Zinc Overdose.
A Cautionary tale
The story you are about to read involves a terrible accident. I’m sharing this story with you, so you do not make the same mistake. This happened back in the day when I knew plenty about supplements, but I thought that dosages were for the weak. Let me mention that I learned my lesson fast. It was on a cold Fall day, and I had just returned from a camping trip (it was freezing!) I was vegan at the time, and my buddies who went with me were not. While they caught fish and ate them (we ran out of food earlier than expected, and I became malnourished), my diet consisted of Lara bars.
The plot thickens
As the trip neared its end, I was feeling excessively fatigued and overwhelmingly tired. I realized that I missed out on a lot of critical nutrients, especially Zinc. So by the time I got back home, I was done in.
The first thing I did was to cook up a massive meal and feast like a king. Then I had this brilliant idea. I decided despite the meal, the trip had depleted my mineral levels so much that I needed to make up for the deficit. So as I went through my supplement cabinet, I decided to restore my missing minerals. Zinc first! I had been completely robbed of this vital nutrient, so I popped 4-50 mg capsules and was content with my Zinc;…. (it was the calm before the storm.) 10 minutes later, I felt as though I was dying on my bed. My stomach felt like I had just been stabbed by a zinc-coated dagger. I was in so much pain and felt so nauseous, I thought I had food poisoning.
I looked up if there was even such thing as a Zinc overdose. Low and behold, there is such a thing, and I had every single symptom of it. I was thinking, this is the way I’m going to go, from zinc overload!! Heck no. I then drank tons and tons of water to calm the tummy. I felt better, …for two minutes. My predicament then started to get worse. I decided that I should eat more to calm my stomach. It did not help, so I finally concluded that I just needed to wait it out, and I did. I just curled up on my bed and made a mental note never to abuse Zinc again.
My chilling conclusion
I’m not kidding when I say this. For the rest of the afternoon, I felt like I was going to die at any moment (well, maybe dying is a bit of a stretch, but I felt horrible.) By sundown, my belly calmed down, and I fell asleep. I will never take more than 20 mg of Zinc at a time (unless I return to my vegan ways.)The daily intake of Zinc depends on the individual, so I cannot say one size fits all. There is a daily recommended dose for the average man and woman. It is 8 milligrams for a woman and 14 for men. So please exercise caution with the Zinc supplement. It is a vital mineral, but if you foolishly abuse it, as I did, it will smack you. And remember if you are ever unsure about it, consult with your doctor.
