What does it do?
One busy mineral, zinc is involved in the work of over 300 enzymes in the body, and plays a crucial role in cell division and growth and as a result in burn and wound healing, DNA synthesis and reproductive development. It’s even needed for taste and smell.
What’s the story?
Often used to treat acne, zinc is also found in make-up and sun-cream, and is often used to treat colds, where it’s a mainstay of all those fizzy orange tablets that are probably more fun to watch than they are effective. In truth, there is some evidence for zinc helping to reduce the duration and severity of colds, but it probably only reduces the duration of a cold by about a day if at all and the evidence is pretty mixed.
Annoyingly for vegetarians, zinc is more easily absorbed from meat and fish than it is from plant and cereal-based foods, where phytates (found in fibre) get in the way of absorption.
How much do I need?
Adult women aged 19 and over need 7 mg per day.
Adult men need slightly more, at 9.5 mg per day.
What are good sources?
Meat is a great source of zinc, but sources like soy bean (tofu, tempeh, soy milk or edamame beans), seafood – particularly oysters and sardines – mushrooms, pumpkin seeds and spinach all contain good levels of zinc.
Any ideas for using those ingredients?
tofu and aubergine stirfry/trout with avocado and pumpkin seeds/baked salmon with miso stirfried veg/crayfish and sundried tomato salad/tamarind pork/sardine and apple salad
References
British Nutrition Foundation (2021). Nutrition Requirements. Available here.
Patient Information (2014) Clinical Reference: Zinc Deficiency, Excess and Supplementation. Available here [accessed 15th June 2017].