Natural Sources Of Zinc For Men

Zinc, an essential mineral, plays a significant role in the health of men throughout the lifespan. Zinc regulates a host of normal biochemical functions in your body including maintaining a healthy immune system and acting as an enzyme in a variety of chemical reactions that impact your cells, brain and normal development. Men also need zinc to protect the reproductive system and reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. You can get your daily intake of zinc naturally from a variety of foods.

Zinc Intake and Limits

The recommended dietary allowance of zinc for adult men is 11 mg per day. Obtaining your daily intake from foods is the preferred source but too much zinc in your diet can cause adverse effects including abdominal pain, gastrointestinal distress or copper deficiency. Copper plays a role in cellular and nervous system functions. To prevent high intake of zinc, the U.S. Food and Nutrition Board set a tolerable upper intake level for zinc at 40 mg per day.

Zinc-rich Animal-based Foods

Shellfish is the richest natural source of zinc and minimal serving sizes can supply your daily intake plus some. Six medium oysters, raw, or a 3-oz. serving, cooked, yield 74 to 76 mg of zinc. Crab and lobster also provide adequate zinc but at lower doses, 4 to 6.48 mg, for a 3-oz. serving. Lean beef, ribs, turkey and pork provide 4.22 to 8.73 mg per 3-oz. serving. Zinc is readily absorbed in your body when eaten from animal-based sources.

Zinc-rich Plant-based Foods

Plant foods containing zinc generally have a high content of phytic acid, which limits the amount of zinc your body absorbs. You can get your intake needs met, however, by eating several servings of these foods throughout the day as part of a well-balanced diet. Bean varieties including baked, black or kidney provide 4.84 mg to 13.86 mg of zinc per 1-cup serving. Whole grain cereals, breads, oats and rice have 2.34 to 4.22 mg per 1-cup serving. Nuts, peas, lettuce, asparagus and potatoes yield 0.61 to 1.6 mg.

Benefits of Zinc

Zinc may play a role in fighting prostate cancer, the second most common cancer related cause of death in American men, according to ongoing research funded by the U.S. Department of Agricultural Research Service. Preliminary results suggest that cancerous cells exposed to zinc in vitro stop proliferating, or rapid abnormal division. Men with infertility problems may also benefit from getting adequate dietary zinc. According to a 2009 study published in "Nutrition Research," poor dietary zinc intake correlates with low sperm quality evidenced by an analysis of semen samples of fertile and infertile men.The study found that lower zinc levels correlated with lower sperm count, especially in subjects that smoked who were also infertile.