Twenty years ago, I entered my master’s program in nutrition. While I learned all about nutrition from a broad perspective, my thesis focused on a specific mineral and its effects on metabolic rate: zinc.

There wasn’t much to say about what we found, although as my advisor always reminded me, learning that there is no effect is not a waste.

Zinc supplements won’t turn you into a metabolic machine any more than oysters (the richest source of zinc) are an aphrodisiac. That said, zinc has a lot to like when it comes to nutrition.

Zinc is an essential mineral with extensive functions throughout the body. Zinc helps your immune system to function properly. Zinc helps in healing wounds. Zinc is even important in helping you smell and taste.

Your body cannot make zinc, so you need to get it to get the 11 milligrams per day recommended for healthy men.

In addition to oysters, you’ll find good doses of zinc in red meat, fish, chicken, dairy products, fortified breakfast cereals, whole grains, and legumes, to name a few- a few. Even though you can find zinc in a variety of different foods, Americans often fail to eat enough nutrients. This might make you wonder: should you take a zinc supplement? Especially during cold and flu season?

“Zinc is an essential mineral for humans,” says Stella Volpe, Ph.D., RDN, professor at Virginia Tech (who was also my MS adviser). “Zinc supplementation has not been shown to prevent colds or flu, but has been shown to decrease the duration of cold symptoms (this has been found in adults, but not in children) . “

The supplements that follow are all from reputable companies offering quality ingredients that you can make sure they meet the label claims. Remember, however, “If you are following a diet that contains the required amount of zinc in the diet,” Volpe says, “then supplementation is unlikely to give you an extra boost.”

Supplementing with an ingredient and hoping for miracles to happen will never work. Vitamin BED (that’s how I write sleep), overall nutrition, movement, stress, and more play a bigger role than any ingredient, even when there are promises.

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