You bought the zinc for a reason. It was on a shelf on its own, and nothing on the box mentioned anything else.
Standalone zinc is simple to make and simple to sell. Copper is the line that tends to disappear. That is the whole page.
The short answer
- Zinc and copper use the same route into the body, and zinc is better at getting through it.
- That matters over months, not days. A single high dose does nothing here.
- The zinc-to-copper ratio you will see quoted online has no regulator behind it. We looked.
- Both are on our label at the same percentage of their reference value. That is the whole design decision.
- If you want zinc at a dose aimed at zinc, a standalone product will do that job better than we will. Add the milligrams if you stack.
They compete, and zinc usually wins
Zinc and copper are absorbed across the wall of the small intestine, and they use overlapping machinery to get there.
When zinc intake goes up, the cells lining the gut make more of a protein called metallothionein. Metallothionein binds both metals, but it holds copper more tightly. Copper that gets bound stays in the cell, the cell is shed and replaced in a few days, and the copper leaves with it.
So the effect is not that zinc destroys copper. It is that zinc quietly makes copper harder to keep.
This is slow. It is a monthly and yearly effect, not an overnight one. Which is exactly why it is easy to miss: nobody feels a supplement doing this, and nobody is looking.
EFSA's 2014 zinc opinion and 2015 copper opinion discuss them as separate nutrients. They do not write a shopping pair. The physiology still sits in the textbooks.
The ratio everyone quotes, and where it comes from
Search for this and you will find a zinc-to-copper ratio of ten to one, stated confidently, usually without a source.
We went looking for the source. There isn't an official one. EFSA publishes dietary reference values for zinc and for copper as separate documents, each with its own reasoning. Neither sets a ratio between them. No EU authority does. AESAN and the DGAV sit in the same European rulebook. They do not print ten-to-one either.
That does not mean the number is wrong. It means it is a rule of thumb that has been repeated until it sounds like a regulation, and you should know which of those you are reading.
Here is the part that is official, and it is more useful. The EU nutrient reference values, the figures used on every label in the bloc, are 10 mg for zinc and 1 mg for copper, from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011.
So if a product carries both at the same percentage of their reference values, the ratio comes out at ten to one on its own. Not because anyone chose ten to one. Because that is what the reference values already are.
What we did, and the part that is not flattering
Both minerals are in all three of our formulas, at the same percentage of the reference value: 50% each in Kids, 100% each in Teens and Adults.
That is it. That is the entire decision. We did not derive a ratio, we matched two numbers that already existed and let the ratio fall out.
The unflattering part: this is not clever, and we would rather you knew that than thought it was. Any brand that includes copper at all arrives at roughly the same place. The interesting question is not how we got to ten to one. It is why so many zinc products contain no copper whatsoever, and the answer is usually that a single-mineral product is simpler to make, simpler to market, and cheaper.
The other unflattering part: if you are taking a separate high-dose zinc supplement on top of anything, ours included, the sums stop being ours to do. Add them up. Zinc's adult upper intake is 25 mg. At 4 to 6 it is 10 mg, at 7 to 10 13 mg. That page is here. The child zinc page is here.
What to check tonight
You can do this with whatever is in the cupboard.
- Find the zinc product and read the panel. Is copper on it at all? On a lot of standalone zinc products it isn't.
- If it's there, compare the two %NRV figures. If zinc is at 300% and copper at 40%, you are looking at a product that is going in one direction.
- If it isn't there, look at how long you've been taking it. A month is not the question. A year is.
- Add up everything. A multinutrient, a separate zinc, and a fortified cereal are three sources, and only you can see all three.
- If you've taken high-dose zinc alone for a long stretch, that's a conversation with your GP, not a reason to buy something else. Copper status is measurable and we are not the ones to interpret it.
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Where My Daily Pocket fits
| Formula | Zinc | Copper |
|---|---|---|
| Pocket Kids (4–11) | 5 mg | 500 µg |
| Pocket Teens (12–17) | 10 mg | 1000 µg |
| Pocket Adults (18+) | 10 mg | 1000 µg |
These are daily multinutrient amounts for the age line on the pouch, not a high-dose zinc course. Under 4 is outside the Kids line. A standalone zinc tablet on top still needs adding up. Pregnancy needs prenatal care, not this pouch.
Kids at 50% NRV of each, Teens and Adults at 100%. Zinc contributes to the normal function of the immune system and contributes to normal DNA synthesis, in those authorised wordings. Copper contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress. Those sentences are modest. They are not a reason to run a zinc-only bottle for a year.
If you want zinc specifically, at a dose aimed at zinc, a standalone product will do that better than we will. Ours is a daily multinutrient. We would rather not sell zinc on its own and stay silent about copper.
We still have no iron and no omega-3. A scoop is not a meal.
FAQ
What zinc-to-copper ratio should I look for?
There is no official EU ratio. The adult NRVs are 10 mg zinc and 1 mg copper. Matching the two percentages lands on ten to one by arithmetic, not by a secret.
Does My Daily Pocket contain both?
Yes. Kids: zinc 5 mg, copper 500 µg. Teens and Adults: zinc 10 mg, copper 1000 µg.
Can I add a zinc tablet on top?
Only after you add the milligrams. Adult UL 25 mg. Children's ceilings sit lower.
Why do so many zinc products skip copper?
A single-mineral product is simpler to make and to market. That is not a physiology argument.
Is this a reason to buy a copper-only bottle too?
Not from this page. If you have taken high-dose zinc alone for a long stretch, that is a GP conversation.
Sources
- EFSA, dietary reference values for zinc, 2014
- EFSA, dietary reference values for copper, 2015
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex XIII
- EU Register of nutrition and health claims
- EFSA UL summary
- How much zinc does a child need?
- How much is too much?
About the authors
Lina is a co-founder of My Daily Pocket and is certified in nutrition. Stanislava is a co-founder. They write the Knowledge Hub together.
Last reviewed: 15 October 2026.
Food supplements should not replace a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. No supplement is a substitute for a varied, balanced diet. Stay within the dose on the pack. This page does not replace a GP. If you are pregnant, on medicines, or a child has a medical condition, speak to a professional.
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