1.5 oz)	1.8
	Milk (homogenized 3.3%, 2%, 1%, skim, chocolate, buttermilk)	250 mL (1 cup)	1.0
	Yogurt (plain, fruit bottom), regular or low fat	175 mL (¾ cup)	0.9

Meat and Alternatives
	Oysters, eastern, farmed, cooked	75 g (2.5 oz)	33.9
	Oysters, Pacific, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	24.9
	Beef, various cuts, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	6.3
	Veal, lean, various cuts, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	4.9
	Liver (beef, chicken, lamb, pork), cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	4.5
	Lamb, various cuts, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	4.0
	Crab, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	3.8
	Pork, various cuts, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	3.3
	Lobster, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	3.0
	Mussels, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	2.0
	Anchovies, canned	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	1.8
	Turkey, various cuts, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	1.8
	Chicken, various cuts, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	1.8
	Shrimp, all varieties, cooked	75 g ( 2.5 oz)	1.2

Non-Meat Sources
	Pumpkin or squash seeds	60 mL (¼ cup)	4.4
	Baked beans, canned	175 mL (¾ cup)	2.6
	Lentils, cooked	175 mL (¾ cup)	1.9
	Sunflower seeds, without shell	60 mL (¼ cup)	1.8
	Peas (chickpeas/garbanzo, black-eyed/cowpeas, split), cooked	175 mL (¾ cup)	1.6
	Nuts (pine, peanuts, cashews, almonds), without shell	60 mL (¼ cup)	1.4
	Soybeans, dry, roasted	60 mL (¼ cup)	1.4
	Eggs, cooked	2 large	1.2
	Refried beans, canned	175 mL (¾ cup)	1.1
	Tofu, firm	150 g	0.9

How Much Zinc Do You Need?

The body absorbs 15% to 40% of the zinc present in food. The recommended daily requirement of zinc depends of your gender, age and lifestage. It's important you don't exceed 40 mg per day from foods and supplements combined.

Zinc daily requirements:

Females
- 14 to 18 years of age: 9 mg
- 19 years of age and older: 8 mg
Males

14 years of age and older: 11 mg

Who might have a zinc deficiency?

A zinc deficiency is rare if you eat a variety of foods and you don't have any health conditions.

People who may have increased zinc requirements include:

Individuals recovering from surgery on their digestive system
Individuals with ulcerative colitis, Crohn's or chronic liver disease
Individuals on a protein-restricted diet (e.g. vegetarians not eating a variety of plant-based protein sources with zinc)

What if you don't get enough zinc?

May weaken the immune system
May cause poor wound healing
May cause impaired sense of taste and smell and vision problems

Zinc Supplements

It's always better to get zinc from your food than supplements. If you are eating a variety of food and you don't have any health conditions then you likely don't needs a zinc supplement. If you have been advised to take a zinc supplement, take the the dose recommended by your healthcare professional.

Signs of zinc toxicity include:

Nausea, vomiting
Poor appetite
Abdominal pain or cramping
Headaches
Diarrhea

The information in this resource is for general information purposes only and is not intended to replace informed medical advice. Consume foods according to any dietary guidelines you have been provided from a health care professional. Metro Ontario Pharmacies Limited assumes no legal liability for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of the information.