Zinc
| The SC Benchmark for Zinc Products Under virtually all circumstances, the 100% RDA level of Zinc (15mg) is adequate for daily requirements; this is the level included in a good quality basic multivitamin and mineral product. Therefore, the overall advice from the SC Expert Panel is to choose a multivitamin and mineral in preference to an individual Zinc supplement. However, if a Zinc supplement is chosen then it should provide a minimum of 30mg Zinc at the recommended daily dosage of the product. |
Zinc is important in hundreds of reactions within the body, and is particularly important in supporting immune function. Some people with depressed immune systems or with a diet which excludes meat and is low in seeds, nuts and legumes (which are rich in Zinc) may have a short period where supplementation of Zinc is desirable.
However, as nearly all Zinc supplements supply only the 100% RDA level of 15mg, even in these cases an individual Zinc supplement is difficult to justify – doubling up on a basic multivitamin and mineral would probably be more beneficial and better value for money, as a good basic multivitamin and mineral is only marginally more expensive than even the cheapest of these individual Zinc products.
Quality
Five of the seven products reviewed here provide 15mg Zinc at their recommended daily dosage, and so should deliver the benefits associated with adequate Zinc intake. In our assessment these products are given a nominal SC Overall rating of two ‘capsules’. The Solgar product differs from this by providing 50mg Zinc (333% RDA), this would be the product of choice for those individuals wishing to have a short period of elevated Zinc supplementation. At the opposite end of the scale, the lozenges from FSC provide only 3.5mg Zinc per lozenge and therefore do not quite meet the 15mg target at the recommended daily dosage of ‘up to four lozenges a day’.
The Zinc product from Goldshield is worthwhile, but only because it contains 500mg Vitamin C in addition to the Zinc, and so can be considered a high potency Vitamin C product with added Zinc.
Value
All of the products here represent poor value for money. The range of cost per delivery of 100% RDA of zinc is £0.02 - £0.06. Other ingredients, such as Vitamin C, skew the price comparisons for the product Zinc (Goldshield) but this product is still very expensive for what it contains.
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