Zinc: Lozenges vs. Pills: Does it Matter?

A lot of people are reaching for zinc, based on some of the research where it shortens duration of viral infections. The original research involved lozenges. Meanwhile, the research on pills has been decidedly mixed.   So that would seem to suggest lozenges are preferred, no…?

Well… not so fast. Zinc lozenges almost always use a form of zinc called zinc gluconate, which is well-absorbing. Mostly because it doesn’t taste awful, and it’s easy to put in a lozenge. So almost by accident, lozenges end up using a superior form of zinc, and then it works.

Meanwhile, there are no such limitations with zinc pills, so many of them (including in clinical trials) involve poorly-absorbing, less effective forms – destined to underperform.

To be honest, I’ve never seen a clinical trial that provides an apples-to-apples comparison of zinc lozenges to pills. But my advice is almost always: reach for the pills. They cost less, deliver more, and don’t have a metallic aftertaste. Just make sure to get the well-absorbing ones. Looks for forms like zinc gluconate, monomethionine (“Optizinc”) and picolinate.