I have a question about ZMA. I know that it can have positive effects on a person’s testosterone levels, but will it be as effective for someone who already has a good diet in which high amounts of zinc and magnesium are consumed. Will it be just as beneficial if someone takes a very good multi-vitamin along with having a good diet. Any thoughts are appreciated. Mike
Yes it will be beneficial to you because its in asparate form, which is more easily absorbed by the body, unlike most of the other sources of zinc and magnesium you come across in your diet and multivitamin
My strong belief is no. Zinc is not a
“more is better” nutrient – in fact it’s
harmful to get too much. If you have a diet
containing plenty of zinc naturally, e.g.
you eat a good amount of red meat, and/or
you consume many supplements which contain
zinc (even in the zinc oxide form) as
most meal replacement products do, it’s
very likely you already are getting all
the zinc you should have.
On the other hand, there are certainly
cases where zinc intake is not adequate,
especially when dieting, and here ZMA
can be a genuinely helpful product.
So in other words I think everyone should
evaluate their own diet first before
deciding to use this supplement, mostly
basing the decision on red meat intake
and amount of zinc in supplements already
taken.
It depends on your activity level. If you are veery active like college or pro level athletic or similar, its very helpfull. With the constant workingout, wear and tear, stress, and fluid loss, even witha multi you’ll be low on zinc and Magnesium. If you are just someone who worksout 3-5 days a week with the multi, as the previous guy said, more harm than good.
Zinc is one of the most common mineral deficiencies and I would bet that if everyone reading this tested themself (see below) more than half of you will test out low. Why? (1)consumed is not absorbed i.e. many forms including the oxide form in MRPs are poorly absorbed (2)zinc and copper (which is plentiful in drinking water because of copper in many pipes) are antagonistic to each other which means if you drink lots of water with copper in it, you may need more zinc (3)exercise increases zinc requirements. You can not know for sure until you test yourself which you can do for about $15. Buy a bottle of Zinc Status (Zinc Challenge) liquid by Ethical Nutrients (no financial interest. it is easy to find on the web). Take 2 tsps in your mouth, hold it there for a few seconds, and then swallow. No taste–you need a lot more zinc; a little funny tasting? you need a little more zinc. Funny taste immediately? OK you have enough zinc. 30 mg of zinc gluconate or picolinate per day is a reasonable adult dose. Probably more if you exercise heavily. Bill is right more then 100 mg per day has been linked to lipid abnormalities.