Minerals 4 Beauty: ZINC

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It’s Esosa E. here A.K.A. Raw Girl, and I’m back with another mineral to boost your beauty. If you missed the first post, I will be continuously highlighting minerals that enhance natural beauty. Most people on the S.A.D. Standard American Diet and even a great deal of vegans with good intentions, are lacking key minerals to keep their bodies functioning optimally and their skin glowing. What  key beauty mineral plays a role in twenty-five enzymatic systems involved in digestion and metabolism, and is required for skin beauty, cell and bodily growth, sexual development, fertility, night vision, and improving sense of taste & smell?

The answer is ZINC. That’s right, zinc is another mineral essential for beauty and for optimal health.  To start off zinc is a part of the enzymes that allow the body to produce collagen, which is essential for keeping our skin soft and supple. Zinc also supports the bodies’ immune system, joints and tissue repair, and cell growth. This beauty mineral has antioxidant properties that helps our bodies to heal scars and wounds, and repair DNA damage. In fact, zinc deficiency can actually cause damage to DNA, in addition to acne, loss of taste and smell, slow growth in children, hair loss, rashes, skin disorders, low sperm count, poor eyesight, and delayed wound healing. On the beauty front, zinc can also prevent wrinkling, stretch marks, and outward signs of aging. Sounds a little better than Botox, right?

Because of zinc’s healing and beautifying properties it is found in many beauty products. Zinc oxide is a common additive that is included in sunscreens (as zinc helps to deflect the amount of ultraviolet light absorbed by the skin), calamine lotion (for its ability to heal wounds), and mineral makeup.  Many brands of mineral makeup claim that the products also provide sun protection because of zinc’s use in sunscreens. Because of it’s anti-inflammatory properties zinc oxide in mineral makeup make these products more ideal for anyone suffering from acne or  any skin conditions. Conventional foundations and foundations mostly contain harmful mineral oils and parabens that can actually make an existing skin condition worse.

Now that you know how important zinc is to beauty, here’s a partial list from Nutrition Expert David Wolfe’s book, Eating for Beauty (available in the Raw Girl Shop) of the best plant sources that have good amounts of sulfur to get you started with incorporating a wider range of zinc-rich foods in your diet: coconuts, poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and spinach. Now that your equipped with a little knowledge and veggie resources, check your diet and make sure to get your zinc-on! Until next time, stay natural, stay beautiful! -XoXo Raw Girl