ZMA and Calcium

Diet and Nutrition
1

I was running out of ZMA, and wandering down the supp row at my local market, and saw they had a buy one get one free sale on a zinc/magnesium supp. So, being the economical college student that I am, I decided to buy two to use when my ZMA ran out.

Problem is, it has calcium too. 1000mg calcium, 400mg magnesium, 15mg zinc per serving. Now, I saw on some old threads that calcium gets in the way of absorbance of other minerals. If I take this pre-bed, will I eventually digest the zinc and magnesium while sleeping, or am I essentially just peeing my money into the toilet?

2

calcium blocks absorption of zinc/mag… I have never seen a ZMA supp with calcium in it. But it sounds like that one is completely useless.

3

I wouldnt take it.

4

It’d be interesting to know if anyone who’s posted so far has actually read any papers on this - or are just relying on what supp companies tell them.

In a nutshell, yes they do both compete for the same sites, but assuming you have plenty of both in your diet, this is not an issue.

An easy way to think of it is: zinc obviously competes with zinc - so would you not take zinc with zinc?

5

[quote]Dave_ wrote:
It’d be interesting to know if anyone who’s posted so far has actually read any papers on this - or are just relying on what supp companies tell them.

[/quote]

When all supplement companies are telling you the same thing it is hard not to believe them.

6

It take GRAMS of calcium to block Zinc absorption. This problem is completely overblown.

The real issue is your supplement being comprised of Zinc Oxide and Magnesium Oxide, which are very poorly assimilated by the body.

7

[quote]redgladiator wrote:
Dave_ wrote:
It’d be interesting to know if anyone who’s posted so far has actually read any papers on this - or are just relying on what supp companies tell them.

When all supplement companies are telling you the same thing it is hard not to believe them.

[/quote]

“Belief” shouldn’t really enter the process. Examine the research and methods used (Biotest are often good enough to cite articles) and deem for yourself whether the claims are a load of shit or not. Know something, but don’t EVER “believe”.

Especially when companies are trying to sell a product.

Pretty simple method - try your standard dose ZMA with and without milk for limited periods of time, attempting to keep other factors constant. Assess difference - e.g. ability to sleep. Obviously a “study” where test subjects = 1 is not going to be great, but at least you know how it works FOR YOU.

8

Oh, and always check which company has funded the study, that’s often VERY entertaining!

9

[quote]Dave_ wrote:
redgladiator wrote:
Dave_ wrote:
It’d be interesting to know if anyone who’s posted so far has actually read any papers on this - or are just relying on what supp companies tell them.

When all supplement companies are telling you the same thing it is hard not to believe them.

“Belief” shouldn’t really enter the process. Examine the research and methods used (Biotest are often good enough to cite articles) and deem for yourself whether the claims are a load of shit or not. Know something, but don’t EVER “believe”.

Especially when companies are trying to sell a product.

Pretty simple method - try your standard dose ZMA with and without milk for limited periods of time, attempting to keep other factors constant. Assess difference - e.g. ability to sleep. Obviously a “study” where test subjects = 1 is not going to be great, but at least you know how it works FOR YOU.

[/quote]

The supplement companies have NOTHING to gain saying not to take ZMA with calcium, this is NOT a selling point.

10

[quote]redgladiator wrote:

The supplement companies have NOTHING to gain saying not to take ZMA with calcium, this is NOT a selling point.[/quote]

The point is, the more convuluted the process of taking various supps becomes, the more products can be made which bypass these “problems”.

You may have also noticed that my above post was referring to claims in general, not just those regarding ZMA. The idea is to sometimes question what you are told. Plenty of people run around crying about combining Fat and Carbs (much to their detriment), but few can provide a solid argument as to why this is SO important.