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How Zinc Impacts Our Mental Health

On the Are You Menstrual? Podcast I did an episode on the 3 Minerals That Impact Mental Health. I go through three minerals that impact our mental health and zinc is one of the major ones I want to highlight here in this blog post. Zinc deficiency is associated with many mental health conditions such as depression, schizophrenic behavior, ADHD, behavioral problems, and anxiety. Research from the 1970s showed us that patients with schizophrenia as well as alcoholics had lower concentrations of zinc in the hippocampus (major role is in learning and memory–greatly impacted by psychiatric disorders as it is plastic and can be easily changed).

Zinc supplementation has been shown to improve the effectiveness of SSRIs for those with depression. It’s also been shown to reduce postpartum depression. One caveat of the postpartum depression group, they experienced negative side effects with their iron status (likely because zinc lowers copper and we need copper for healthy iron levels). I think this could be avoided with whole food sources of zinc or an additional intake of beef liver with the zinc supplements.

I think zinc impacts depression greatly for a few major reasons:

  • It has a large impact on our hormonal status but sex hormones and thyroid hormones. Our hormones have a huge impact on our moods, especially women. Low testosterone in men is linked with depression, which is common with zinc deficiency. In women, zinc deficiency is linked with low progesterone, which is common with PMDD and depression. Plus, zinc is very important for thyroid function and 90% of women with depression have subclinical hypothyroidism.
  • Zinc impacts our blood sugar, which impacts stress hormones and other mineral status. Chronic stress and depletion throws off our nervous system and takes us out of a regulated state. Dysregulation = anxiety and depression.
  • Many with a history of gut issues also have mental health disorders. Gut issues lead to lower zinc levels, typically because it increases the body’s need for zinc. This can lead to a deficiency. Our gut health greatly impacts our mental health via the gut-brain axis.
  • Zinc deficiencies have been linked with lower GABA levels in the brain–this is a neurotransmitter that blocks specific signals to reduce fear, worry, and stress. Zinc supplementation has been shown to raise GABA levels.
  • Zinc is linked to the release of specific neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which support feelings of happiness.
  • Zinc helps elevate levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF in the areas of our brains that control our emotions. When zinc is low, BDNF can drop along with our mood.

Do I Need To Supplement Zinc?

Zinc is one of the easier minerals to get from food, so I typically do not recommend supplementing unless it is a special case like a specific illness, gut issue, pregnancy, etc.

I personally never supplement with over 20-30mg of zinc per day for anyone. You can often fix a deficiency with 20-30mg daily in 6 months. I always like to know how much zinc someone can get from their diet as well.This can reduce the amount you need to supplement. If we are aiming for about 3x the RDA (11mg for men and 8mg for women) that would be 33mg for men and 24mg for women. If you can get at least half from your diet, then you can supplement less and cause less imbalances in the other minerals like copper.

If you are taking an iron supplement, take it AWAY from your zinc supplement since taking 25mg of iron or more at the same time as zinc (including zinc from food) can reduce zinc absorption.

Studies Mentioned:

If you want to listen to the podcast episode on the 3 minerals that impact mental health, click here!

reminder: i’m currently taking on 1:1 clients. if you’d like to explore what it would be like to work together and if we are a good fit, fill out this form to get more details!​

Amanda Montalvo

Amanda Montalvo is a women's health dietitian who helps women find the root cause of hormone imbalances and regain healthy menstrual cycles.

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