Best Foods That Contain Zinc
Here is a fun fact, there are 75,000 enzymes in the human body, and zinc is required for the function of over 300 of them. Enzymes are vital for your existence as a human being, and they serve a wide range of important functions in the body, including helping in metabolism, digestion, blood pressure control, reproduction, and so on. Nutrients like zinc play notable roles in promoting these functions to ensure good health.
What are the Specific Benefits of Zinc in the Body?
All the aforementioned benefits can be classified under the general functions of enzymes given the effects of eating nutritious foods, including zinc-rich foods. Now, let’s take a look at the specific benefits of zinc in the body.
Zinc is a type of metal, an essential trace element, required for your body to function in good health. Just a little bit of it goes a long way in maintaining good health and perform important simple day to day functions. Here are some of the benefits of zinc in the body.
- It acts as a potent antioxidant, potent enough to fight cancer. Zinc-rich foods are particularly essential for anyone with a family history of cancer or anyone that may be suffering from cancer.
- Fighting diabetes is another benefit of zinc-rich foods. Zinc tends to balance the hormones in the body. This includes the hormone responsible for the regulation of sugar in the blood – Insulin.
- Digestive problems like diarrhea can be prevented with the help of an adequate supply of zinc to the body.
- Zinc also helps with the absorption and digestion of food, as well as energy production. It affects protein synthesis and the breakdown of carbs from the foods you eat to produce energy for the body to function.
- Zinc is not necessarily protein which helps you grow and maintain muscles in your body. But, it helps with protein synthesis, which means it facilitates the breakdown of protein in the body which then stimulates muscle growth at a faster rate. So, you can say zinc helps with muscle growth and repairs.
- Taking zinc-rich foods is a great way to fight cold and improve immunity. For so long now, zinc has served as a go-to over the counter remedy for colds and fighting sickness. Taking the required quantity of zinc every day for at least 5 months can greatly reduce your risk of getting sick.
These are just a few of the benefits of zinc in the body. Now, let’s discuss how you can get zinc into your system in order to enjoy all of these benefits.
10 Delicious and Nutritious Foods that are High in Zinc
We’ve taken great measures to bring you 10 healthy foods that can help you keep up with our expected zinc level in the body. These foods do not only offer zinc health benefits, but they are also loaded with other benefits seeing as they contain many other nutrients aside from zinc.
And if you’re on a weight loss journey, don’t worry; we got you! These foods are suitable for anyone who want to stay healthy and not gain more calories than necessary. So, here goes.
1. Shellfish
Shellfish, just like all other seafood types, can be a healthy part of a balanced diet. It is quite nutritious and comes with a lot of health benefits. The zinc content of shellfish meets the cut for the average required zinc intake, and it offers a lot of other health benefits as well.
2. Seeds
When you feel a little bit chewy, but not necessarily hungry, you can go for healthy seed snacks like almonds, pumpkin seeds, squash, etc. They contain zinc, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and are high in fiber.
3. Dairy
Milk, cheese, butter, and other dairy products are great sources of zinc. Milk and cheese stand out the most in this group because they contain bioavailable zinc in a notably high quantity.
4. Whole Grains
Rice, quinoa, wheat, and oats are some examples of whole grains that contain zinc. It’s a good thing many people eat these whole grains, especially for breakfast. Eating them ensure you meet up with your required intake of zinc per day as well as provide your body with benefits like better digestive health, reduced risk of heart diseases, reduced risk of stroke, and reduced risk of obesity.
5. Dark Chocolates
This is one high-calorie food that is loved by many. You may want to watch how much dark chocolates you take if you don’t want to gain weight. It is very nutritious, can help improve blood flow, improve brain function, and protect your skin from the sun’s damages.
6. Cocoa Powder
With a high nutritional value, cocoa powder is one of the best foods there is. It contains healthy fats, protein, calcium, magnesium, iron, dietary fiber, potassium, and zinc. Some benefits of taking cocoa are improving brain health, stabilizing blood pressure, curing asthma, reducing obesity, and improving cardiovascular health.
7. Grass-fed Beef
There are a thousand and one reasons why grass-fed beef is better than their counterparts. Providing your body with zinc is just one of those benefits. Other reasons why grass-fed beef is good for your health are weight control, improved blood sugar level, helps to fight cancer, contains healthy fats and lesser bacteria.
8. Chicken
There is really not much to be said about chicken. It is a staple food that has been known for ages to provide the body with great nourishment. It contains vitamins, minerals, protein, and a healthy quantity of zinc.
9. Mushroom
This is another food that’s rich in zinc and packed with other nutrients as well. Eating a lot of mushrooms help with weight loss, diabetes, relief from high cholesterol levels, to mention but a few. This edible fungi contain nutrients like selenium, improves bone health, lowers bad cholesterol level in the blood, and prevents diabetes.
10. Spinach
Spinach is a vegetable with impressive health benefits. Aside from zinc, spinach is also rich in other nutrients like vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, pigments, etc. it can be eaten raw as part of a salad or cooked.
Zinc is a trace element that must not be looked down on. You need to take it seriously and make sure you have the right amount of zinc in your daily meals to avoid health complications. Eating enough zinc-rich foods can be the beginning of a healthy lifestyle for you.
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