The BIG Zinc Mistake

Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

Dr. Eric Berg

Health & Fitness

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 July 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Avoid these 4 big zinc supplement mistakes!

1. Taking too much zinc

Zinc and copper work together and compete for absorption. Always take copper with zinc to avoid a copper deficiency.

Some parts of the immune system benefit from high doses of zinc, while others thrive with just the right amount of zinc. Taking 100 to 200 mg of zinc for 3 days is beneficial if you have an inflammatory infection, but high doses of zinc for extended periods can also be damaging. Know when to take zinc and avoid high doses for long periods.

2. No cofactors taken with zinc

Cofactors are vitamins and minerals that work together to allow our biochemistry to work. For zinc to function properly in the body, you need adequate magnesium, vitamin B6, and folate.

3. Not knowing when you’re deficient

White nail spots can sometimes indicate a zinc deficiency, but how can you know for sure if you’re deficient? Try the zinc test! Take a small amount of zinc in your mouth and swish it around. If you can taste the metallic taste, you are not deficient. If you can’t taste anything, you need more zinc.

4. Taking too little zinc

Taking too little zinc is just as bad as taking too much! Carbohydrates contain phytic acid, which blocks zinc. This is why zinc deficiency is so common in children. Diarrhea can deplete zinc and other minerals, and low stomach acid can inhibit mineral absorption. Alcohol, pregnancy, and high estrogen from birth control pills can also increase your demand for zinc. Red meat, shellfish, liver, and oysters are the best sources of zinc. If you opt for supplements, you must take at least 30 mg of zinc daily for a therapeutic effect. Zinc works best when taken with food, but it still works on an empty stomach.

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:

Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Dr. Burke here. In this video, we're going to talk about the big zinc mistake.
0:04.5	I should put an S after that because there's four big mistakes.
0:08.0	Why am I even talking about zinc?
0:10.0	Because without zinc, you will die.
0:13.0	Zinc is so important for so much of your biochemistry
0:15.0	because literally 200 to 300 different enzymes require zinc. Let's dive into the first mistake and number one is taking too much zinc. On several videos, I recommend taking a lot of zinc between 150 to sometimes 200 milligrams of zinc.
0:31.6	Zinc in copper work together. In fact, they compete with each other in absorption. When someone's taking too much
0:38.1	zinc, they're actually depleting copper. There's a really simple solution. Just take copper
0:43.8	with your zinc. The ratios of zinc to copper is like 10 to 1. So let's say you're taking 30 milligrams of
0:52.9	zinc. You would take three milligrams of copper.
0:57.0	There's something else really interesting about this.
0:59.0	There's a paradox related to the immune system.
1:02.0	When you take a lot of zinc, it can help your immune system.
1:05.0	When you take a lot of zinc, it can hurt your immune system.
1:09.0	And it's simply certain parts of the immune system are benefited from a lot of zinc,
1:14.6	but other parts are benefited just with the right amount of zinc, not too much.
1:19.6	If you have an inflammatory infection of any kind, I would definitely want to take at least 100 to 150 to 200 milligrams of zinc for three days.
1:32.1	Only if you're taking high amounts for weeks and weeks and weeks or months,
1:35.8	then you're going to find part of your immune system might be suppressed.
1:40.1	Anytime you're getting zinc from foods, you do not have to worry about what I just talked about.
1:45.8	I'm only talking about taking zinc supplements in higher amounts.
1:49.5	Let's move to number two.
	...

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