Introduction:
Zinc is an essential mineral found in some foods such as beans, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fortified cereals, dairy products, meat, and seafood such as crab and lobster. It is also available as a dietary supplement. Supplements contain several forms of zinc, including zinc gluconate, zinc sulfate, zinc orotate and zinc acetate. Zinc support normal growth and development as well as playing a role in immune function. Zinc affects protein synthesis and is required for proper function of red and white blood cells. It is highly concentrated in our bones, the pancreas, kidneys, liver, and retina. The data below will discuss evidence based applications of zinc for the common cold, zinc deficiency avoidance, incidence of infections with zinc nutritional status, zinc as it relates to immunity, zinc in pregnancy, and the best form of zinc supplements. It is our view that zinc should be consumed whenever possible in the form of zinc containing foods, but it is difficult to obtain the necessary amounts of the mineral supported in randomized controlled trials. Many of these trials show evidence of benefit for various health conditions at doses above the maximum recommended intakes.
