Zinc! It’s the essential mineral that’s praised by many advocates involved in the Paleo community. Most people generally recognize zinc for its reputation as a potent cold and flu virus prevention solution, but its numerous benefits also extend beyond its role as an immunity-boosting mineral.
Ensuring adequate zinc intake in one’s diet is absolutely necessary for achieving long term health goals while following an ancestral eating plan. Zinc is essential for maintaining numerous physiological functions within the human body including tissue and epithelial integrity, immune system regulation, cellular growth, gut health, and inflammation suppression. The current USA government’s recommended daily allowance (RDA) for zinc averages in at approximately 10 mg. The USA RDA for zinc might be adequate for maintaining proper zinc levels for most healthy human beings that do not suffer from a zinc deficiency, but higher short-term dosages are likely needed to correct a deficiency. Physical indications of zinc deficiency include but are not limited to frequent viral infections, white spots or streaks on the fingernails, poor physical growth in childhood, hair loss, impaired vision, diarrhea, acne, dandruff, chronic dry skin, and impaired mental functioning (i.e. depression, anxiety, brain fog). It’s worth noting that all of the listed conditions can also result from the manifestation of other nutrient and mineral imbalances, and ensuring a highly varied nutrient rich ancestral diet that is rich in omega-3’s is crucial to preventing and resolving any of the aforementioned health issues.
Zinc in excess can be equally problematic as zinc deficiency. The daily upper limit threshold for zinc in healthy individuals is about 40 mg for adults over 19 and 25mg for those under 19. Excessive zinc consumption is characterized by severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. Over the long term, excessive zinc intake in the absence of copper will result in the gradual depletion of copper from the human body. For this reason it is recommended that those looking to supplement zinc in their diets should avoid zinc dietary supplements and instead opt for “au-naturel” food-based sources of zinc that are inherently proportionately balanced with copper.
Those looking to ensure optimum zinc intake in their diet must decide whether to source their zinc from animal sources or plant sources. Below are two tables demonstrating a handful of the highest ranking sources of zinc from both plants and animals. The zinc content of each source is listed in mg. Note that many of the listed zinc-rich plant foods do not adhere to the Paleo lifestyle.
