Do not get me wrong.
I love pumpkin seeds.
But we need to debunk the myth of some of their prowess that you see on many lists across the internet.
Namely, we need to discuss whether or not pumpkin seeds are a top zinc food powerhouse.
Are pumpkin seeds one of the top zinc foods?
If you were to do a search right now for lists of top foods high in zinc, no doubt pumpkin seeds will be touted.
And that is not entirely without merit.
But if you are trying to get the most out of your diet and ensure you are getting enough vital minerals such as zinc, we need to be real about this.
Pumpkin seeds are very unlikely to come close to satisfying your zinc needs.
For example, if you wanted to get 100% of the recommended daily value of zinc from pumpkin seeds, you would need to eat about one and a quarter cups of seeds.
Not impossible, but that is a lot of pumpkin seeds.
That alone clocks in at about 850 calories, which is a pretty inefficient use of your daily caloric resources.
A more reasonable amount people might eat is probably closer to a tablespoon or two.
In which case, you are looking at about 5 or 10 percent of your daily zinc needs.
It’s nothing to sneeze at, but these lists of the top zinc-containing foods might give you the impression that if you are eating pumpkin seeds every day, you are doing very well in terms of getting your zinc in.
You’re probably not.
How to ensure you get enough zinc
As is the case with many (not all) vitamins and minerals, it takes a multi-food approach to ensure you are getting enough of each of them, depending on what type of diet you like to consume.
For example, when it comes to zinc, an obvious choice would be oysters. Oysters are off the charts in terms of zinc content, but many people (including myself) do not eat shellfish.
Still others do not eat meat, which takes beef (an excellent source of zinc that can fulfill your daily needs) off the table.
Which is why many people turn to these lists of the top zinc foods and find foods like pumpkin seeds and see hope that these foods can really provide all that zinc.
But the truth is they just don’t get the job done without a lot of help.
I love pumpkin seeds and I do eat them as part of my plan to get enough zinc.
But I also do not want you to be misled or disappointed to learn that they may not be the zinc powerhouse many people tout them to be.
So if you like to enjoy pumpkin seeds as part of your diet, I hope you do and that it all works out for you!
But you may also want to use a good nutrition calculator to make sure you really are getting enough zinc every day.
Other top plant-based zinc foods?
In the meantime, if you eat a vegetarian or vegan diet, be sure to look into a variety of different beans, such as chickpea, white, or adzuki, among others, to go along with good zinc foods like pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, lentils, and even peas.
The good news is it is not that hard to get enough zinc from plant food sources.
As always, you just need to do the work.
Do you agree that you should “keep it simple and do the work”?
Then you’ll love sporting this super comfy and stylish gear!
Click here to pick out your faves!
