What is zinc?
Zinc is, after iron, the most abundant trace element in your body, and it is everywhere. Hundreds of enzymes need it, and thousands of proteins that read your DNA use zinc as a clamp. So a deficiency affects everything that divides and repairs quickly: your immune cells, your skin and hair, the lining of your gut, your taste and smell buds, and the cells in the testicles that make testosterone. Zinc is in oysters and other shellfish, meat, cheese, eggs, pumpkin seeds, legumes and whole grains; from plant sources you absorb it less well, because the fibres bind it. Your body has no real store of zinc. What you do not take in, you miss within weeks, and that is why the supply counts continuously. The value in your blood is moreover only a fraction of all your zinc, and that fraction travels largely bound to albumin. If albumin falls, the zinc value falls with it without you having less zinc. With an inflammation the body also pulls zinc temporarily out of the blood into the liver, and after a meal the value dips a little too. Your report shows zinc in µmol/L, and normal is about 11 to 18 µmol/L where the labs overlap. It is drawn in the morning, fasting, in a special tube free of metal traces, and the tube must not haemolyse, because your red blood cells are full of zinc.
Why is zinc relevant?
Zinc is one of the deficiencies you see on the outside before you measure it: slower-healing cuts, more frequent colds, skin complaints, hair loss, brittle nails, less taste and smell, and in men a lower testosterone and less desire. None of those symptoms is proof on its own, but together they point at the supply, and a zinc value turns that suspicion into a number. The groups in which the supply falls short are clear. Anyone who eats plant-based gets zinc from sources it is poorly absorbed from, because the fibres in grains and legumes bind it; soaking, sprouting and fermenting help with that. Anyone who drinks a lot passes more zinc in the urine and often eats less. Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding needs more. And anyone who absorbs poorly, after stomach surgery, with coeliac disease or a chronic gut inflammation, or with prolonged diarrhoea, loses zinc faster than it comes in. Older people often combine a few of these. The other side exists too. Zinc is a popular supplement, against colds, for the skin and for testosterone, and months of a high dose push copper out of the uptake. That gives a copper deficiency with anaemia and nerve symptoms, and that is an unhappy result of a well-meant jar. A zinc value beside a copper value shows whether the balance still holds.
Zinc reference ranges
What counts beside the number:
- Albumin from the same draw, because most zinc travels on it
- CRP, because an inflammation pulls zinc temporarily out of the blood
- Copper, which zinc pushes out at a high dose
- How you eat, how much you drink and whether you take a supplement
- Symptoms such as slow wound healing, frequent colds, skin and hair complaints or less taste
- Whether you were fasting, and whether the tube was drawn properly
The band above is where the labs overlap; for zinc the ranges sit close together. The value in your blood is only a small part of all your zinc and also falls with a low albumin, with inflammation and after a meal, so have blood drawn in the morning, fasting, and read albumin and CRP alongside. There is no national normal value for zinc.
What Dutch labs actually use
11 – 18µmol/L
Between 9.4 and 11 and between 18 and 20.6 it depends on the lab, because each sets its limits on its own method and population. Above 20.6 every lab calls it abnormal.
every lab calls 11 – 18 µmol/L normal. Between 9.4 and 11 and between 18 and 20.6 it depends on the lab.
Every age, per lab
| Laboratory | Group | Reference range |
|---|---|---|
| Unilabs(Saltro, Medlon, SHO, Atalmedial)2026 | All ages | 10–18 µmol/L |
| Certe2026 | All ages | 11–18 µmol/L |
| Clinical Diagnostics2026 | All ages | 9.4–20.6 µmol/L |
Each band as the lab publishes it, retrieved in 2026, unless marked otherwise.
Zinc high or low: what it means
A low zinc means too little supply, too much loss, a low albumin or an inflammation. Usually it is the first and rarely the last: one-sided or plant-based eating, a low albumin, alcohol, poor absorption in the gut, an inflammation, and rarely chronic kidney disease or an inherited absorption disorder. Look first at albumin and CRP: if albumin is low or CRP high, the low zinc value is a consequence of that and says little about your supply. If those two are fine, a low zinc is a real deficiency, and then diet and a supplement help within weeks. A high zinc is usually a supplement taken shortly before the draw, or a tube that has haemolysed or sat too long under the tourniquet. Too much zinc from food does not occur. The harm of too much zinc does not sit in the zinc value itself, but in the copper it pushes out. What you do about it: oysters, meat, cheese, eggs and pumpkin seeds deliver zinc you absorb well; legumes and whole grains do better after soaking or sprouting. Drink less. If you take a supplement, keep it to an ordinary dose, not high for months, and have copper measured alongside if you use it for longer. After stomach surgery zinc belongs in the fixed supplement. Zinc belongs beside albumin and CRP, and beyond that beside copper, and in men with symptoms beside testosterone. Have blood drawn in the morning, fasting, and compare over time at the same lab.
What lowers it
Too little supply or too much loss, or a value that falls without a deficiency.
| Cause | How often |
|---|---|
| One-sided dietLittle meat, shellfish, cheese and eggs; from plant sources you absorb zinc poorly, because the fibres bind it | Often |
| Low albuminThe protein most zinc in your blood travels on; if that is low, the zinc value falls with it without you having less zinc | Often |
| AlcoholIncreases the loss of zinc in the urine and goes together with a less varied diet | Often |
| Poor absorption in the gutAfter stomach surgery, with coeliac disease, a chronic gut inflammation or prolonged diarrhoea more is lost than comes in | Sometimes |
| InflammationThe body pulls zinc temporarily out of the blood into the liver; a low zinc beside a high CRP is usually not a deficiency | Sometimes |
| Chronic kidney diseaseMore loss in the urine and less uptake; on dialysis a deficiency is more common | Rare |
What raises it
Almost always the supplement or the tube, not your zinc status.
| Cause | How often |
|---|---|
| SupplementsA zinc tablet shortly before the draw lifts the value temporarily; the real risk of long-term high is the copper deficiency that goes with it | Often |
| A haemolysed or too long tourniqueted tubeYour red blood cells are full of zinc; if they break in the tube, the value rises without anything in your body having changed | Sometimes |
How does a zinc blood test work?
- Referral
- Not needed. You can have zinc measured yourself, preferably together with albumin, CRP and copper.
- Fasting
- Yes, and in the morning, because the value dips after a meal and over the course of the day. Skip the zinc supplement on the day of the draw.
- The draw
- One tube of blood from a vein in your arm, in a special tube free of metal traces that is drawn last and must not sit too long under the tourniquet; not possible at every location.
- The result
- A single number in µmol/L, which can take a few days because the lab does not run the test daily.
- Repeating
- After a few months of diet or a supplement in an ordinary dose, together with copper if you use the supplement for longer.
- Where to draw
- You can draw at 250+ locations near you, no referral needed. See the locations
Frequently asked questions
What is zinc?
A trace element that hundreds of enzymes need and that thousands of proteins use to read your DNA. So it takes part in everything that divides and repairs quickly: your immune system, your skin and hair, your gut lining, your taste and smell, and the making of testosterone. It is in oysters, meat, cheese, eggs, pumpkin seeds, legumes and whole grains. Your body holds no store of it, so the supply counts every week.
What is a normal zinc level?
About 11 to 18 µmol/L where the labs overlap. The value dips after a meal, with a low albumin and with an inflammation, so have blood drawn in the morning, fasting, and read albumin and CRP alongside. As long as those two are fine and you sit above the lower limit, your supply keeps up with the use.
What does a low zinc level mean?
Look first at albumin and CRP. If albumin is low or CRP high, the low zinc value is a consequence of that and says little about your supply. If those two are fine, it is a real deficiency: one-sided or plant-based eating, alcohol, poor absorption after stomach surgery or with a gut disease, and rarely a kidney disease. You notice a deficiency in slow wound healing, frequent colds, skin and hair complaints and less taste, and it is reversible within weeks with diet or a supplement.
What does a high zinc level mean?
Usually a supplement shortly before the draw, or a tube that has haemolysed or sat too long under the tourniquet, because your red blood cells are full of zinc. Too much zinc from food does not occur. The real risk of too much zinc you see not in the zinc value but in the copper: months of a high dose push copper out of the uptake and cause a copper deficiency.
Why does albumin belong with a zinc value?
Because most zinc in your blood travels bound to albumin. If albumin falls, from a liver problem, protein loss or illness, the zinc value falls with it without you having less zinc. A low zinc with a low albumin therefore says mainly something about the protein; only with a normal albumin does a low zinc say something about your supply.
What does an inflammation do to your zinc level?
With an inflammation your body pulls zinc temporarily out of the blood into the liver, as part of the immune response. The value then falls without there being a deficiency and comes back once the inflammation is over. So have CRP measured alongside: a low zinc beside a high CRP is usually not a deficiency, and a repeat after the inflammation says more.
Does a zinc supplement help?
With a real deficiency yes, and quickly. But zinc is also a supplement that is easily taken too long and too high, against colds, for the skin or for testosterone, and months of a high dose cause a copper deficiency with anaemia and nerve symptoms. Keep it to an ordinary dose, preferably food where you can, and have copper measured alongside if you use it for longer.
Do I need to fast for a zinc test?
Yes, and have blood drawn in the morning, because the value dips after a meal and over the course of the day. Skip the zinc supplement that day. The draw goes into a special tube free of metal traces, which is drawn last and must not sit too long under the tourniquet, and the result can take a few days.
Which tests include zinc?
Zinc is part of Advanced, the broader panel. It is not orderable yet.
Related biomarkers
Read on
Sources
- 1.Unilabs, test catalogue (Dutch): zinc. 2026. bepalingenklapper.nl
- 2.Certe, test catalogue (Dutch): zinc. 2026. bepalingenwijzer.certe.nl
- 3.Clinical Diagnostics, lab guide (Dutch): zinc. 2026. clinicaldiagnostics.nl
- 4.LESA Laboratory diagnostics (Dutch primary-care laboratory agreement). 2026. richtlijnen.nhg.org
Educational information only, not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for clinical decisions.
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Zinc is part of Advanced, the broader panel. It is not orderable yet.
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