Why your body can't absorb zinc well if you eat too much phytate
Adaptation in human zinc absorption as influenced by dietary zinc and bioavailability.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Your body can get better at absorbing zinc if you eat less of it — but only if your food doesn't have too much phytate, which blocks zinc.
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Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Your body can get better at absorbing zinc if you eat less of it — but only if your food doesn't have too much phytate, which blocks zinc.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 556 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Hunt JR, Beiseigel JM, Johnson LK
Related Content
Claims (6)
When the ratio of phytate to zinc in food is 15 to 1, the amount of zinc the body absorbs from that food decreases by 48.5% compared to lower ratios.
When healthy adults eat diets low in zinc for several weeks and consume foods with little phytate, their bodies absorb a higher percentage of the zinc they eat, up to 92% more than under normal conditions.
When people consume more zinc in their diet, their bodies absorb a smaller percentage of it, even if their diet contains phytates. This adjustment happens regardless of other dietary factors and reflects a physiological response to how much zinc is available.
A mathematical model that accounts for the amounts of zinc and phytate in food, after a person has eaten a consistent diet for 4 to 8 weeks, can predict how much zinc the body absorbs from that food.
When dietary phytate is high relative to zinc, the body’s normal adjustment to absorb more zinc during low-zinc periods does not occur. This means zinc absorption remains low despite the body’s need for more.