Is Zinc Safe with Oral contraceptives?
Free · No account · based on published sources including NIH ODS, FDA drug labels, and peer-reviewed literature
Consider supplementing with 8–15 mg of zinc (as zinc picolinate or zinc citrate) daily. Always balance zinc supplementation with copper (ratio approximately 10:1) to avoid copper deficiency.
Why this interaction occurs
OCs have been shown to decrease plasma zinc concentrations, likely by increasing hepatic synthesis of zinc-binding proteins (ceruloplasmin, albumin-bound zinc redistribution) and altering zinc metabolism. Zinc deficiency can impair immune function, wound healing, and reproductive health.
Evidence
Evidence level: moderate.
Reported safety data
The FDA’s adverse event reporting system (FAERS) has received 22,854 reports mentioning Oral contraceptives. This reflects reported cases involving the medication in general — not confirmed causation, and not specific to the Oral contraceptives + supplement combination on this page.
FAERS reports are voluntary and cannot prove that a drug caused an event. Do not use report counts to assess the safety of this specific drug-supplement pair.
Frequently asked questions
Related interactions
All Zinc interactions → · All Oral contraceptives interactions →
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Educational only — not medical advice.
Always confirm with your doctor or pharmacist.