Surprising Signs Of Zinc Deficiency - Ask a Nutritionist

Transcript:

Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's “Ask a nutritionist” podcast, brought to you by Nutrition Weight & Wellness. I am Britni Vincent, a Registered and Licensed Dietitian. And. I am here to talk about a powerful mineral that could be flying under your radar, and that is zinc. So if you are dealing with breakouts, sugar cravings, or you feel like you're just constantly getting sick, this one is definitely for you.

Zinc’s roles in the body & why it’s a common deficiency

I want to first talk about what zinc does and why we're often deficient in it. So zinc is an essential trace mineral, meaning that we only need small amounts, but we need them often. And here's the catch, your body can't actually store zinc in the way it stores minerals like calcium. It's used constantly for immunity, skin health, digestion, even your mood.

And then it's excreted. So that means that you have to replenish it daily through food or through supplements. So I want to break down some of zinc's key roles in the body. It plays a critical role in enzyme function. Zinc is a co-factor for over 300 enzymes in the body, helping with digestion, nerve communication, cell repair, just to name a few things.

I mentioned immune support earlier and we are nearing cold and flu season. So this might be top of mind for people. Zinc powers up T cells and macrophages, which fight off viruses and bacteria in the body, and it can actually shorten the length of a cold when taken early. And you've maybe heard that especially during the pandemic, zinc got a little bit more attention for its immune boosting properties.

Growth and development is another key function of zinc. It's essential for DNA synthesis, especially during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence. It offers antioxidant effects. Zinc helps calm inflammation in the body and protects cells from oxidative stress, potentially reducing the risk of chronic diseases.

I mentioned skin health a couple times already. Zinc is often used topically for acne and wound healing, but your body also needs it internally for skin turnover, and zinc is one of the most research nutrients in connection to acne. Taste and smell is another function in the body that zinc plays a role. Deficiency in zinc is actually one of the reasons why people lose their sense of taste or appetite, especially after viral infections.

In regard to reproductive health, in men, especially zinc is vital for testosterone and sperm production. In women, it supports hormone balance and fertility. I mentioned mood earlier, which might be a surprise, the connection between our cognitive function and mood and zinc. But low levels of zinc levels have actually been linked to depression, poor memory, and even neurological decline.

So it plays a lot of roles in the body, but here's the kicker. A lot of people are deficient and don't even realize it. So here are some surprising signs of zinc deficiency. I think it can be really helpful to think about body signs when we're talking about deficiencies and nutrients.

Because zinc deficiency does not always show up in obvious ways, here's some signs that can tie back to low zinc levels in the body: sugar cravings. This would be especially after meals. Zinc plays a role in blood sugar regulation and appetite signaling. So if you are somebody that after meals, you are finding yourself always wanting something sweet, it could be in relation to zinc because when it's low, your body gets confused and may crave quick energy, which is sugar.

Skin issues, so body signs looking at chronic acne, rashes, or poor wound healing because zinc is key for tissue repair and inflammation control. If you are getting frequent colds or feeling like it takes forever to recover, zinc is crucial for a strong, responsive immune system. So deficiency could be why you are finding yourself always getting sick or it's just lasting a long time.

Here's one that you might have heard of before: white spots on your nails. This is a classic but subtle sign of zinc deficiency. So take a peek at your nails periodically, check out to see if there's any white spots, and that can be an easy sign of zinc deficiency.

If you notice you have diminished taste or smell; this became especially relevant post COVID and zinc is often part of those recovery protocols, but that diminished taste or smell might not always be related back to just COVID. It could be related back to a zinc deficiency in your body.

Here's another important piece in regard to zinc: stress, poor gut imbalances, even medications like acid blockers can all reduce your body's ability to absorb zinc, making that deficiency even more likely.

How to replenish zinc in the body

So now that I have provided some context of how you can identify if you have zinc deficiency, let's talk about how to replenish zinc in your body. How do you make sure you're getting enough? So, of course, at Nutritional Weight & Wellness, we are always focusing on food first. Here are some zinc rich options that you could incorporate at least weekly into your meal planning.

Beef is very high in zinc, poultry, especially dark meat; pork offers high zinc; oysters is actually the richest natural source of zinc, but probably not something you're going to be eating on a regular basis, but might be a reason to treat yourself occasionally. And then pumpkin seeds are another source of zinc that we can get through our food. If you are thinking about supplementing, take a peek at your multivitamin if you do take one because there might be some zinc already in your multi.

If, if not, and you're thinking about supplementing with it separately, I would stick to supplementing with under 50 milligrams per day unless otherwise guided, because zinc competes with copper and iron. So high doses over time can throw off your mineral balance.

If you are somebody, I have a lot of clients that just supplement with zinc during the cold and flu season. If you're planning on taking zinc for a short period of time and then you're going off of it to support that immune system, then it would be okay to take something like 50 milligrams a day in that situation. Otherwise, there are plenty of supplements out there that offer lower doses. It is important to take with food because taking zinc on an empty stomach can actually cause some nausea.

What can interfere with zinc absorption?

A couple things that can interfere with zinc absorption: chronic stress can deplete your source of zinc. Really chronic stress can deplete your source of many, if not all nutrients that we have in our body, because it just causes our body to use up those nutrients a lot faster when we're under chronic stress.

Low stomach acid, I mentioned earlier being on acid blocking medication, but sometimes individuals have low stomach acid, even if they aren't on those types of medications. Stomach acid declines as we age. Or if you just have a history of taking those types of medications or have a lot of digestive symptoms, those could be signs of low stomach acid.

Recap

So to recap today, talking about zinc, if you've been struggling with skin issues, cravings, frequent colds, or just subtle symptoms like taste changes, or those white spots on your nails, zinc might be a hidden player.

Try first incorporating more zinc rich foods, like I mentioned beef, pork, poultry, especially that dark meat has higher zinc. Pumpkin seeds could be easy to incorporate into snacks, and if you feel like you need extra support in helping to figure this out, you can always reach out to us to schedule an individual appointment.

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You can visit weightandwellness.com to find out more about counseling and be sure to check out if your insurance would cover our appointments.

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And always remember, small nutrition tweaks can have a huge impact in how you feel. I also encourage you to join our Dishing Up Nutrition Facebook community by searching Dishing Up Nutrition on Facebook. This is a private group that we moderate and provides our Dishing Up Nutrition listeners, a safe, supportive community to ask questions, share ideas, and get inspired.

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