10 Best Zinc Food Sources for Vegans
Level up Your Nutrition

Both vegans and vegetarians tend to pay a lot of attention to the macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbs, and crucial vitamins like B12 are also high on vegans’ radar. But one thing I find surprising is how few people on a plant-based diet know enough about their mineral intake.

If you exercise a lot, then you should be paying attention to your electrolytes like sodium and potassium, but how many of you have ever worried about your zinc intake?

Most people I talk to about their dietary mineral don’t keep track of it at all, and when it comes to zinc, they completely underestimate its importance. So, to help you fully understand why it is essential, how you can source it from natural vegan-friendly foods, and a simple trick to get a boost, I’ve put together this guide that explains it all.

Despite its multitude of drawbacks, both ethically and for your health, meat is still a very good source of bioavailable zinc.

Suddenly erasing this food group will inevitably reduce your zinc intake, meaning you will have to replace it with seeds, legumes, and vegetables that are rich in this nutrient.

The other aspect that might negatively impact intake is anti-nutrients that are found in plant foods such as legumes and whole grains.

The antinutrient phytate or phytic acid has an affinity to bind with minerals such as zinc, calcium, and iron, thus interfering with and reducing the absorption of zinc in the gastrointestinal tract. Due to the presence of phytic acid and its proposed negative effect on zinc absorption and also the exclusion of meat, the bioavailability of zinc is significantly lower on a plant-based diet (2) (3).

However, one point I'd like to make is that the concern about phytates anti-nutritional properties might have been somewhat inflated. It's been shown that a vegetarian diet, which is rich in phytate, increases the efficiency of your gut flora to degrade or break down phytate.

One particularly interesting study comparing low and high phytate diets found that the latter had a positive effect on iron absorption by 41%! While the study examined iron absorption, the results are still relevant nonetheless. It’s important to understand that there are positive effects that counterbalance the negative (4).

So, phytates’ negative impact on mineral bioavailability might not apply to the same degree for vegans as it does for meat-eaters.

To maintain homeostasis, the human body adapts to reduced consumption with consequently reduced endogenous losses (basically less zinc escapes via poop, urine, and sweat) (5).

Additionally, other metabolic adjustments occur which tap into 'pools' of zinc in our cells. This means that your body has the capacity to adjust and adapt long-term to reduced zinc intake.

One study showed that switching from a mixed to a lacto-vegetarian diet resulted in a decrease in plasma and hair concentrations of zinc, as well as a decrease in urinary zinc excretion (6).

Yet after this initial decrease, only small changes occurred in regards to zinc levels, and after three years, the trace element concentrations had reverted towards baseline concentrations.

Vegetarians have a similar zinc status to that of non-vegetarians and are at no greater risk of  deficiency. As noted, it seems like the body is quite capable of adapting to lower intakes by increased absorption and retention (7).

Let’s analyze these in a little bit more detail.

Each bottle contains 60 capsules, and is relatively inexpensive - it really is a no-brainer. If you know you’ll be low on zinc at the end of a particular day, just take one and be on the safe side.

As a vegan, you have to be extra careful about your vitamin, mineral and other micronutrient intake. Even after many years adapting to this lifestyle, finding healthy and environmentally friendly sources for many of vital nutrients can be a bit of a struggle.

There are several vegan foods with zinc that are relatively easy to find throughout the year, but adding them to your meal plans on a daily basis can become boring.

For those days where you know your intake will be down, the easiest thing to do is give yourself a boost with supplements. It’s a cheap option that will make sure your body keeps functioning the way it should. Let us know if you have any other great ideas we could add to this list.