Natural Remedies

Could These Side Effects Be Caused By Too Much Zinc?

Posted by Michelle (Yreka, Ca ) on 09/01/2018 8 posts

I have been taking a total of 75 mg of zinc for quite a few months now. I have diarrhea all day, I have pain throughout joints and all down spine more so now than ever. My memory, concentration, focus, and thought process have decreased tremendously. I have excessive anxiety but I don't know if that's related to excessive amounts of zinc. What is a good regimen to get my body stable again and do these symptoms seem related to excessive zinc?

Replied by Rsw
Oh
09/02/2018

Michelle,

Here is an article on zinc that may be of interest to you.

https://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-to-tell-if-youre-taking-too-much-zinc.html

There is a balancing act going on in our bodies between zinc and copper, so we also have to be aware of that when supplementing. There is a doctor in Ireland who believes the zinc/copper ratio can determine if we are nervous, sleep well, etc and says this is what he has learned to test and corrects these if the ratio is not in balance. Generally, I have read to keep a daily intake of zinc from all sources, including food, at less than 20 mg/day. Best wishes.

Replied by Art
California
09/05/2018
2126 posts

Michelle (Yreka, Ca ),

Yes, to most all of those symptoms! You're taking an awful lot of zinc and way above the RDA of 8 mg! Why???? You may be damaging yourself!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2872358/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2872358/

Art

Replied by Michelle
Yreka, Ca
09/05/2018
8 posts

Thank you for the feedback! I honestly didn't know the proper dosage of zinc until I saw it on EarthClinic.com. I have acne, and I was taking a magnesium supplement containing 25 my of zinc, so I thought if I took an additional 50mg tablet, it would help me with my acne. I didn't know the repercussions. Thank goodness for this site. It really is a life saver.

Replied by Michelle
Yreka, Ca
09/05/2018
8 posts

Thank you for the articles. I stopped the altogether. I will resume 18 mg in a week. I'm not sure if this is enough of a break. Any feedback would be helpful.

Replied by Art
California
09/05/2018
2126 posts

Michelle (Yreka, Ca),

I'd give it a much longer break. The half life of zinc is over 250 days. If your purpose was acne treatment, why not use tiny amounts of topical zinc like the type used for diaper rash? Try it on a very, very, very small area first for a few days and if it helpful, adjust the application as needed.The reason for the small test first is because anyone can be allergic to almost anything so you want to test it first in as small an area as possible!

Btw, that much zinc has the potential to deplete magnesium, so while you are on vacation from zinc, you might try boosting your magnesium intake a bit or using mag oil topically, since it is well absorbed.

Art