zinc

Sabine Schrör is a freelance writer for the medical team. She studied business administration and public relations in Cologne. As a freelance editor, she has been at home in a wide variety of industries for more than 15 years. Health is one of her favorite subjects.

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Growth, wound healing, immune defense - zinc is involved in many biological processes. However, the trace element is only stored in small quantities in the body, which is why regular intake through food is important. There are no problems with this in Germany: Those who eat a balanced diet take in sufficient zinc. Read more here about the diverse effects of zinc in the body and the recommendations for daily zinc intake!

What is zinc

Zinc is a vital trace element. It occurs in skin, hair, bones, eyes, liver and in the male reproductive organs. The body cannot produce the trace element itself and can only store it for a short time and in a very small amount (around 2 mg). Zinc must therefore be supplied from the outside on a regular basis. This is usually done through food - with a light full-food diet according to the recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE), an adequate zinc supply is not a problem.

Good zinc supply in Germany

Studies show that the population in Germany is well supplied with zinc. One of the reasons for this is that the soils in this country contain a relatively large amount of zinc, which is found in the cultivated cereals, legumes and vegetables. The most important supplier of zinc, however, is meat (especially beef, pork, poultry), which many people in Germany regularly eat.

Vegetarians and vegans watch out

Plant foods such as vegetables, legumes, and grains contain somewhat lower amounts of zinc than meat. In addition, the body can only absorb zinc from herbal products to a limited extent. The reason for this is the phytate it also contains - an essential substance for plants that is needed for photosynthesis, among other things.

In the human intestine, however, phytate binds various micronutrients, including zinc. The trace element can then no longer pass through the intestinal wall into the blood. With a purely plant-based diet, up to 45 percent less zinc can be absorbed than with a mixed diet made from plant-based and animal-based foods. Accordingly, more foods containing zinc must be consumed to meet the demand.

What tasks does zinc have in the body?

Zinc is an important component of numerous enzymes and is therefore involved in many biological processes in the body, for example:

• Cell growth: Zinc is important for cell division.
• Immune defense: Zinc supports the immune system. It is also said to have a healing effect on colds, but this has not been scientifically proven.
• Antioxidant processes: Zinc helps to bind free radicals - reactive oxygen compounds that can damage cells and the genetic material (DNA). They arise in the course of normal metabolic processes, but also, for example, through UV radiation and nicotine.
• Blood sugar regulation: Zinc lowers the blood sugar level.
• Formation of the red blood pigment hemoglobin
• Sperm formation
• Wound healing
• Transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood
• Hormone production

The body needs sufficient zinc so that all these vital processes can run smoothly.

What is the daily requirement of zinc?

How much zinc a person needs every day depends on various factors. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) takes age, gender and (in adults) dietary phytate intake into account in its recommendations for daily zinc intake.

Children and adolescents

According to the DGE, the following recommendations apply with regard to the daily intake of zinc for children and adolescents:

age	masculine	Female
0 to 3 months	1.5 mg / day
4 to 12 months	2.5 mg / day
1 to 3 years	3 mg / day
4 to 6 years	4 mg / day
7 to 9 years	6 mg / day
10 to 12 years	9 mg / day	8 mg / day
13 to 14 years	12 mg / day	10 mg / day
15 to 18 years	14 mg / day	11 mg / day

adult

In adults, age no longer plays a role in terms of the recommended zinc intake, but the proportion of phytate in the usual diet. The DGE differentiates between low, medium and high phytate intake:

• Low phytate intake (330 mg phytate per day): This occurs when someone only consumes a small amount of whole grain products and legumes and mainly uses animal protein sources (such as meat). The zinc contained in the food can then be easily absorbed.
• Medium phytate intake (660 mg phytate per day): It is found on the one hand in a wholesome diet - consisting of animal protein sources (including meat and fish) as well as whole grain products and pulses - as well as in a vegetarian or vegan diet, if it is primarily highly ground, sprouted or fermented cereal products are consumed.
• High phytate intake (990 mg phytate per day): It is given when someone eats a lot of whole grain products (especially non-germinated or unfermented products) and legumes and covers their protein needs exclusively or mainly through plant-based products (such as soy). The large amount of phytate added hinders the absorption of zinc in the intestine.

Against this background, the following recommendations for daily zinc intake apply to men and women who are not pregnant or breastfeeding:

	men	women
low phytate intake	11 mg / day	7 mg / day
medium phytate intake	14 mg / day	8 mg / day
high phytate intake	16 mg / day	10 mg / day

The need for zinc is increased during pregnancy and breastfeeding, after all, the trace element is important for cell growth and cell division, among other things. The following recommendations therefore apply here (for pregnant women, depending on the third trimester of pregnancy):

	1st trimester	2nd and 3rd trimester	Breastfeeding
low phytate intake	7 mg / day	9 mg / day	11 mg / day
medium phytate intake	9 mg / day	11 mg / day	13 mg / day
high phytate intake	11 mg / day	13 mg / day	14 mg / day

Foods high in zinc

When it comes to the zinc supply, meat lovers can look forward to it: beef, pork and poultry contain a particularly large amount of the trace element. Other animal foods, such as cheese and eggs, are also good sources of zinc. But vegetarians and vegans can also secure their zinc supply with simple means.

You can read about which foods are good for the zinc supply in the article Zinc - Food.

How does a zinc deficiency manifest itself?

As a rule, the body receives enough zinc from food to meet its daily needs. This is why zinc deficiency rarely occurs, at least in industrialized countries - for example, when the absorption of the trace elements is impaired due to a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. In such cases, the zinc deficiency can manifest itself on the skin (inflammatory changes, impaired wound healing) or in the immune defense system (increased susceptibility to infection). Then it can be useful to take zinc as a dietary supplement.

You can read more about the signs and risk factors for zinc deficiency and the options for treatment in the article Zinc Deficiency.

How is an excess of zinc expressed?

Too much zinc is more likely than a zinc deficiency, at least in this country. This is because the recommended daily ration is usually easily taken in with food. But many people also use zinc in the form of dietary supplements - to compensate for an alleged undersupply, in the belief that they are "doing something good for themselves" or in the hope of keeping colds and the like at bay.

In such cases, an overdose can quickly occur - with not inconsiderable consequences. Because the heavy metal zinc can cause symptoms of poisoning in high doses such as:

• nausea
• Stomach cramps
• Loss of appetite
• metallic taste in the mouth
• diarrhea
• headache

In addition, high doses of zinc can impair the absorption of copper. This can lead to a copper deficiency in the body - with anemia and neurological disorders as possible consequences.

Against this background, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) recommends a maximum value of 6.5 mg zinc for food supplements. In addition, all products with more than 3.5 mg zinc should have a label that prompts consumers to consume less zinc-containing foods while ingesting them. This should prevent an oversupply of zinc.

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