Zinc – Functions, Health Effects And RDA Of This Essential Mineral

“Staying Healthy With Nutrition: The Complete Guide to Diet and Nutritional Medicine” by Elson M Haas, MD, and Buck Levin, PhD, RD, states the following:

* Infants aged 0 to 6 months – 2 mg
* Infants aged 7 to 12 months – 3 mg
* Children aged 1 to 3 years – 3 mg
* Children aged 4 to 8 years – 5 mg
* Males and females aged 9 to 13 – 8 mg
* Females aged 14 to 18 – 9 mg
* Males aged 14 to 18 – 11 mg
* Males aged 19 or more – 11 mg
* Females aged 19 or more – 8 mg
* Pregnant, aged under 18 – 13 mg
* Pregnant, aged 19 or more – 11 mg
* Lactating, aged under 18 – 14 mg
* Lactating, aged 19 or more – 12 mg

Functions, effects and health benefits of zinc in the body

Some of zinc’s most important contributions to human health are: healthy immune function; wound healing; skin health; sexual health; and sensory functions.

Here is a more comprehensive listing of zinc’s health functions and effects:

* Needed for protein synthesis and cell growth
* Required for the formation of collagen
* Helps fight and prevent free radical formation in the body
* Plays a part in chemical detoxification; detox of metabolic irritants
* Maintenance of bodily tissues

* Helps support the health of the immune system; helps regulate white blood cell function, while higher levels help boost T lymphocyte production
* Promotes wound healing
* Needed in synthesis of DNA – this aids body’s healing processes
* Also needed in synthesis of RNA
* Anti-inflammatory properties, especially in the joints and in the artery linings

* Maintains one’s senses of smell and taste, and boosts their sharpness
* Essential for maintaining good vision
* Crucial for bone formation; part of tooth and bone structure
* Could play a part in regulating the activity of oil glands in the body
* Could help prevent acne by aiding the skin‘s oil glands
* Necessary for normal and healthy skin function
* Helps protect the liver against chemical damage
* Could be involved in brain function

* Growth of the reproductive organs
* Healthy functioning of the prostate gland
* Healthy male sex hormone function; according to Michael T Murray, ND, “zinc is perhaps the most critical trace mineral involved in male sexual function. It is used in virtually every aspect of male reproduction, including the hormone metabolism, sperm formation, and sperm motility.”

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