10 Best Zinc Food Sources for Vegans
Level up Your Nutrition

As a fellow vegan, this will probably sound familiar to you. You mention to someone that you keep to a strict plant based diet, and you’re immediately bombarded with questions.

Is your blood count low because of a lack of iron?

Have you had a lot of fractures because you don’t have enough calcium in your meal plans?

But how often does someone ask you about zinc intake?

Probably not that often, and yet this vital mineral is something that vegans need to pay more attention to than people on vegetarian diets. 

Let’s first find out why zinc is important.

When I was a newcomer to veganism, I focused a lot on vitamins and iron, but unless my dietitian had pointed it out, I could have started showing signs of deficiencies. 

First, though, let’s take a look at why vegan dieters can become zinc deficient.

Yes, vegans are more likely to be zinc deficient than vegetarians or omnivores. The main reason is that the zinc content in vegetables is a lot lower than in meat and dairy products like milk and cheese. 

But just because you’re eating a plant-based food diet doesn’t mean that you don’t have some good options.

The main reason for a deficiency is that vegan newcomers focus on iron and B12 vitamin requirements, not knowing that their zinc intakes are just as important.

If you have some concerns that your meal plan isn’t providing enough zinc, then it’s important to first look for some symptoms.

The main signs of zinc deficiency can be wide ranging, including impaired immune function, unexplained weight loss, mental lethargy, loss of appetite, impotence, hair loss, and problems with minor wound healing.

You may not experience any of these for quite a while, and they can go unnoticed, especially if you have a stressful life.

In severe cases, this will require medical attention, but with some simple adjustments to your food intakes, you can easily balance your need for critical nutrients. 

As mentioned, most plant foods like fruits and salad are not a great source of zinc. But you don’t have to immediately jump into supplement mode, as there are 10 excellent ways to adjust your food.

Nuts and seeds are among the best options, but beans and fortified food should not be ignored, especially since they can be easily added in larger volumes.

Let’s take a closer look.

This bond can be very difficult to break up in your stomach, meaning that a lot of the zinc will just pass right through you.

Most common cooking processes will break down that bond, which is why this is most commonly a problem for raw vegans. 

With the above 10 sources of zinc, you should have some excellent options to improve your overall balance of nutrition and get that much needed extra zinc. It can be very easy to pay too little attention to this mineral, especially when you are first switching to veganism.

If you’ve had some personal experience with supplements, or you found some clever ways to adjust your nutrition, then please feel free to send us a message on social media or by email.