First up in my series on dietary supplement recommendations for children with ADHD, autism, and other autism spectrum disorders is all about zinc. I thought I would start here since it was covered by Monique and I only briefly mentioned it last week.
The recommendation is for a large dose between 15 to 50 mg zinc supplement depending on age, from child to adult. The RDA for zinc is only between 3 to 15 mg depending on age. Due to zinc toxicity, there is an upper limit (UL) determined for zinc consumption. The UL is only between 5 to 40 mg! I was quite shocked when I looked into the details about zinc and the possibilities of using this supplement for my son.
Since you already know all the amazing things that zinc does in our bodies after reading Monique’s post, I want to add a few other thoughts that apply to my topic!
- First of all, let’s consider the effects of a general supplement taken daily. It has been shown that zinc absorption is decreased with high levels of iron supplements. This is not true of natural dietary sources of iron! We can see here, right away, that trying to supplement unnaturally can already begin to affect the body’s natural ability to get what it needs from our food.
- Secondly, zinc absorption is decreased with high levels of dietary calcium. Before I go off into an entirely new topic about calcium recommendations being higher than necessary and worldwide statistics showing populations with lower calcium intake with greater bone health, (maybe a topic to leave for Monique!) let me simply say that a dairy-free raw diet provides us with a healthy level of calcium that will keep our bodies in balance and this zinc absorption issue will not exist! This fact is a plus for the gluten- and casein-free diet recommendation (which I will discuss in another post).
- Thirdly, phytic acids found in grains decrease zinc absorption, too. Grains are a huge part of a standard diet. (This is also a plus for the gluten- and casein-free diet recommendation.)
- Excessive intake of zinc over time can promote deficiency of copper and iron and result in immune impairment. If we supplement zinc in excess, it can simply lead to other deficiencies and leave us out of balance in other ways, which would then lead to another supplement. Do we see the trend?? It reminds me of taking a medicine which gives you bad side effects and then needing to take another medicine to relieve it…
These are just a few of the reasons why I believe it is best not to use a zinc supplement, especially in such a large amount. If you feel more zinc would benefit you or your child, you would be much better off looking for natural sources in your food.
TIPS:
Knowing that pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds are some of the highest concentrated vegetarian sources of zinc, we have always sprinkled a mixture of pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds over our daily salads. Or, simply mix them in a container with some raisins and have a quick and simple ‘trail mix.’
One of the things we regularly add to our salad dressing is pumpkin seed oil. Living here in Austria, it is easy to get and we have become quite spoiled to this delicious oil. It wasn’t until I started looking up the nutrient content of this oil for this very post that I realized it was an Austrian specialty and that I was pretty lucky to have it! I never heard of it until we moved here 8 years ago, but then again, I always used pre-made salad dressings in those days, too.
As it turns out, this ‘green gold’ (as it has been nicknamed) is a prized Austrian tradition that is protected by laws to maintain its purity. It is a rich, nutty flavored oil and is filled with potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese, selenium, zinc and also many important vitamins like E, B1,B2, B6, C, A and D. It is also a source of both Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
The process takes 2.5 kg of seeds to make 1 liter of oil. It comes from a special variety of Styrian pumpkin with dark green seeds without an outer shell. Once the seeds have been manually removed from the pumpkins, they are washed and dried. The dried seeds are then roasted for a few minutes at a high temperature (approximately 140ºF). Once roasted, the seeds are pressed using high pressure. The result of this ‘cold’ pressing is the production of a dark green oil.
So, technically it is not raw due to the short roasting process. Because my son (who is the one who needs all that extra zinc according to the experts) loves our salad dressing with pumpkin seed oil (and we do, too), this is one little ‘extra’ that we have allowed to stay in our raw food diet. As a matter of fact, this dressing is the one and only way he will eat salad with us! That sure beats a supplement, in my opinion!
How else could I finish this post other than sharing our favorite dressing with you? Be sure to get pure oil that has not been cheaply diluted with sunflower seed oil to thin it out! We make a huge amount in a one liter bottle to keep in the refrigerator and it still goes fast in our big family. I approximated a smaller serving size:
Green Gold Dressing
¾ C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ C Apple Cider Vinegar
2 TBSP Pumpkin Seed Oil
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Garlic PowderShake together in bottle. Add a *small* amount of water if too strong. Pour this over your favorite salad ingredients and savor the delicious flavor! Erik’s favorite is a mix of spinach, mixed green lettuces, and thinly sliced radishes. Don’t forget to add a generous sprinkle of pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds for great crunch!