Zinc is one of the most important minerals in our day-to-day diets. It’s required for our immune systems to function as well as our vision, taste and smell. It’s also important for healthy skin. Zinc’s potential advantages for your skin include the following:

• As a sun block, it creates an effective barrier for UV-A and UV-B rays
• As an acne treatment, it reduces inflammation, slows down the production of oily skin, draws out toxins and speeds up the healing process
• It is also effective at reducing itching and inflammation and is recommended for a variety of rash-like conditions such as diaper rash, athlete’s foot, poison ivy, poison oak, and other rashes
• Minor cuts, burns and abrasions are also treated with zinc oxide, since they can be ‘sealed’ with zinc and kept clean from infectious dirt
• Dandruff and dermatitis also respond quite well to zinc oxide

The richest food source of zinc (by a factor of 10) is oysters, but it can also be found in beef, crab, pork, lobster and to a lesser extent in beans, nuts. Zinc can be purchased in supplement form, in both liquid concentrates and tablets.