What Is Zinc
What Is Zinc And Why Do We Need It?
Zinc is one of the fairly plentiful elements on this earth. We come across it most often in the form of our penny, which is nearly 100% zinc. In fact, of all of the elements, only aluminum, iron, and copper are mined in greater amounts. But what about zinc as a nutritional need? If we need it, why do we need it, and where do we get it from?
Zinc is essential to life, and is vital in the functioning and well-being of almost all of our body's organs and systems. It is necessary for growth, the synthesis of protein, regulating metabolism, and much more. It is found in every organ of our body, and in our muscles and bones. While at any one time our body may contain up to five grams of zinc, it is not stored and must be constantly replenished.
Although most of our zinc is mined from the earth, it also exists throughout the earth in the soils and in the oceans as a trace element, meaning the amount of zinc in a sample of soil or seawater is on the order of a fraction of one part per million. Plant life absorbs zinc from the soil or seawater, and in turn is eaten by mammals. Zinc then works its way up the food chain, which is how we acquire the portions we need.
What is zinc from the viewpoint of chemistry? Zinc is one of the so-called transitional elements. It gets that label from its position in the periodic table. A characteristic of these elements is that they can rather freely combine with other elements to form compounds. Zinc combines readily with oxygen, carbon, sulfur, and other elements. There are also 30 zinc isotopes, many of them radioactive, though in terms of our ingesting zinc that fact needs not concern us. Zinc leads an active, perhaps somewhat promiscuous, life. The zinc compounds by the way, are one of the ways through which we can get our needed amount of zinc, should other sources be deficient.
As essential as zinc is to sustaining life, an excess can be harmful, and can in fact be quite toxic and even fatal, if enough is ingested in its pure form. Other elements such as iron and copper are also required by the body for good health, and an excess of zinc may hinder absorption of these important elements to the detriment of our well-being. In general though, none of the foods we normally eat contain anywhere near a level of zinc that would cause concern.
What is zinc? In summary, it is an element essential to our well-being, we require only a tiny amount on a daily basis, and our diet generally provides just that right amount.