Zinc supplementation has been found to improve the growth rate in children with mild zinc deficiency and mild to moderate growth failure. Maternal zinc deficiency can delay fetal growth, and mothers who give birth to small for gestational age babies have been found to have lower zinc intakes during pregnancy. Breastfeeding increases the risk of depleting nutritional zinc status when dietary zinc intake is chronically low because of the greater need for zinc during lactation. Zinc deficiency is frequently associated with alcoholism, which is often due to a lower intake of food. The need for a supplement as part of an overall treatment plan is usually evaluated by a physician in this situation.
Diarrhea causes a loss of zinc.
Therefore, digestive diseases or gastrointestinal surgery that result in diarrhea are often associated with zinc deficiency. A medical doctor can evaluate the need for a zinc supplement if diet alone fails to maintain normal zinc levels in the body. The immune system is adversely affected by even moderate degrees of zinc deficiency. People who are zinc-deficient have a more difficult time resisting infections. T-cell lymphocytes, white blood cells that help fight infection, do not function efficiently when zinc stores are low.