Fast facts about zinc
- Zinc is essential for many body functinos, including wound healing, senses of taste and smell and supporting your immune system
- It's found in many food sources, but is better absorbed from animal based foods, so vegan or vegetarians need to be careful to ensure they're getting enough in their diets
- You can have too much and not enough zinc, which both have side effects
While ensuring good overall nutritional status is essential for a healthy body, zinc and vitamin C are two nutrients which can be particularly useful to keep you functioning and feeling your best.
These two super nutrients are invaluable for keeping your immune system strong, improving the health of your hair, skin and nails, aiding the healing process and reducing free radical damage.
How you can include more zinc in your diet
It is important to include foods rich in zinc in your diet to ensure you are receiving an adequate intake of zinc each and every day.
Choose from the following list of zinc containing foods and add some zinc zing to your diet:
- Lean red meats, such as beef, lamb and porL
- Chicken, duck and turkey (particularly dark coloured meat such as thighs and drumsticks)
- Oysters and fish, including salmon
- Nuts and seeds including pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, pine nuts, brazil nuts, walnuts and cashews
- Whole grains and pulses, including chickpeas, lentils, black-eyed peas and wheat germ
- Leafy green vegetables, green peas and mushrooms
- Eggs, yoghurt, milk, hard cheese, blue vein cheese and tofu
Why zinc is important
Sub-optimal levels of zinc are very common at all ages, especially in the elderly; and as many as 75% of females and 45% of males may be zinc deficient.[1]
Zinc is an essential trace mineral; you must obtain it from your diet as your body is unable to make it.
If you do not obtain adequate zinc, your zinc levels may become low and may affect your health.
Certain factors such as excessive exercise, stress, smoking, drinking coffee and alcohol also increase the excretion of zinc; increasing your need for this important mineral.
Zinc can also help your hair, nails and skin.
Hair, skin and nails are all made of connective tissue, which is constantly renewing as old cells are shed, and new cells grow to replace them.
Zinc is needed for building new connective tissue, and is essential for maintaining healthy skin, hair and nails.
How Ethical Nutrients can help
Ethical Nutrients Mega Zinc 40mg with Vitamin C Orange Powder provides zinc, vitamin C and other nutrients to aid in the absorption of zinc and help replenish low nutrient levels.
It comes in a tasty orange or raspberry flavour and can help support healthy immune system function, assist in the prevention of dietary zinc deficiency in adults and relieve mild acne in teenagers.
Ethical Nutrients Healthy Hair, Skin & Nails contains zinc, together with nutrients that may support healthy tissue, such as silica, biotin, betacarotene, vitamin E, and selenium.
Silica is an especially important nutrient as it concentrates in the nails, hair and skin to assist collagen formation and build the structural framework for the skin.
The nutrients in Ethical Nutrients Healthy Hair, Skin & Nails may help to maintain your skin smoothness and texture, strengthen soft and brittle nails and support healthy hair – leaving you looking and feeling your most radiant!
References:
[1]Pfeiffer C.C and LaMola S: Zinc and manganese in the schizophrenias. J Orthomol Psychiatryl.
Published by Ethical Nutrients.