Top 8 Foods High In Zinc

Here we cover foods high in zinc with our 8 richest zinc food sources. This follows on from our previous article on the health benefits of zinc rich foods and supplemental zinc. The problem most people have with obtaining adequate zinc from their diet is that you need to uptake zinc regularly. There aren’t many zinc rich foods or foods in high zinc either.

The recommended daily intake of zinc is 8mg for adult women and 11mg for adult men. Zinc deficiency is prevalent worldwide. About 20% of people globally are zinc deficient and people are not able to obtain as much zinc as they require. Deficiencies of zinc include sexual dysfunction, inflammation and growth impairment. You can read about our previous article on zinc health benefits here.

Zinc forms a key part of many different processes relating to optimum health. This is a big concern for vegans and vegetarians, as most of the top sources of zinc come from meats where zinc has bioaccumulated.

Compared to nutrient dense meat sources of zinc, there aren’t as many vegan or vegetarian nutrient dense sources of zinc. As a result, many vegetarians realize that they might need to supplement to meet their RDA for zinc. Plant oxalates can also bind to and hinder zinc absorption. For vegetarians, optimizing their sources of zinc for high zinc foods is essential for their wellbeing.

This mineral is also water soluble and which means it has to be loaded into the body with your water. That is something quite important to remember if you are looking for optimal zinc intake.

Why is Zinc Important?

Zinc is an essential cell antioxidant, cleansing the body of harmful free radicals and is an important preventative molecule against cancer. This is the basic ancient function of zinc, as a cell preservation agent, with more complex roles having evolved over time.

Zinc is incorporated into enzyme functions that work at a DNA level to regulate whole body responses and growth. This mineral is also capable of neuroprotection, immune system boosting and supports fertility. These are all key markers and signs of optimal organism functioning. Having adequate zinc status also supports healthy testosterone and hormonal levels in the body. These reasons all support health benefits to eating foods high in zinc.

Top 8 Foods high in Zinc

There are many zinc food sources, being an ancient mineral that is key to life, but many don’t have a high zinc threshold. Nutrient dense sources of zinc, or foods that are high in zinc, are easy to find if you look in the right places. We will now discuss 8 of the top nutrient dense sources of zinc.

Oysters

Oysters are amongst one of the most nutrient dense sources of zinc on the planet. This zinc dense food has around 33mg of zinc per 100g of oysters. Yes, you are reading that correctly, that is milligrams of zinc. The stated nutrient reference value here for zinc in oysters is for cooked oysters as well, not raw oysters. While oysters might be an acquired taste, they contain a staggering amount of bioavailable and natural source zinc. For zinc intake, oysters are an incredibly nutrient dense food. This one the foods with the highest zinc intake we can find anywhere.

Animal studies, using zinc rich oyster proteins, showed a drastically improved inflammatory status. Particularly reducing inflammation within in the digestive system and also inflammatory symptoms that are similar to Crohn’s disease. Oysters, as a health food, might work synergistically to help the body to absorb other nutrients. Oysters are also packed with selenium, another key antioxidant, protein, phosphorus and magnesium. These are all nutrients linked to optimum cell growth and function. Just the research interest in oysters reveals a key reason why they are high on the list of zinc rich foods you should consider eating more of.

Crab

Crab meat also provides one of the most nutrient dense sources of zinc on the planet. 100g of cooked crab meat provides around 4mg of zinc. This offers a less meaty source of zinc and for many, crab meat is a lot more palatable than oysters. However, this one makes high up on the list of zinc rich foods. Crab is also packed with other nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium and protein. This is a food worthwhile including in your diet if you want to increase your overall zinc and antioxidant levels.

Beef

Beef steak is a very popular dinner choice and beef is naturally rich in zinc amongst other key nutrients. 100g of cooked beef steak contains around 4 to 5mg of zinc. This is a really popular food because beef is really nutrient dense and very tasty to many people. This meat provides good levels of other nutrients including iron and protein. This meat ranks high up on the list of zinc rich foods.

Chicken

To give you an indication of how rich some of the other foods are in zinc, 100g of cooked chicken breast meat contains 1mg of zinc. As a fairly nutrient rich source of zinc this one makes it onto the list, many people consume about 300g of chicken meat in a sitting each day. Cooked chicken breast doesn’t rank as high up on the list of zinc rich foods as beef or oysters, but offers a decent source of zinc in one meal.

Avocado

For vegetarians, avocados are a massive part of their diet and are very popular too as a nutrient dense food source. 100g of Hass avocado provides 0.46mg of zinc. While this isn’t much compared to oysters or beef, avocado provides a decent serving of zinc to get to the 8 or 11mg zinc RDA depending on if you are male or female. Not very high ranking on our list, but a surprising contender on the list of zinc rich foods, especially for vegetarians.

Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds from pumpkins contain about 7.6mg of zinc per 100g of pumpkin seeds. This is a very nutrient dense source of zinc for vegans and vegetarians. Pumpkin seeds are quite high in proteins too. However, one should be aware of the sugar and fat content within pumpkin seeds and the fat related weight gain this could lead to. Pumpkin seeds are great to add to stews and casseroles, condensing quite well into the dish. Pumpkin seeds form a nice soup too. This one ranks high on the list of zinc rich foods and highest for vegetarians for zinc.

Chocolate

Dark chocolate is a known aphrodisiac food, it is really rich in zinc too for a vegetarian food source. 100g of dark chocolate, 70%-85% cacao, contains 3.3mg of zinc. Dark chocolate is a really nutrient dense food, offering high levels of natural sugars, iron, potassium and magnesium in addition to zinc. Because of the sugar and fat content in dark chocolate one has to be careful about fat induced weight gain, which can cause also health issues. While dark chocolate also contains caffeine, a stimulant that you probably shouldn’t eat before bed. Dark chocolate is high up on our list of zinc rich foods.

Peanuts

Nuts are another staple part of a vegetarian or vegan diet. Per 100g of peanuts there is just under 3mg of zinc, this is quite good going for vegetarian food. This can easily be integrated into your diet too, providing a nutrient dense source of other minerals and essential proteins. You can easily add this sort of serving to a meal and would be great to add into one’s diet to elevate zinc levels. Although, in regard to fat intake and weight, one has to be careful about overconsumption given the high oil content in this seed. While the oils in peanuts have health benefits, overconsumption can lead to other health issues like fat induced weight gain.

Conclusion

Here we’ve looked at the 8 best available food sources of zinc. The RDA for zinc in women is 8mg and in men is 11mg per day.

As a key mineral for preserving life, zinc is so important for whole body antioxidant and optimum cell functioning. This protective mineral has a wide range of potential health benefits, from supporting healthy fertility to boosting growth and your immunity. As a result, regular consumption of zinc is needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The most nutrient dense sources of zinc are oysters, crab meat, pumpkin seeds and beef steak. This provides a problem for vegetarians who can’t access zinc from meats. However, there are alternatives out there such as pumpkin seeds, peanuts and chocolate. These foods all offer healthy and bioavailable sources of zinc for you to absorb in your digestive tract. By adding some of these food sources into your diet, one should be able to manage their dietary zinc levels effectively.

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