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Zinc
13 Sep 2021
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Zinc is an interesting mineral, just like calcium and iron. Below is a summary of what I learnt through videos by Drs Greger, Campbell and Harrington.

  1. My understanding is that we get enough zinc through meal plans constructed by following Dr Michael Greger's Daily Dozen or Dr Esselstyn's Food Guidelines.
  2. We may use Cronometer (free app & website) to assess whether we get enough zinc through our food plates or not.
  3. If we don't follow WFPB guidelines diligently, for example, if we consume processed foods in abundance, or refined grains instead of whole grains, or if we skimp on nuts & seeds completely, or if we avoid eating beans & legumes altogether, then there is a chance that we run into mineral deficiencies. In such cases, it may help to either tighten our adherence to WFPB guidelines, or resort to supplements.
  4. In any case, it would help to learn more about zinc: which food groups have it in abundance? Can we get enough zinc from high quality Whole Food Plant-Based meals? What may we do to enhance zinc absorption?
Dr Greger

Dr Greger's Optimum Nutrition Recommendations mention Vitamin B12, DHA/EPA, Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, Iodine and Selenium. No mention of Zinc. My inference is that when we construct food plates according to Dr Greger's Daily Dozen, we don't have to worry about zinc! How may we confirm this? By entering our daily meals in Cronometer (free app & website). I did this exercise in 2019 and I was satisfied that my food plates have plenty of zinc.

Phytates: Many publications mention that phytates in foods like whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds reduce mineral absorption, specifically zinc and iron absorption. However, Dr Greger's article on zinc says:

Phytate is a naturally occurring compound found in all plant foods like beans, grains, nuts, and seeds. In the past, there were concerns that foods high in phytates might reduce absorption of minerals like zinc. However, recent studies show that this so-called "anti-nutrient" effect occurs when large amounts of phytates are consumed with a diet that is poor in nutrition.

Onion and Garlic: Dr Greger has a blog post explaining that onion and garlic are known to enhance absorption of minerals like zinc and iron. See How to Enhance Mineral Absorption (2012). So if we include oinon and garlic (both from the allium family) in lunch and dinner, we are likely to enhance zinc absorption!

(2012) New Mineral Absorption Enhancers Found

(3 mins) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "The whole grain phytonutrient phytic acid (phytate) partially inhibits mineral absorption, but has a wide range of health-promoting properties, such as anticancer activity. By concurrently eating mineral absorption enhancers, such as garlic and onions, one can get the best of both worlds by improving the bioavailability of iron and zinc in plant foods."

Associated blog post: How to Enhance Mineral Absorption (2012).

(2009) Vegetarian Zinc Requirements

(1 min) Transcript. Dr Greger's summary: "Vegetarians may be at risk for zinc deficiency."

Dr Des Harrington

Dr Des Harrington has high quality videos at his YouTube channel. He references this research paper in his video on Zinc (7 mins, 2019):

Vegan diets: practical advice for athletes and exercisers by David Rogerson, J Int Soc Sprots Nutr 2017; 14: 36.

Excerpts from this paper:

Similar to iron, zinc is widely available in plant-based foods but is also not readily absorbed [93]. Similarly as well, the body appears to adapt to lower intakes of zinc by reducing losses and increasing absorption in order to maintain equilibrium [3, 97]. It has been suggested therefore that vegetarians do not need to pay special attention to consuming this mineral [3].

At the same time, the paper says,

However, the IOM has suggested that vegetarians might need to consume up to 50% more zinc than non-vegetarians owing to its poor bioavailability [92].

Dr Des Harrington points out that on one hand, some researchers believe that our body adjusts zinc absorption in response to lower rates of zinc, so there's nothing to worry about. At the same time, other researchers and health organizations suggest that vegetarians (who don't eat meat) may have to boost their zinc intake by 50% more. As of 2021, we don't know enough about zinc to have agreement on this matter.

Zinc supplements: Dr Harrington's advice is summarized below:

  1. Prefer zinc chelate like gluconate, citrate, acetate, picolinate, orotate, aspartate. Avoid inorganic zinc like oxide and sulfate. Zinc gluconate is probably the best because it has lowest levels of cadmium contamination.
  2. Avoid taking zinc rich foods with calcium rich foods, tea or coffee because these interfere with absorption of zinc.
  3. Best to take on empty stomach. Dr Harrington takes it last thing at night as he finds it helps with sleep.
  4. Don't supplement with anything more than RDA of zinc. High doses (which are not found through intake of natural foods)

Good sources of zinc: Legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds. In particular, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and oats. Nutritional yeast is another zinc source with the advantage that it has no phytates.

How to boost zinc absorption?

  1. Soaking and sprouting of legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds. The objective of such steps is to reduce phytate content [but note what Dr Greger says in the section above]
  2. Leavening and fermentation enhances zinc absrption.
  3. Eat zinc rich foods with proteins, onion, garlic, vitamin c, and other organic acids found in cruciferous veggies.

Tips:

  • Track using Cronometer (free app & website) to identify how much zinc we are consuming and tweak our diet if needed.

(7 mins, 2019) ZINC: Should Vegans Be Worried? Or Omnivores? (Why You May Want To Supplement)
Zinc Deficiency

Zinc Deficiency by Laura Caufield and Robert Black, Chapter 5 in Comparative Quantification of Health Risks, WHO (2004) — PDF file.

(21 mins, 2021) Zinc Deficiency by Dr Colin Campbell

The vast majority of this video focuses on the prevalence of zinc deficiency in differernt population groups, and its debilitating effects on health. So if we'd like to know what all zinc deficiency can trigger, this is the video to watch!

What Do I Do?

I follow both Dr Michael Greger's Daily Dozen and Dr Esselstyn's Food Guidelines. In addition, I'm mindful of Dr Greger's Optimum Nutrition Recommendations which don't mention zinc at all!

My understanding is that when we construct meal plans by following the guidelines above, we get enough zinc in our food plates. I have confirmed this by entering my daily meals in in Cronometer (free app & website).

Even though Dr Greger says that phytates are not a concern when we follow his Daily Dozen, I do soak and sprout whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds overnight. This is helpful for many reasons, not just phytate reduction. Please see Sprouting for details.

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