The recommended daily amount of zinc is 8 milligrams (mg) for women and 11 mg for adult men.
The National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) says zinc deficiency is characterised by loss of appetite, and impaired immune function.
The ODS says: “In more severe cases, zinc deficiency causes hair loss, diarrhea, delayed sexual maturation, impotence, hypogonadism in males, and eye and skin lesions.
“Weight loss, delayed healing of wounds, taste abnormalities, and mental lethargy can also occur.”