If I had say, a zinc deficiency, could I just suck on a chunk of zinc to get the levels up? Could or would this work with any mineral?
and umm...sucking on chunk of zinc would probably give you more zinc than you need, but anyways you cant just suck on zinc, you have to get that zinc somehow off the metal into mouth...wine might work, but I wouldnt advise it, its too much zinc.
I had always heard that the body prefers not to have inorganic minerals, like the minerals they put into water to make it taste better. But if your body needed zinc, and you had no other source (such as zinc rich foods), then I could see sucking on a little lozenge of zinc supplement from time to time. (From the supplement isle, not a piece of metal!) lol.
If you're a meat-eater, zinc usually isn't a big problem, but there are plenty of decent vegetarian sources too. Here are some foods rich in zinc: Beef Oysters Chicken Turkey Shrimp Yogurt Pumpkin seeds Almonds Peanuts Sunflower seeds For best absorption, spread the intake over the day. Why is zinc good for your body in smaller doses? Studies are inconclusive, but it seems the body is simply better equipped to handle small, bite-size chunks than the full daily dose in one sitting. How Much Is Too Much The RDI for zinc is 11 mg per day for adult men and 9 mg per day for adult women (except pregnant/lactating women, in which case it's 11 and 12 mg per day, respectively). The upper limit for adult men and women is 40 mg/day before it becomes toxic (including pregnant/lactating women. WIKI
The minerals they talk about (iron, zinc, whatever) are part of organic molecules. It's not pure zinc they are talking about, your body might not even be able to handle it.
Your body mainly uses metal ions. You probably need some sort of zinc salt. I doubt that you would absorb any metallic (non-ionized) zinc by having a chunk of metal in your mouth. There are many, many inorganic minerals that your body needs to work properly. Like anything else, it's bad if you get too much or too little of them.
Here's a nice list: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/vitamin/fortification_final_doc_app-ann_k-eng.php
