hi! how is zinc obtained enough thru eating mainly fruits? im guessing that a diet rich in pumpkin seeds would help because pumpkin seeds have lots of zinc. the reasons im asking is because zinc is needed for sexual maturation and as im still a teenager im worried about maturing the right way if i consume simply fruits and some seeds.
is there a specific common fruit super rich in zinc?

Zinc is one of the Achille's heels of the vegan diet. It's important to get enough.

[nutritiondata.com]

Tangerines and blackberries are among the best fruit sources. But many vegetable sources have much more (per calorie).

I don't know about the sexual reasons. From looking things up in the USDA database, the following fruits seem to have a lot of zinc by weight:
- dehydrated apricots
- dehydrated peaches
- dehydrated prunes
- avocados
- dried currants
- dehydrated bananas
- dried figs
- blackberries
- medjool dates
- dried plums
- dried persimmons
- raspberries
- dried pears
- raisins

The following fruits have a lot of zinc by calories:
- blackberries
- raspberries
- lemon peel
- cantaloupe
- lemons with peel
- rhubarb
- abiyuch
- jackfruit
- strawberries
- peaches
- currants
- apricots
- avocado

How much zinc do you need to be getting?

Cherrymelon,
Its difficult to know exactly how much minerals are present in any given food. These charts are based on averages, so variation occurs by season, by plant, and location etc... I also have heard that many of the nutritional charts are also outdated! some claim that vitamin and mineral concentrations are way, way down from what they used to be in the 40's and 50's when some of these charts were made. If possible, I would see about checking the dates of when the charts were done.

Another possibility is to grow your own food in a garden or in pots if you don't have access to a garden. I have grown lettuce and other veggies to which I have added multi-vitamin/mineral capsules. I was really strapped for cash at the time, so I used cheap mineral caps which used the oxide forms. I couldn't afford supplements in other forms which were better. In addition, I think its better to consume nutrients in foods. If you added a multimineral tablet ground up into the soil, that will probably help. Make sure the formula has zinc naturally. But I recommend a multi because minerals work together.

Some people grow sprouts to which they have added the desired nutrient(s) to the soak water. I am not sure the sprout would pick up some nutrients, but I think it would be better if it was incorporated into the seeds as the parent plant was growing.

Earthrise company specializes in growning spirulina. At one point they had a special spirulina formula with a higher zinc concentration. I have seen it in one health food store, but its generally difficult to find. I am not sure if they still produce that product. According to their company, this special high zinc spirulina was more effective at correcting zinc deficiencies in children and teens than an equal amount of zinc oxide. It makes sense to me, I have a difficult time thinking of people naturally consuming zinc oxide.

I used to worry about zinc. I got all these supplements and ate pumpkin seeds, nothing changed or happened. I forgot about it.

Sounds (very) familar:

[www.rawfoodsupport.com]

I've yet to see some information that makes me thing this is a real problem.

Why is Zinc the "Achille's heels" of the vegan diet (More so that b12 or d4, etc.)?

What's makes you think you are not getting enough zinc?

Ian.

How many times is "confuzed" going to come to this forum with a new name?