What s far less clear is just how they cause them. Imagine your roof without shingles to protect against the elements, and you get a picture of your skin without zinc . Take in less than the Daily Value of 15 milligrams of zinc for a few weeks, and the shingles of your skin your top layer of skin cells begin to dissolve, says Dr. Bergfeld. Without this protective layer, your skin becomes rough and crusted, opening up opportunities for bacteria, yeast and other infections to take hold, she says. In a zinc deficiency, your skin simply does not perform the normal barrier function that it otherwise would, says Thomas Helm, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the State University of New York at Buffalo and director of the Buffalo Medical Group.
Zinc deficiency causes skin rash, loss of appetite, loss of taste and impaired immunity.
As a result, zinc deficiency can cause dermatitis around the mouths and rectums of young children. Such deficiencies aren t exactly common, but they occur more frequently than other nutrient-related skin problems, says Jon Hanifin, M.D., professor of dermatology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. In all of these cases, their zinc levels may actually go below the normal range even if they are eating enough zinc , says Dr. Helm. It s just not being absorbed properly. Even when there is a problem with zinc absorption, zinc deficiency can usually be overcome by increasing dietary zinc , Dr. Helm says.