Recent research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that many men are seriously deficient in zinc [1]. In the same report, Dr. Henry Lukaski reports that diets low in zinc actually retard your muscle growth. Your body needs zinc. It’s involved in more than 200 chemical reactions that take place in your body. Most important, zinc plays a vital role in testosterone production. Without enough zinc, your body simply won’t function properly.

When you exercise, you sweat - leading to a huge loss of zinc. The longer you train, the worse it gets. A group of male soldiers on a training exercise lost 75% more zinc than subjects doing nothing.

The good news is that adding zinc to your diet will increase your testosterone levels. In fact, Dr. Lukaski reports that testosterone levels double after six months of zinc supplementation. Foods high in zinc include:

Oysters (3 ounces): 150 mg
Crab (4 ounces): 9 mg
Beef (4 ounces): 6 mg
Turkey (4 ounces): 4 mg

You can also add supplemental zinc to your diet. You’ll find it in many multi-vitamin and mineral formula’s. Solgar also sell a high-quality zinc-only formula. And if you want to try the Rolls Royce of zinc supplements, go for ZMA. Recent university trials show that ZMA (short for zinc and magnesium) exerts a powerful effect on muscle strength and power.

The study, conducted at Western Washington University, followed two groups of American Footballers during an 8-week training programme [2]. One group was given ZMA, while the second group used a ‘dummy’ supplement. None of the footballers knew which was which. ZMA supplementation led to a dramatic 33.5% increase in testosterone.

In contrast, testosterone levels actually dropped in the control group. What’s more, testosterone wasn’t the only hormone that increased. IGF-1 (a powerful hormone that plays a vital role in muscle growth) is normally lowered in response to regular exercise. However, despite the intensive training programme, ZMA users experienced a 3.6% increase in IGF-1 levels. In non-ZMA users, IGF-1 levels dropped by 21.5%.

References
1. Lukaski, H.C. (2000). Magnesium, zinc, and chromium nutriture and physical activity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 72, 585S-593S
2. Brilla, L.R., & Conte, V. (1999). A novel zinc and magnesium formulation (ZMA) increases anabolic hormones and strength in athletes. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 31, 483

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