Foods High in Zinc: Top 9 Foods High in Zinc and Their Health Benefits - Page 7 of 9

Our immune system is our main source of defense against different foreign bacteria and viruses. Imagine what would happen if it stopped working. Needless to say, we won’t stay alive for a long time. This establishes the fact that we require a healthy immune system and it is only possible when all the components of this system are kept in balance.

Sometimes we cannot function without help from someone. Our immune system is also like this, it needs helpers to work properly. One of those helpers is the mineral named “Zinc”. It has effects on several aspects of our immunity. Not only does it control our vulnerability to infections through the skin but also plays an important role in gene regulation within the white blood cells. Research tells us that zinc is the main player in controlling inflammation at the site of infection. When something breaches our body’s natural defense system, our brain signals white blood cells to start their functioning. This usually causes inflammation but sometimes due to autoimmune disorders, this inflammation gets out of control. Zinc has anti-inflammatory properties which enable it to control inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, it functions as an antioxidant and is essential for the activation of several anti-oxidant proteins. Another important effect that zinc has on our body is that it is crucial for our DNA stability. Studies conducted in lab environments show that deficiency of Zinc can lead to damage to DNA. It also has functions as a cofactor for more than 300 different biochemical reactions occurring inside our body.

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Zinc performs so many functions in our body that we probably cannot count them in one go. It has a lot to do with the activities ranging from our immunity against pathogens to the processes of transcription and translation. Conclusively it is extremely important to have an adequate amount of Zinc in our body. Just like other minerals and nutrients zinc also has a specific optimum range for each age group and gender. Given here is an estimate of how much Zinc we need in our daily diet to meet the requirements of our body:

For newly born babies age ranging from 0 to six months, 2mg of Zinc is adequate.
For 7 months to 3 years aged babies, 3mg of Zinc is enough.
For children between 4 to 8 years, the daily zinc requirement is 5mg.
Male individuals with ages ranging from 9-13 and14-18 years require 8mg and 11mg of Zinc daily.
Females with ages ranging from 9-13 and14-18 years require 8mg and 9mg of Zinc daily.
Pregnant women below the age of eighteen need 12mg of Zinc, whereas pregnant women above eighteen years of age need 11mg.
Lactating women of the same ages need just one milligram more than what is required for pregnant women.

The daily requirements need to be met properly. Since zinc is an essential mineral it has to be taken through diet. The daily requirements can be met by eating certain foods Following are some of the common foods which have a high zinc content in them:

Seafood

17% of edible meat comes from the ocean which means seafood is consumed in large quantities all over the World. Staggering numbers of fish consumption can be seen in many countries. For example, China alone consumes roughly 2,035,263 tons of fish annually. One factor in the popularity of seafood is the nutritious value it provides. Our topic of concern is the amount of zinc in the seafood so according to the stats:

Oysters have almost 670% Zinc which is required per 3 ounces of them. 85 grams of perfectly cooked oysters contain around 73.1mg of Zinc.
85 grams of cooked crabs has 6.5mg of zinc which makes up 59 percent of the daily value.
85 grams of lobster contains 3.4 milligrams of zinc which equals 31 percent of the daily requirement.
6 large shrimps have 1.6 mg of Zinc per serving.

By far oysters are known to have the most Zinc content in them. Other seafood items mentioned above are also rich in Zinc and can help you get over your Zinc deficiency.

Meat excluding seafood

Meat is almost everyone’s favorite. There are more than thousands of dishes you can make. You can cook it in your own way or follow the recipes available on the internet. This variety of cooking methods makes eating meat a very easy treatment for zinc deficiency. You can eat it and make up for the lower zinc levels in your body. Zinc content present in different types of meat is given below:

100 grams of red meat contains 4.8 milligrams of zinc. This is around 44 percent of the daily zinc requirement. Sources of red meat include beef lamb mutton, pork veal, venison, goat, etc.
1 cup of roasted chicken breast has around 2.1 milligrams of zinc in it.
1 large egg contains 0.6milligramss of zinc. This might seem a small amount but eating eggs regularly can make a huge difference in the treatment of zinc deficiency.

So for meat lovers who are deficient in zinc, this is a piece of really good news. They can eat their favorite item of food and call it medicine just in case someone asks them to eat less. The perks of being zinc deficient!

Zinc-rich vegetables

Now the benefits of eating meat for zinc deficiency have been stated. What if you are a vegetarian? Will you ever be able to get rid of your deficiency through diet? The answer is a definite yes. You can easily meet your daily zinc requirements by eating food other than meat. One of those items is the diverse class of eatables called vegetables. There are several vegetables that have a decent amount of Zinc in them. A few of them are listed below:

4 mg of zinc is present per 100 grams of corn.
2 mg of zinc is present in 100 grams of peas.
100 grams of potatoes have 0.5 mg of Zinc in them.
Zucchini contains 0.7 mg of Zinc per 100 grams of it.
Trace amounts of zinc are present in many vegetables including Spinach, Onions, Mushrooms, Green paprika, Cucumbers, Cauliflower, Carrots, Cabbage, Broccoli, Avocados, Asparagus, and artichokes.

A trace amount of Zinc means that only minute quantities of zinc are present in these vegetables. You need to eat a lot of vegetables if you want to meet your dietary requirements of Zinc. If you are a vegetarian then the meat is not an option for you, which means “It’s time to get some veggies on the table!”

Legumes containing zinc

Legumes containing zinc – Thelifetoday.com

Legumes are the best option for vegetarians. They are richer in zinc than fruits and vegetables. Different types of beans that make up the family of legumes have different quantities of zinc in them. Legumes that are richer in zinc than other members of their family include:

Chickpeas 1 cup of which accounts for 23 percent of the daily zinc requirement.
Black-eyed peas: The same amount of these legumes have 22 percent of Zinc’s daily value.
Navy beans and white beans make up 18 percent and 22 percent of daily zinc requirements respectively. The quantity is the same as others which is a total of 100 grams.
1 cup of black beans constitutes around 18 percent of the zinc requirement similar to that of navy beans.

These legumes can serve as an efficient source of zinc for those who don’t want the meat to meet their requirements.

Nuts and seeds

Nuts and seeds can be very delicious snacks when you are watching YouTube videos or scrolling through social media. But are you aware of their nutritional value? If not then you are at the right place to learn. There are several kinds of nuts that are rich in zinc. Following data will help in understanding how much zinc is present in these little food items:

Pumpkin seeds contain 10mg of zinc per 100 grams of them.
Hemp seeds have the same amount of zinc as that of pumpkin seeds per 100 grams of them.
Pine nuts have 6mg of Zinc per 100 grams.
Roasted cashews have a similar amount to pine nuts.
Sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and roasted pecans come just underneath pine nuts and cashews when it comes to zinc content. They have 5mg / 100 grams.
Flax seeds and Brazil nuts both have 4mg / 100 grams.
Almonds give around 30% of the daily zinc requirement when 100 grams of them are consumed. The amount of zinc per 100g is 3 milligram.

These figures clearly depict that nuts and seeds have great potential to be used in the diet for increased zinc uptake.

Zinc-rich fruits

Fruits provide delicious goodness. Their benefits for a healthy body cannot be counted. One way to get benefited from fruits is by eating them for making up for zinc deficiency. Although the daily requirements cannot be adequately met if you rely just on fruits you can still have them. This inability is because they don’t have a higher zinc content if compared to the foods mentioned above. Still, you can decide which fruits to eat based on the following data:

Avocadoes are the richest fruits with respect to the amount of zinc present in them. They have 0.6 mg of zinc per 100 grams.
Blackberries come second to avocadoes with 0.5 mg of zinc in 100 grams of them.
The lovely pomegranate contains 0.4 mg of zinc in its 100 grams.
Raspberries account for the same amount of zinc as pomegranates.
Guavas cantaloupes, peaches, blueberries, and apricots all have 0.2 milligrams of zinc in 100 grams of their quantity.
Kiwis have 0.1mg / 100 g.

Fruits will not disappoint you if you want to include zinc in your diet. You have to decide which ones you want to eat. Again the choice is yours!

Whole grains

Whole grains are dietary staples in many countries. They have multiple health benefits as they are quite rich in minerals and nutrients. Zinc is also present in different whole grains. Some of them are given below along with the quantity of zinc each of them has.

1 cup of raw oats contains almost 3 mg of zinc.
1 cup of cooked brown rice has 1.38 milligrams of zinc in them.
Two slices of whole wheat bread also have a considerable amount of zinc which is almost 1.1 milligrams.
1 cup of cooked quinoa has 1.85 milligrams of zinc in it.

If you belong to a country where whole grains are staples then congratulations. But if you are not then you definitely need to change your daily diet a little bit. Include grains that are rich in zinc in your diet.

Conclusion

Zinc plays a very important role in our bodies. It has functions in the immune system of our body DNA synthesis processes of transcription and translation, and many biochemical reactions occurring inside us. Adequate intake according to the daily required allowance for zinc is necessary for our body to function properly. If not taken in required quantities, zinc- deficiency can be the reason for many disorders. It is typically associated with kidney malfunctioning, sickle cell anemia, diabetes mellitus, diarrhea, hair loss, weight loss impaired wound healing, and many others.

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Thus to prevent such deadly sounding diseases you must make sure that the diet you are taking meets the standard amount of daily intake of zinc. If not then change it accordingly. You have to do this for your better health. Needless to say, if you start taking care of your body and meet its needs, you will see the difference. You will be more active and radiant. Maybe after having a zinc-rich meal you will be able to finish those lengthy assignments. Not a bad idea right?

Seafood

Meat excluding seafood

Zinc-rich vegetables

Legumes containing zinc

Nuts and seeds

Zinc-rich fruits

Whole grains

Conclusion