7 Super Zinc Rich Foods To Boost Your Immunity

Zinc is a nutrient, essential for your body, stay healthy. Zinc is found in cells throughout the body. The main function of Zinc is to strengthen your immune system to fight off viruses. Apart from this Zinc is also required for fastening the healing process of the wound on the body, if any.
Today we will look at 7 foods that have high zinc content:

 

Seafood

Shellfishes especially Oysters are powerhouse of nutrient zinc. As per research, a raw oyster packs 5.5 mg of zinc content which fulfills 50% of your bodies daily zinc need. Not only oysters are excellent zinc source, but they are packed with other nutritious vitamins too. The other sea foods, high in zinc content are crabs and lobsters, providing as much as 6.5 mg and 4.7 mg of zinc respectively, if consumed in certain quantities.

Meat

The next overall nutrition source is meat - Beef, Lamb, Pork or Chicken. These are not just good sources of zinc but also provide various other nutritional perks to your body in terms of calories, proteins, fats, iron, vitamin B and creatine. For example 100 gms of beef contains 4.8 mg of zinc, 176 calorie, 20 gms of protein and 10 gms of fat with other nutrients such as creatine. A boneless chicken breast provides 2.13 mg of zinc to your body.

Vegetables

If you are a vegetarian, unfortunately the options are less but mushrooms, spinach, broccoli and kale are your major sources of zinc. The zinc content found in these vegetables is less as compared to seafood and meat, however eating vegetable rich diet has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and cancer. A cup of sliced raw mushroom contains about 3 gms of zinc and is packed with B vitamin riboflavin, whereas kale is rich in vitamin A, K, B6, C, Calcium and Potassium.

Legumes

Other option is Legumes - Lentils, Beans, Chickpeas, are all good sources of zinc which not only veg lot of the total population, but non vegetarians can also try. Lentils are claimed to provide 12% of total daily zinc need of the body. Boil 100 gms of lentils and you have the required amount of zinc.

Seeds and Nuts

Hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds are amazing sources of zinc. They are also packed with fiber, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, making them an excellent addition to your diet. Try them with salad or look for some interesting recipes that include these seeds. Additionally, nuts such as pine nuts, peanuts, cashews and almonds can boost your intake of zinc.
Nuts are again good source of not only zinc, but they also pack healthy fats and fiber, as well as a number of other vitamins and minerals.

Eggs

Eggs are super foods. They provide every nutrient required by the body. 1 large egg contains 5% of the total daily value of zinc. Additionally it also powers your body with 77 calorie, 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat, and host of other vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins.

Dairy

Dairy products are rich sources of calcium. But they are an amazing source of zinc too - milk and yogurt nutritious sources of zinc. Research has proved that 1 cup low-fat milk contains 9 percent (1.02 mg) of the daily value of zinc, while 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt provides 22 percent (2.38 mg). You can mix it up with different fruits to make smoothies and shakes and increase the nutritional value of milk or yogurt.