Zinc is an essential mineral, as it aids in several critical functions in the body including cell division, growth and development. Most commonly known as an immune system booster, zinc plays a critical role in helping to support the health of taste buds and smell receptors, and is therefore a key nutrient in developing and maintaining your sense of both taste and smell.
Recommended Daily Allowance
There is no storage form of zinc in the body, so it must be consumed in adequate amounts daily in order to prevent deficiency, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health. The Recommended Daily Allowance of zinc increases with age, and ranges between 8 milligrams per day for women and 11 milligrams per day for men. Pregnant or lactating women have increased need for zinc, about 11 to 12 milligrams per day.
Sources of Zinc
Meat and seafood, specifically shellfish, rank among the highest sources of zinc. This includes oysters, crab, lobster, beef, dark meat chicken and pork. Vegetarian sources, including beans, peas, nuts, and cereals rank much lower on zinc content. One serving of fortified cereal can provide as much as 70 percent of your daily value of zinc.
Zinc and Taste
While zinc is most commonly known as an immune system booster, it also plays a large role in your sense of taste. Altered sense of taste is called dysguesia and is common with certain medications including chemotherapy. Many of these medications cause a depletion in the body's stores of zinc, often resulting in zinc deficiency and impaired taste perception. This is what researchers in India validated when they studied taste perception in zinc-deficient women. Re-administration of zinc at 25 to 100 milligrams per day repleted the subjects' zinc stores and restored their ability to taste salty foods. Similarly, Japanese researchers studied a group of subjects who were determined to be zinc deficient and had been identified to have decreased sense of taste called hypoguesia. After supplementation with zinc, they too concluded that zinc supplementation is a predominant factor underlying taste impairment and that it plays a critical role in the resolution of the symptoms of impaired taste.
Preventing Zinc Deficiency
The body cannot store zinc, so it is important to include daily sources in your diet. Because zinc plays such an important role in providing our taste sensation, the decrease in or absence of taste may be an early sign of zinc deficiency. If you do experience those symptoms, try increasing your daily intake of zinc-rich foods, or talk to your doctor about zinc supplementation.
References
- "Dietary supplements fact sheet: zinc"; Office of Dietary Supplements; September 2011.
- Journal of the American College of Nutrition; "Zinc supplementation improved cognitive performance and taste acuity in Indian adolescent girls"; August 2009.
- Auris, Nasus, Larynx; "Effects of zinc supplementation on serum zinc concentration and ratio of apo/holo-activities of angiotensin converting enzyme in patients with taste impairment"; April 2010.
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