Ashley Moran:
> Thanks for the advice.  I will take 1 tablet per day and increase one 
> per day per week.

You might want to start at 10 mg, since women have lower zinc requirements
than men.

> That gives me about 4 1/2 weeks off a 90 tablet bottle, which should 
> be enough to prove or disprove a zinc deficiency.  I don't have white 
> spots on my fingernails, but I do have a really poor sense of smell.

I would expect two or more symptoms if you were deficient, but we'll see.

"Some of the symptoms of zinc deficiency include loss of appetite, poor
growth, weight loss, impaired taste or smell, poor wound healing, skin
abnormalities (such as acne, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis), hair loss,
lack of menstrual period, night blindness, hypogonadism and delayed sexual
maturation, white spots on the fingernails and feelings of depression."
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsSupplements/Zinccs.html

"Zinc deficiency can result in irritability, anger episodes, impaired immune
function, acne, stunting of growth, poor taste and smell sensitivity, and
impaired wound healing. There is a high incidence of zinc deficiency in
people labeled with ADD, autism, depression, schizophrenia, eating disorders
and bipolar disorders [and type 1 diabetes]."
http://www.drkaslow.com/html/zinc.html