Table of Contents
What Every Man Should Know About Zinc
Contents:
- Foods rich in zinc
- Importance of zinc
- Zinc Studies
- Benefits of zinc in men
- How much zinc do men need?
- How to get enough zinc in your diet
Maybe you have heard that Zinc can have a positive benefit on men's health, and it does.
The National Institute of Health recommends that men over the age of 19 should be getting at least 11mg 1 of Zinc a day to avoid a deficiency.
Zinc deficiency among men is not uncommon, it is often attributed to a poor diet or from not eating the right zinc rich foods.
The more active you are the more zinc you should probably consume, men who train with weights and are very active may want to consume higher amounts in order to maintain healthy testosterone levels.
Many foods that are rich in zinc are generally good muscle building foods as well.
Importance of zinc in men:
- Strengthens your immune system
- Good for prostate health
- Boosts testosterone
- Improves overall sexual health
- Increase sperm count and sex drive
There are many foods that are rich in zinc, some of those include:
- Lamb 3 ounces: 6.7mg
- Raw oysters (6) 31,85mg of
- Spinach (1 cup) 1.4mg of
- 100grams of grass-fed beef 4.5mg
So, how important is zinc for men?
Very important!
While the average guy can get away with the daily recommended allowance men who are active and want to gain muscle and boost testosterone may need more due to the role it plays maintaining optimum health.
First, let's take a look at what studies show.
Zinc study #1
One 2 study was done on 10 young male wrestlers who were between 18-20 years old. The subjects were given an oral supplement (3mg of zinc) per day in addition to their normal diet.
The men were tested before and after exercise (resting and exhaustion) and before zinc supplementation.
What the study showed is that after 4 weeks of supplementing the men with zinc there was a significant increase in free testosterone levels.
Whereas before, the testosterone levels were considerably lower after training.
This is important to note because high-intensity training can actually cause a decrease in testosterone levels.
Zinc study #2
A second study was done on 40 normal men between the ages of 20-80 four of the younger men in their mid 20's had their zinc intake reduced, a group of elderly men who were studied had marginal zinc deficiency due to their age.
The elderly men were given a zinc supplement over a 3-6 month period and saw a significant increase in testosterone, the younger men who were in the zinc restricted diet saw a decrease in testosterone levels.
The study concluded 3 that zinc may play a signifcant role at increasing testosterone.
So in simple terms, we know that intense exercise can deplete testosterone levels, getting enough zinc can counteract this effect.
So what else does zinc do for men?
Since we know that zinc can have a positive effect on increasing testosterone there are many more benefits zinc has to offer.
Zinc has been used as a potent sex mineral.
Why?
Because it can increase fertility by increasing sperm count, most men who have low sperm count are usually zinc deficient.
Frequent ejaculation in men can reduce zinc levels significantly.
I bet you did not know that when you ejaculate you expend small a small amount of zinc. The fact is you do, every time a man ejaculates he loses approximately 5 milligrams of zinc.
Zinc can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
A recent study at John Hopkins University showed that that cancerous prostate tissue tends to have less zinc than healthy tissue.
While zinc is found in just about every part of your body, the highest concentration in men is found in the prostate.
How much zinc do men need?
The national institute of health recommends that men get 19 or older get at least 11mg per day, however, active men may require more. It is not recommended to exceed more than 40mg per day to avoid potential side effects.
More zinc can mean more muscle
For any man, getting enough zinc in your diet can boost testosterone, this is essential for optimum health.
Why?
Because even the average man needs testosterone to maintain a healthy sexual function and it can prevent muscle wasting.
Bodybuilders and athletes need zinc to help restore testosterone levels and prevent those levels from being depleted due to heavy or intense training.
Another plus for men that want to build muscle is that zinc seems to inhibit the conversion of testosterone into oestrogens.
Improve athletic performance
Since zinc plays a primary role in boosting anabolic hormones, having plenty of zinc makes it easier for your body to release growth hormone, testosterone, and IGF-1. It will also help increase strength helping you lift more.
Speed up cellular repair
If you are someone who is on the go all the time, active or love strength training, you are most likely placing a lot of stress on your body, in order for your muscles to repair themselves, they need zinc to build new cells.
Improve cardiovascular health
Zinc helps improve blood flow and circulation, by maintaining healthy endothelium cells which line the blood vessels. Low zinc can make the endothelial lining weak and can lead to inflammation and clogged arteries due to cholesterol buildup.
This is something that men who take steroids may be even more susceptible to, that is why zinc is even more important among men who take anabolic steroids.
Steroid use can often cause a drastic increases in cholesterol so getting plenty of zinc may offset this.
How to get enough zinc
The first choice is by eating zinc-rich foods, and this is usually sufficient for the average man, however, more active men or men who train hard probably can't get enough with diet alone.
Obviously, oysters are one of the highest sources of zinc, but eating oysters every day would not be a realistic approach.
Who can afford to eat oysters everyday right?
Zinc supplements
In order to get enough zinc you could probably get enough from your average vitamin supplement, unfortunately, many of those just contain enough to satisfy the recommended daily allowance.
Since zinc is all about boosting testosterone, a good testosterone booster offers more bang for your buck, plus many of them contain additional nutrients that men need such as D-Aspartic acid, selenium and B vitamins which combined together offer more benefits than a plain zinc supplement.
Conclusion
Not getting enough zinc is something that is very common among most men due to poor diet or not eating zinc rich foods.
If you are struggling with some of the side effects caused by a zinc deficiency its not the end of the world, it can be remedied quickly with eating a zinc rich diet or with supplements.
If you still have doubts about zinc and its effect on your health we would recommend you speak with your doctor for professional advice.
