Vegetables That Are High in Zinc

Eating your veggies comes with a host of benefits, and homegrown produce serves as a valuable source of essential vitamins and minerals – like zinc.

This mineral may come to mind most commonly when you’re trying to fight off a cold, but what is its role in our bodies beyond immune support, and how can we get more of it from our home vegetable gardens?

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Here’s what we’ll cover:

Zinc is a mineral, a slightly brittle metal that you might find in nature, and an essential nutrient.

What does this mean? Since our bodies cannot make it, and we need it for several important functions, it is essential for us to obtain it through our diets.

The recommended daily allowance for healthy adult males aged 19 to 50 is 11 milligrams, or 8 milligrams for healthy adult females. Pregnant women have a slightly higher need at 11 milligrams per day.

Our bodies cannot store zinc, so hitting the required level daily is important. It helps to support our immune systems, and aids in wound healing, DNA synthesis, protein synthesis, and cell division.

It also helps with growth and development, especially during pregnancy, childhood, and adolescence. Additionally, it plays a role in maintaining skin integrity and our sense of taste and smell.

Some individuals may take zinc supplements or other products that are high in zinc at the start of a cold.

While the effectiveness of this has not been proven definitively, it may help to reduce the length and intensity of a cold if taken at the very first sign of symptoms. Zinc does this by binding with the cold virus before it attaches to our