NUTRIENT LIBRARY

Nutrient Library - Zinc

Zinc

What does it do?
How much do you need?
What are the best food sources?
What happens if you don’t get enough?
What happens if you get too much?
What are some recipes that are good sources of zinc?
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What does it do?

Zinc is a mineral that is essential for growth and development at all stages of life. Zinc supports a healthy immune system, participates in wound healing and helps form the structure of proteins and cell membranes.

How much do you need?

The following table lists the recommended intake for healthy people based on current scientific information.

Life Stage Group	Recommended Dietary Allowance / Adequate Intake (see note below)	Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)
Infants	(milligrams/day)	(milligrams/day)
0-6 mo. 7-12 mo.	2* 3	4 5
Children
1-3 yr. 4-8 yr.	3 5	7 12
Males
9-13 yr. 14-18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr. 51-70 yr. > 70 yr.	8 11 11 11 11 11	23 34 40 40 40 40
Females
9-13 yr. 14-18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr. 51-70 yr. > 70 yr.	8 9 8 8 8 8	23 34 40 40 40 40
Pregnancy
< 18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr.	12 11 11	34 40 40
Lactation
< 18 yr. 19-30 yr. 31-50 yr.	13 12 12	34 40 40

NOTE: The table is adapted from the Dietary Reference Intakes reports. Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), when available, are in bold type; Adequate Intakes (AIs) are followed by an asterisk(*). RDAs and AIs may both be used as goals for individual intake. RDAs are set to meet the needs of almost all individuals (97 to 98 percent) in a group. For healthy breastfed infants, the AI is the mean intake. The AI for other life stage and gender groups is believed to cover the needs of all individuals in the group, but lack of data means the percentage of individuals covered by this intake cannot be specified with confidence.
UL = The maximum level of daily nutrient intake that is likely to pose no risk of adverse effects. Unless otherwise specified, the UL represents total intake from food, water and supplements.

What are the best food sources?

Good food sources of zinc include beef, shellfish (crab and oysters) and dark meat, such as that found in chicken and turkey. Whole grains tend to be richer in zinc than refined grains because processing removes portions of the grain that contain the majority of the mineral. See more food sources and calculate your daily intake.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

Because zinc is involved in so many core processes of the body, the sign and symptoms of deficiency are inconsistent and varied. Zinc deficiency can occur when dietary intake is low, when it is poorly absorbed, when there are increased losses of zinc (which can happen to people with prolonged diarrhea) and during times when the body needs increased amounts of zinc, such as high growth periods. Signs of zinc deficiency include growth retardation, hair loss, diarrhea, delayed sexual maturation and impotence, impaired wound healing, diminished appetite, and eye and skin lesions.

What happens if you get too much?

There have been no reports of adverse effects as a result of eating too much naturally occurring zinc from foods. Long-term intakes of supplemental zinc in excess of the body’s needs have been shown to suppress the immune system, decrease HDL (“good”) cholesterol and reduce copper status in the body.