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Hi All! These are the replies that I got to my zinc levels question:

---When I used to be a welder we had to be careful of welding
galvanized steel because we'd get zinc poisoning quickly, and it's
cumulative and somewhat permanent. I'm pretty sure I've read that you
can get zinc poisoning from taking too much zinc too.

--* Overall, the body contains 2 to 3 grams of zinc.  This is found
mainly in the bones, teeth, hair, skin, liver, muscle, white blood cells
and testes.

* Screening tests are done by looking for the zinc content in the blood
plasma.  The normal blood plasma range for zinc in humans is:

     60 - 130 micrograms per deciliter (1 deciliter = 100 milliliters)
or,

     9.2 - 19.9 micromoles  per liter (if expressed in SI units).

* A normal adult diet gives about 6 - 15mg of zinc a day but only about
20 to 30% of this is absorbed by the body. Good food sources of zinc are
meat (especially liver), eggs, ginger, sunflower and pumpkin seeds,
whole grains, yeast and seafood.

* Zinc deficiency signs and symptoms are: anorexia, growth retardation,
delayed sexual maturation, alopecia (hair loss), immune disorders,
dermatitis, night blindness, impaired taste, brittle nails, loss of
smell and slow wound healing. Things that interfere with zinc absorption
include excess iron and copper intake, alcohol, excessive calcium and
some drugs (penicillin, pentobarbital, steroids). Zinc uptake is
enhanced with vitamin A, B6, D and E intake, cysteine, magnesium and
manganese.

* Zinc can be toxic if taken in large amounts over a long perios of
time. It has been shown that zinc intakes of over 1000mg (ie. 1 gram) a
day for a long time can result in diarrhoea, fatigue, nausea, depression
of the central nervous system, tremors and vomiting.  It can also result
in symptoms of copper and iron deficiency. Some texts say that zinc can
be toxic at intakes of 200 to 800 mg a day over a long time.

* The recommended dietary intake for zinc for Australian adults is 12mg
per day. In the USA the recommended dietary intake is 15mg for adult
males and 12mg for adult females.

--Go to YAHOO and search for zinc and you will get 7,900 entries.  That
should answer all your questions.

--I have heard that high levels can actually mean the opposite; but I
don't remember the mechanism of how, or why....maybe you can find
something about it on an alternative health site; perhaps pose the
question to Dr. Andrew Weil or others.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. Yesterday, both my mom and I
found out we had to have some of our bloodwork re-done (? weird lab
results--didn't get to talk to the MD)...maybe there will be some
answers.  Susan