Zinc foods help to give you more testosterone as well as the many benefits of zinc. Foods high in zinc are usually animal meats or shellfish like oysters.
However, there are zinc rich foods that are plant based that can help with your daily zinc needs,
The average adult female requires about 8 mg. of zinc every day to meet her daily RDA of this essential nutrient and the average adult male requires 11 mg. of zinc.
Beautiful hair thrives on zinc!
The symptoms of a zinc deficiency are numerous as zinc is needed by your body to operate properly.
It's involved with many enzyme systems within your body. You will absorb 20 to 40% from zinc foods.
And the amount of zinc that you will be able to absorb depends on whether you eat foods that increase or decrease zinc absorption.
Phytates or phytic acid inhibits zinc absorption. Phytic acid is found abundantly in most legumes (soy included), most nuts, most seeds, and in a lot of grains.
Zinc foods like chocolate also contain phytic acid.
Reduction of phytic acid by sprouting, fermentation, or cooking will improve zinc absorption.
Too much fiber in your diet will also reduce zinc absorption.
Foods high in fiber are whole wheat grains, whole grains, almost all legumes, almost all nuts, seeds in particular, most vegetables, and even fruits.
Your zinc reserves can be depleted by drinking too much alcohol, pregnancy, low calorie diets, and being fanatically athletic.
And of course, a lack of zinc foods or a lack of protein in your diet can cause a deficiency.
Iron supplementation with meals and non heme iron in foods will compete with zinc for absorption into your body.
Raw Eastern Wild Oysters - 76 mg. per 6 medium oysters
Cooked Alaskan King Crab - 8.4 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Raw Grass Fed Ground Meat - 5.2 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Roasted Leg of Lamb - 5.2 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Cooked Spiny Lobster - 8 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Raw Wild Clams - 3.1 mg. per 1 cup serving (clams & liquid)
Raw Wild Blue Mussels - 3.0 mg. per 10 medium mussels
Roasted Pastured Dark Turkey Meat - 4.8 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Organic Swiss Cheese - 4.8 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Raw Grass Fed Beef Liver - 4.4 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Cooked Pork Chops - 3.6 mg. per 4 oz. serving
If you feel like storing up on extra zinc, you could devour a bunch of "sustainably-caught" oysters - raw oysters are powerful zinc foods!
Zinc foods like oysters that are very high in zinc could help to give your body the boost it needs to overcome symptoms of zinc deficiency.
And remember that it will only take about 1 good sized oyster a day to give your body its RDA of zinc as it's the best of the zinc foods.
Roasted Organic Duck Meat - 2.1 mg. per 3 oz. serving
Organic Duck Liver - 1.8 mg. per 2 oz. serving
Organic Dark Chicken Meat - 2.4 mg. per 4 oz. serving
Boiled Organic Chickpeas - 2.5 mg. per 1 cup serving
Boiled Organic Lentils - 2.5 mg. per 1 cup serving
Roasted Cashews - 1.6 mg. per 1 oz. serving
Organic Duck Eggs - 2.0 mg. per 2 duck eggs
Dried Organic Shiitake Mushrooms - 1.8 mg. per 6 mushrooms
Boiled Organic Green Peas - 1.9 mg. per 1 cup serving
70-85% Organic Dark Chocolate - 1.8 mg. per 2 oz. serving
Symptoms of zinc deficiency need to be corrected before they lead to more serious disorders or problems.
People who consume the SAD (Sad American Diet) or drink too much coffee may become deficient in zinc.
People who follow strict vegetarian or vegan diets or do not consume enough zinc rich foods will probably suffer from symptoms of zinc deficiency.
However, if you consume too many zinc foods, you could experience abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and vomiting.
And did you know that hair loss can be associated with too little or too much zinc?
Consuming too many zinc foods for too long or taking a lot of zinc supplements could lead to problems like hair loss.
It's important that you get enough copper in your diet to offset too much zinc.
Zinc foods like grass fed liver, wild caught oysters, and organic chocolate will usually have a good amount of both copper and zinc.
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