Zinc Toxicity: Myth and Truth. While many doctors incorrectly tell their patients that taking much more than the RDA of zinc is toxic, this simply is not true. The Upper Limit (UL) for normal supplementation for a person who is not overtly zinc deficient is 40 to 60mgs per day of elemental zinc as determined by a recent evaluation of all of the scientific literature on zinc by the Institute of Medicine in the United States. The report stated that the UL is not meant to apply to people with chronic zinc deficiency, which may need a therapeutic dose considerably larger than the UL to correct the deficiency. Furthermore, the report overtly stated - "The risks of adverse effects resulting from excess zinc intake from food and supplements appears to be low even at the highest intakes observed." Furthermore, the types of reactions resulting from intake of high levels of supplemental zinc, while sometimes uncomfortable, are hardly life threatening. Gastrointestinal distress (stomach ache) has been reported at doses of 50 to 150mg per day of elemental zinc, but this is a transitory symptom with no long-term effects. At chronic long-term intakes of 150mg of supplemental zinc per day, not including the zinc already in their diet, there are some indications of lowered high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), mild suppression of the immune system (a symptom also of zinc deficiency) and reduced copper levels. However, 150mg per day of elemental zinc equates to 533mg per day of zinc gluconate, truly a megadose. Contrast these mild symptoms of zinc "toxicity" from real megadoses of zinc to the anaphylactic shock from taking a couple aspirin that kills several hundred Americans every year. Yet the same doctors telling their patients zinc is overtly "toxic" are telling them to take aspirin everyday! Back to Top
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