Role of Zinc in human diet

Role of Zinc  in human diet

Zinc is an essential mineral required by the body for maintaining a sense of smell, keeping a healthy immune system, building proteins, triggering enzymes, and creating DNA. Zinc also helps the cells in your body communicate by functioning as a neurotransmitter. A deficiency in zinc can lead to stunted growth, diarrhea, impotence, hair loss, eye and skin lesions, impaired appetite, and depressed immunity. Conversely, consuming too much zinc can lead to nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches in the short term, and can disrupt absorption of copper and iron in the long term. If you have a zinc deficiency, then animal foods are better sources of zinc than plant foods. It also plays a role in the body’s ability to heal itself after an injury. Zinc supports your sense of smell and is commonly linked to healthy eyes, skin and hair. We must ensure that we get enough zinc in our diet, potentially from zinc supplements, as the body does not naturally have a zinc storage system. There are many foods that contain zinc, but the following   foods items contain zinc is sufficient quantity. 

1.Pumpkin seeds  are   extremely high in zinc, pumpkin seeds  play a role in the prevention of prostate cancer,  support immune system health.

 2.Dark Chocolate   may offer a boost to your zinc levels. One hundred grams of unsweetened dark chocolate has up to 9.6mg of zinc. Cocoa powder has 6.8mg.

3.Garlic provide  moderate levels of naturally occurring zinc, and is easy to incorporate into almost any meal. Garlic is also a great food for detox that contains high levels of manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C and selenium.

4.Sesame Seeds either raw, toasted or ground into tahini butter, sesame seeds hold around 10mg of zinc per 100g serving. 

5.Watermelon Seeds- The  dried watermelon seeds have 10mg of zinc per 100g serving.

6. Wheat Germ are an  excellent additive to sprinkle on your salad, toasted wheat germ offers 17mg of zinc per 100g serving. This is over 100% of the recommended daily allowance.

7.Squash Seeds  contain around 10mg of zinc per 100g serving. You can remove the seeds directly from the squash and eat them raw, or dry or roast them in your oven. I prefer raw.

8. Chickpeas contain high level of zinc. They also contain folate and are high in protein and dietary fiber.