Zinc picolinate

Tier 2 — promising · Immunity · Absorption · Taste and smell

Zinc chelated to picolinic acid — a form marketed for superior absorption. A small older RCT (Barrie 1987, J Nutr Med) reported better zinc retention from picolinate vs citrate and gluconate, but this finding has not been replicated in larger trials and the '61% better than citrate' figure cannot be confirmed from recent indexed literature. In practice, zinc picolinate is well-tolerated and effective; its clinical outcomes likely resemble other organic zinc chelates. Particularly useful for people with absorption difficulties or low gastric acid. Loss of taste and smell — a hallmark of…

Dose: 15–30 mg/day elemental zinc as picolinate; reduce to 8–15 mg/day for maintenance. If exceeding 25 mg/day long-term, add 1–2 mg copper daily.