8 Foods Packed With Zinc for Immunity and Everyday Wellness

Zinc is an essential mineral for overall health and wellness. The best dietary sources of zinc include oysters, meat, seeds, and dairy products, but some other sources may be surprising.

1. Oysters and Other Shellfish

You’ll get the most zinc per serving by eating oysters. These provide approximately 24 milligrams (mg) of zinc per three medium oysters.

Other types of shellfish are also an option:

• King crab: 6.48 mg in a 3.5-ounce serving, cooked.
• Mussels: 2.4 mg in 1 cup, raw
• Shrimp: 1.3 mg in 3 ounces, cooked

2. Beef, Pork, and Poultry

Meat is a good source of zinc. Consider these amounts:

• Beef (bottom sirloin), 3 ounces: 3.8 mg
• Pork (center loin chop), 3 ounces: 1.9 mg
• Turkey breast, 3 ounces: 1.4 mg

3. Legumes

For plant-based eaters, legumes are an excellent source of zinc and other nutrients. Legumes include:

• Beans
• Peas
• Peanuts
• Lentils
• Soy foods, like edamame, tofu, and tempeh

A half-cup serving of boiled lentils provides around 2 mg of zinc. A half-cup serving of extra firm tofu provides 2 mg of zinc.

Legumes also contain compounds called phytates, which can interfere with zinc absorption. While there’s a lot of negative hype around these so-called antinutrients, impaired absorption is only an issue when you eat raw legumes, which most people don’t do.

To help boost the zinc bioavailability from these foods, all you have to do is soak and cook, sprout, or ferment them, which is how they’re typically prepared anyway.

If you’re not used to preparing legumes for meals, start simple. Use lentils or tempeh to replace ground beef in tacos or casseroles. Try crumbled tofu with veggies to make a savory breakfast scramble. Add beans and peas to soups and pasta dishes.

4. Dairy Products and Soy Milk

You can find some zinc in dairy products such as cow’s milk and cheese. For example, in a 1-ounce slice of cheddar cheese, you’ll get 1 mg of zinc. There’s also 1 mg of zinc in a 240 millimeter (ml)—about 1 cup—serving of cow’s milk.

If you don’t consume dairy products, plant-based alternatives, such as soy milk, can also be a source of zinc. For example, 1 cup of original organic soy milk provides 10% of the daily needs for zinc.

Zinc is not always listed on the nutrition facts label of foods. To get the most zinc from plant-based dairy alternatives, choose ones made using a legume base, like soy.

Use dairy or legume-based dairy alternatives in pancake and muffin batter, to top off your cereal in the morning, in your coffee, as a base for soups and sauces, or as a standalone drink.

5. Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are simple ways to add zinc to your diet. Just three tablespoons of hemp seeds provide between 30% and 40% of the daily zinc needs for men and women, respectively.

Other nuts and seeds to consider:

• Almonds, 1/4 cup: 1.1 mg
• Sunflower seed kernels, 1/4 cup: 1.8 mg
• Pumpkin or squash seed kernels, 1/4 cup: 2,3 mg

Enjoy nuts and seeds as part of a homemade trail mix snack to grab and go when you need an afternoon pick-me-up. Mix them into your oatmeal or yogurt, or enjoy a handful with a side of fruit. You can even blend them into nut or seed butter to spread on toast or serve with apple slices.

6. Dark Chocolate

If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll be happy to hear that dark chocolate with 70% to 80% cacao is also a source of zinc. A 3.5-ounce bar of dark chocolate contains around 3.3 mg of zinc. 

Toss dark chocolate pieces into a homemade trail mix, stir it into some breakfast oatmeal, or enjoy it as a midday treat.

7. Whole Grains

Whole grains contain some zinc. Consider:

• Oatmeal: 1.51 mg in a 1 cup, cooked
• Brown rice: 0.7 mg in 1/2 cup, cooked
• Whole wheat bread: 0.6 mg in 1 slice

Choose whole grains over refined white grains for the most nutritional benefit, including fiber, per serving. While whole grains also contain phytates, research shows that the benefits of consuming them far outweigh any negatives.

Try whole grains as a base for protein bowls, stir-fries, or breakfast dishes. You can even toss them into cold, leafy green salads and use them in the batter for homemade veggie burgers.

8. Fruits and Vegetables Are Lesser Sources

Of all the dietary sources of zinc, fruits and vegetables don’t rank very high on the list. Plant foods are excellent sources of other nutrients, such as fiber, antioxidants, and specific vitamins and minerals, which have been linked to optimal health, so limited zinc isn’t a reason to skip them.

Still, certain fruits and veggies do contribute some zinc to your diet. Especially if you don’t consume meat or fish, a variety of plant foods can provide small amounts of zinc that add up.

The best produce choices when you’re looking for zinc are:

• Potatoes
• Corn
• Passionfruit
• Sweet potatoes
• Leafy greens
• Grapefruit
• Kiwifruit

To include fruit and vegetable zinc sources, try making potato soup, enjoying sauteed greens with garlic or a leafy green salad, having a side of grapefruit for breakfast, or tossing a kiwi into your lunch.

What If Eating Food High in Zinc Isn’t Enough?

If you’re concerned about your zinc intake, speak with a healthcare provider or a registered dietitian who can help you examine your diet. If needed, a healthcare provider can order to evaluate your plasma zinc concentration and diagnose a deficiency.

Involved in hundreds of enzymatic processes throughout your body, zinc is crucial in wound healing, cell signaling and division, DNA and protein synthesis, and immune function. Additionally, zinc is crucial for having a sense of taste and for supporting fetal growth and development during pregnancy.

Because zinc is involved in processes like immune function, wound healing, and your senses, potential symptoms of zinc deficiency might include:

• Wounds that don’t heal as well or as fast as usual
• Unexplainable weight loss
• Reduced ability to focus or be alert
• Diarrhea
• Disrupted ability to smell or taste things
• Loss of appetite
• Illnesses that hang around longer than normal

Zinc Supplements

If you’re not regularly consuming sources of zinc in your diet, taking a zinc supplement might be warranted.

However, zinc is not recommended as a long-term supplement as it can interfere with the absorption of copper and iron, potentially resulting in a deficiency of these nutrients. Using zinc nasal sprays may also result in temporary loss of the sense of smell.

Furthermore, large doses of zinc can cause diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramping within a few hours, so ingesting more than the RDA is not recommended.

Instead, temporarily supplement with zinc when you feel like you need extra immune support. Starting a zinc supplement within 24 hours of your first symptoms of illness may help reduce its severity and longevity.