Zinc Foods: 5 Good Sources of The Master Mineral
By Ali Kuoppala | Last reviewed Tue 25 September 2018
Medical Review by Dr. Vlad Belghiru, MD
Zinc is an extremely important mineral for testosterone and thyroid hormone production, studies constantly show how a deficiency can slash the levels of total and -free testosterone, as well as T3 and T4 thyroid hormones, restoration of zinc, is able to rapidly restore these crucial hormones.
The RDA for zinc is set to around 15mg/day for a normal sized male, this is relatively easy to get from foods, and can also be supplemented with. Athletes should definitely be consuming more zinc than the RDA as it evaporates through the sweat.
Another worthwhile mention is that correcting a zinc deficiency is much easier to do with animal based zinc rather than plant-based, as animal sources are much denser in the mineral and also because the zinc from animal sources is better assimilated by the body.
That’s for the intro, here are your 5 best high zinc foods:
1. Oysters
When it comes to zinc – and being testosterone-friendly – oysters fit the bill.
They’re ridiculously high in zinc, 100g of them containing a whopping 78mg’s of zinc (524% of the RDA).
Oysters are also high in some other micronutrients necessary for healthy testosterone production, such as; selenium, vitamin D, and copper, and they’re chock-full of high-quality protein.
The legend says that the famous ladies-man, Casanova, ate 50 oysters for breakfast to enhance his libido, he obviously knew what he was doing.
2. Meats (Especially Veal)
Red meat should be a staple in every man’s diet, due to it being one of the best sources of high-quality protein for testosterone production, as well as containing the perfect T-boosting fatty-acids; palmitic acid and stearic acid.
On top of that, meat – especially the kind from veal and lamb – is very high in bio-available zinc.
100g of veal meat contains roughly 12mg’s of zinc (82% of the RDA).
NOTE: When you eat plenty of steaks (muscle meat), be sure to also include some collagen (connective tissue protein) into the mix to get a more balanced amino acid profile. The easiest way to do this is by consuming some gelatin.
3. Raw Cacao Products
Raw (unheated) cacao products are beneficial for erectile and vascular health. Their high antioxidant content makes them quite possibly one of the healthiest foods on this planet.
But when choosing cacao products, the key is that they’re a) unheated b) have high cacao percentage.
The basic super-market “milk-chocolate” is unfortunately far from that. The kind you should look for is slightly bitter dark chocolate if it’s unheated it’s probably labeled as “raw”.
100g of raw cacao without any processing contains up to 7mg’s of zinc (45% of RDA). It’s without a doubt the best source of zinc for someone who refuses to eat animal-products.
4. Egg Yolk
Eggs make for damn near perfect testosterone boosting food.
The protein is high-quality with good amino acid balance, it’s chock full of micronutrients, and it also contains cholesterol and some fat to make those nutrients absorb well to the body.
One of the micronutrients found high amounts in egg yolks is zinc.
100g of egg yolks can contain up to 5mg’s of the mineral (33% of RDA). This means that you’d have to eat quite a few eggs to actually get all your daily zinc from eggs, regardless, it’s still one of the best food sources of the mineral.
5. Liver
Animal liver is a nutritional powerhouse. containing some connective tissue protein, high amounts of necessary fat-soluble vitamins, and a bunch of other goodies.
The beef liver also packs 4mg’s of zinc per 100g, making it a decent testosterone-friendly source of zinc.
Since the liver is a storage organ for many micronutrients, eating it is like consuming a naturally occurring multi-vitamin…
…Just take a look at this chart comparing liver to vegetables, fruit, and muscle-meat, liver outshines them all when it comes to overall vitamin and mineral levels.
Conclusion
There you go, 5 best testosterone-friendly foods rich in zinc.
If you feel that you can’t meet your daily zinc requirements (~15mg/day for sedentary people, 30-45mg/day for someone involved in exercise)…
…consider getting yourself a high-quality multivitamin or zinc picolinate supplement (affiliate link).
Ali Kuoppala
