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General description	Essential mineral, strong antioxidant and immunostimulans.
Found	- oysters, herrings, lobster - wheat germ - rye - pumpkin, sesamy and sunflower seeds - milk - chicken, turkey (red meat) - liver (beef) - eggs - brewery yeast - nuts - legumes and leafy vegetables - mushrooms
Anti-aging role	- important free radical scavenger - promotes resistance to infections - restore thymus activity and even regrow the thymus - increase the activity of NK cells - boost the production of antibodies - may have antiviral properties - maintain fertility in adults - maintain growth in children - maintain protein synthesize - repair wounds - preserve vision - structural component of many proteins, hormones, neuropeptides and hormone receptors - structural component of enzymes that fight stress - participate in gene expression
Deficiency symptoms	- white spots on the fingernails - loss of the teste and smell - deleyed sexual development in adolescence - irregular menstrual cycle in girls - infertility and impaired sexual function in adults - poor wound healing - loss of hair - increased susceptibility to infection - reduced salivation - skin lesions - acne - fatigue, exhaustion - mental lethargy - prostatitis
Therapeutic doses	15 - 50 mg (with copper). European RDA: 10 mg
Maximum safe level	15 mg long term usage
Side effects	High doses of zinc affect the absorption of iron and copper. Zinc should be taken with food to avoid irritating the stomach.
Contraindications	- liver disease - kidney disease
Interactions	DRUG INTERACTIONS: - quinolone and tetracycline antibiotics FOOD INTERACTIONS: - high zinc doses may interfere copper and iron absorption - coffee decreases zinc absorption - coffee drinkers should take zinc supplements at least one hour before and two hours after drinking coffee - fibers and phytates inhibit zinc absorption
High risk groups	- premature infants, infants with small birth weight - older infants with inadequate intake - adolescents - pregnant and lactating women - patients with full parenteral diet - people with chronic diarrhea - people with chronic intestinal diseases - people with coeliac disease - people with chronic kidney diseases - athletes - people older than 65 years - vegans and vegetarians - diabetics - people with HIV infection - people on long-term anticonvulsants therapy - people on long-term diuretic therapy
Composition formulas	- usually in form of zinc oxide, citrate, acetate, gluconate, pycolinate, sulphate - zinc pycolinate has the best absorption - L-Opti-Zinc - zinc and metionine chelate - the best absorption and usability - can be found in supplement by itself, or in combinations with vitamins and minerals - tablets, capsules - nasal sprays, pastilles and gels for local usage
Other remarks	- proteins are necessary for zinc absorption - only 20-40% of zinc is absorbed from food

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