Zinc Natural Food Sources and Health Benefits by Ralph Teller

Zinc Facts and Health Benefits

Zinc is an essential mineral that is naturally present in some foods. Zinc plays a key role in metabolism, immune system health, wound healing, and for men, testosterone production. See How to Increase Testosterone Naturally. Zinc also supports normal growth and development during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence and is required for proper sense of taste and smell. Zinc also plays a role in cold and coughs prevention. See How to Prevent and Treat Colds Naturally

Daily dietary intake of zinc is necessary to maintain a steady level of zinc because the body has no specialized zinc storage system. Obtaining zinc from natural food sources is preferred.

Natural Food Sources of Zinc

In general foods high in protein contain the highest amounts of zinc. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, fish, shellfish, beef, pork, lamb, poultry and cheese are good sources of zinc. Except for oysters, meat and many cheeses contain more zinc than fish and shellfish. Some cuts of meat contain more zinc than others. For instance, the dark meat of chicken contains more zinc than the light.

Vegetables and fruit have lower levels of zinc than meat, fish and cheese. Also, zinc from plant sources is generally not as easily absorbed as zinc from animal sources. As a result, people who follow vegetarian or vegan diets may have deficient zinc levels. Plant sources of zinc include lima beans, black-eyed peas, pinto beans, peanuts, whole grains, wheat germ, green beans, brewer's yeast, mushrooms, pumpkin and sunflower seeds.