Zinc occurs naturally in the human body ?

[Erina]

I read that the human body cannot produce minerals, such as Magnesium, but the body does require them and so minerals must be absorbed topically via the sun, or imbibed/ingested through food and drink.

However, Zinc is a mineral, but is found in the human body in the eyes and bones, only at trace levels of a single digit grams net weight apparently, but then how does it arrive there, does the body naturally replenish it ?

[swansont]

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/

 

"A wide variety of foods contain zinc (Table 2) [2]. Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food, but red meat and poultry provide the majority of zinc in the American diet. Other good food sources include beans, nuts, certain types of seafood (such as crab and lobster), whole grains, fortified breakfast cereals, and dairy products [2,11].

Phytates—which are present in whole-grain breads, cereals, legumes, and other foods—bind zinc and inhibit its absorption [2,12,13]. Thus, the bioavailability of zinc from grains and plant foods is lower than that from animal foods, although many grain- and plant-based foods are still good sources of zinc [2]."

[BabcockHall]

I am not sure what you mean by "absorbed topically via the sun."

[Dord]

2 hours ago, BabcockHall said:

I am not sure what you mean by "absorbed topically via the sun."

The OP may mean vitamin D which increases the absorption of certain minerals in the human body.

[Erina]

I understand that Zinc can be obtained from foods, but does it occur naturally in the body ?

[CharonY]

46 minutes ago, Erina said:

I understand that Zinc can be obtained from foods, but does it occur naturally in the body ?

If you are asking whether your body is using the zinc, yes it does. In fact it is an essential micronutrient. In case there is a bigger misunderstanding, there is no way to create elements biologically. You can only synthesize more complex biomolecules using simple components. Things like Mg, Ca, Zn and so on are all taken up from the environment.