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Anyone who’s ever watched an international cricket match, or spent time at the beach, will be familiar with zinc. It’s the stuff that lifeguards and cricketers slather on their faces to stop them from burning.
But did you know that zinc is also a nutrient that pays an essential role in our bodies too? That’s one of the reasons why you’ll find it included in the list of ingredients in our Reverse Life marine collagen supplement.
Zinc is what’s known as an essential nutrient. What that means is that we can’t produce or store it naturally and therefore we need to source it through our diet or a nutritional supplement. And in case you’re wondering why we even need zinc in the first place, it has a whole host of useful functions which include wound healing, growth and development and also better immune functioning.
Luckily it can be found in an abundant source of animal and plant based foods and it’s also one of the added bonus ingredients found in our high-strength Reverse Life marine collagen drink.
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Because of it’s immune boosting properties, you’ll commonly find zinc is present in products used to treat the symptoms of flu and cold, such as nasal sprays, lozenges and over the counter cold treatments.
What Role Does Zinc Play In The Body?
That’s a good question and one that we’ll try and answer in simple terms. Zinc is actually the second most abundant trace mineral in the body. If you already know what the first one is, well done. For those of you who don’t, it’s iron. Traces of both are present in every cell of our bodies and zinc in particular is attributed with aiding metabolism, digestion as well as nerve functioning. As already touched upon, it’s also crucial for the development of healthy immunity. Little wonder then that when we were optimising our collagen supplement drink, we asked the scientists at our laboratory to add this essential ingredient.
As everyone knows, collagen contributes to younger, plumper and more radiant looking skin and zinc too has its own part to play in skin health as well as DNA synthesis. Zinc is also needed for two of our five key senses; taste and smell. A zinc deficiency can impair our ability to taste and smell optimally.
The Health Benefits Of Zinc
Scientific research supports multiple positive health benefits associated with zinc.
It keeps the immune system strong, something that’s essential all year round. It's been found that 80-92 mg of zinc per day is enough to reduce the duration of common cold by as much as 33%. So if you do come down with the sniffles, zinc will help you bounce back more quickly.
It also significantly reduces the risk of infections, especially as we age. Yet again, demonstrating just how important it is to find a way of incorporating zinc into our daily diet.
Zinc has also been proven to reduce oxidative stress and the levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the body, thereby minimising the risk of developing chronic diseases as well as mental impairment.
Top 10 Zinc Rich Food Sources
If you’re looking for more ways to get zinc into your diet naturally then you should consider including the food sources listed below. We’ve suggested a couple of the more popular choices:
- Shellfish - crab and lobster
- Meat - beef, port and lamb
- Poultry - chicken and turkey
- Fish - salmon and sardines
- Legumes - chickpeas and lentils
- Nuts and Seeds - cashews and pumpkin seeds
- Dairy - milk and cheese
- Eggs
- Whole Grains - oats and brown rice
- Vegetables - peas and asparagus
While zinc naturally occurs in the above clean food sources, fortified zinc is also commonly added to breakfast cereal and snack bars too. A great of also topping up your daily quota of zinc is to take a capful of Reverse Life marine collagen. It contains 2mg of zinc. While that only represents 20% of your RDA, it’s one less crab stick to worry about!
If you’re also interested in adding more biotin to your diet, to strengthen your hair and nails, then read our blog on the topic HERE.
