Zinc - what is it?
Zinc, New RDA* 10 mg
The human need for zinc is small, but its role in growth and well-being is enormous, starting even before birth. The entire body of a normal man weighing 70 kg may contain 1.4 to 2.3 g of zinc. Zinc is present in small amounts in all tissues. The bones, teeth, and the pancreas contain slightly higher amounts of zinc than other tissues. Whole blood contains about 0.7 mg/100 ml, while blood serum or plasma contains 0.1 mg/100 ml.
Zinc is a bluish-white, metallic element. It is present in the body mostly in combination with other constituents of the body.
Zinc is present in the earth’s crust and in seawater. Zinc is found in all plant and animal tissues, particularly inside the nuclei.
*Sourced from EFSA WEBSITE
Zinc - what does it do?
Required for the use of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Needed for cell division, growth and tissue repair.
Also necessary for normal reproductive development, the immune system and healing of wounds.
Zinc is an essential constituent of more than two hundred metalloenzymes. Zinc plays a key role in the synthesis and stabilisation of genetic material and is necessary for cell division and the synthesis and degradation of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.
Deficiency
Zinc deficiency results in effects including poor prenatal development, growth retardation, mental retardation, impaired nerve conduction and nerve damage, reproductive failure, dermatitis, hair loss, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, loss of taste and smell, anaemia, susceptibility to infections, delayed wound healing and macular degeneration.
Zinc - Sources
Meat, milk, cheese, eggs, shellfish, wholegrain cereals, nuts and pulses.
