Zinc

What it does: Component of over 200 enzymes in the body, essential for growth, important for healing, controls hormones, aids ability to cope with stress effectively, promotes healthy nervous system and brain especially in a growing foetus, aids bones and teeth formation, helps hair to bloom, essential for constant energy.

Deficiency Signs: Poor sense of taste or smell, white marks on more than two fingernails, frequent infections, stretch marks, acne or greasy skin, low fertility, pale skin, tendency for depression, loss of appetite

Best food sources: Oysters, ginger root, lamb, pecan nuts, dry split peas, haddock, green peas, shrimps, turnips, Brazil nuts, egg yolks, wholewheat grain, rye, oats, peanuts, almonds.