Zinc is an amazing mineral and one of my most popular articles about this topic has caused a lot of great comments and questions from my readers.
One of them being, “What’s the best type & form of Zinc?”
When choosing a zinc supplement, you’ll likely notice that there are many different types available.
These various forms of zinc impact health in distinct ways.
Here are a few you might find on the market:
- Zinc gluconate: As one of the most common over-the-counter forms of zinc, zinc gluconate is often used in cold remedies, such as lozenges and nasal sprays.1
- Zinc acetate: Like zinc gluconate, zinc acetate is often added to cold lozenges to reduce symptoms and speed up the rate of recovery.2
- Zinc sulfate: In addition to helping prevent zinc deficiency, zinc sulfate has been shown to reduce the severity of acne.3
- Zinc picolinate: Research suggests that your body can absorb this form better than other types of zinc, including zinc gluconate and zinc citrate.4
- Zinc orotate: This form is bound to orotic acid and one of the most common types of zinc supplements on the market.5
- Zinc citrate: One study showed that this type of zinc supplement is as well-absorbed as zinc gluconate but has a less bitter, more appealing taste.6
The most popular is Zinc gluconate because it’s one of the cheapest.
The best and most absorbable is zinc picolinate. This is what I use in a patent form backed by dozens of human clinical studies. It’s Zinc picolinate called ZINMAX.
Zinc comes in capsules, tablets, lozenges, and sprays.
Capsules are the best because they have the least fillers and you can get veggie caps.
Nasal sprays containing zinc have been linked to loss of smell and should be avoided.7, 8
Make sure you take zinc with copper in a 10:1 ratio or else it’ll create a copper deficiency and can accelerate graying of hair.
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/452949
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5410113
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4120804
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3630857
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/108934
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24259556
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15283486
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16467707