The Benefits of Zinc

By: Karen Casey MS,RDN

Indoor Season is Upon Us!

Pumpkin Patch

This is the time of year when people start to spend more time indoors – school has started, the weather is cooling off and snow will be here soon! Increased indoor living means less vitamin D through natural sunlight, and more spreading of germs. Ready or not, the inevitable start of cold and flu season is upon us!

Eating the right foods can be a great way to help fend off viruses and even shorten the course and severity of a virus if you catch one.  Whole, unprocessed foods, fruits and vegetables all contain vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that can help supercharge your immune system. In fact, there is one essential mineral, zinc, that has been shown to have a direct impact on immunity!

What is Zinc?

Zinc (Zn) is a metal that your body needs in trace amounts in order to support your immune system. Zinc deficiencies are common but also hard to pinpoint.

Symptoms of zinc deficiency include:

• frequent viral infections,

• slow or prolonged recovery from viruses,

• slow or improper wound healing,

• skin lesions

• brain fog

Adults 65 or older are 40% more likely to be at risk of a zinc deficiency, as are vegetarians, athletes and adolescents. Zinc is critical for tissue growth and wound healing. Increasing zinc intake is now frequently recommended prior to surgery.

 Serum blood tests of zinc levels are often unreliable, and most zinc deficiencies are diagnosed through analysis of food records and of individual symptoms.

How Do I get more Zinc?

The recommended daily intake of zinc for most adults is 8-12 mg per day. Food sources, specifically meat, seafood and poultry provide the most bioavailable sources of zinc, are most easily absorbed, particularly when combined with other vitamins.

The highest natural occurring food source of zinc is oysters, providing a whopping 20-80 mg per 3 oz serving and one 3oz serving of beef chuck roast provides about 12 mg of zinc. Good sources of zinc are crab, dark meat chicken, pork, turkey and lamb. There is a small amount of zinc in plant-based sources like lentils and spinach, and pumpkin seeds provide 2 mg per 1 oz serving.

The benefits of eating foods high in zinc has shown a direct relationship to improved immune health; however, supplement use is generally not recommended. High dose zinc supplements can cause nausea, stomach pain, GI upset, constipation, and cause other mineral deficiencies - with no equivalent benefit in immunity or health.

For all of these reasons, as we spend more time indoors, and transition to the holiday’s make sure to eat a variety of zinc containing foods – don’t hold back on that holiday turkey!

Here are two great recipes to boost your immunity and increase your zinc intake

Steaming soup

Easy Whole Grain Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

Meat from one whole rotisserie chicken – include the dark meat

(Turkey Meat is also a good choice)

12 oz. bag of 100% whole grain egg noodles or whole wheat pasta noodles 

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 cups chicken broth (Better than Bouillon or Low Sodium broth in a carton)

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 medium white onion

3 cups carrots – you can double this for extra Vitamin A 

1/3 cup corn starch

1 tsp basil

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot, and add onion and carrots and saute until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

2. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then whisk in corn starch.  Add eggs noodles and cook until al dente (softened but still firm). While noodles are cooking, add chicken, poultry seasoning, and basil.

3. When noodles are done cooking, remove from stove and serve. This soup freezes well.

Light Oyster Stew

Ingredients

2 cups water

1 tablespoon butter

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 – 8 oz cans of oysters, drained, juice reserved

½ tsp salt

1 lb russet potato, peeled and cubed

4 cups low fat milk (skim or 2%)

¼ teaspoon white pepper

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

1.     Combine water with butter, Worcestershire sauce, juice from oysters and salt in a stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat.

2.     Add potatoes, reduce heat to medium high, cook for 20 minutes, stir occasionally

3.     When potatoes are tender, reduce heat to medium and add oysters

4.     Cook until edges curl, about 4 minutes

5.     Scald milk by heating in a saucepan until it bubbles

6.     Add milk to stockpot with pepper

7.     Serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg on top .