ZMA, Is it worth it? Vegans listen up!

This is a supplement I have looked at for a while.  I have gotten a request to touch base on them, so here it is ZMA's and are they worth it!

ZMA:  ZMA consist of zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6 (often times is B6, can be other compounds depending on brand) and was originally introduced by Victor Conte.  Now Victor Conte is not just anybody and an absolutely awesome podcast between himeself and Joe Rogan can shed some light on the life he has had.  You can see that here.  To bring you up to speed, he was one of the greatest when it comes to supplementation, and that means both good and bad.  He was found guilty in a steroid scandal on a large scale, but has since turned over a new leaf.  He now works with a number of high profile athletes and professional sports teams.  Victor Conte has a machine which can distingish what is wrong with an atheltes diet, training, or physiology, and make recommendations based on an athletes results.  Anyhow, he came up with this supplement stack and it has been questioned on it's affectiveness ever since.  Zinc and Magnesium are needed for a number of bodily functions including testosterone regulation.  Studies have shown that insufficent supplementation leads to lower levels in testosterone.  On the contrary, other studies have shown little to no differences.  While the jury is still out, there is a lot of positive reviews and studies on ZMA, and the truth is, it seems to work a little different for everyone.  The great point here, is many people are deficient in zinc and magnesium, and the two come with a lot of other health benefits.  Here are a few:

Zinc:
Helps regulate testosterone
Helps male fertility
Helps female fertility
Helps boost immune function (especially in treatment and prevention of diarrhea
Improves Cardiovascular functions
Improves how our body deals with insulin
It is in every tissue of the human body and is an essential macronutrient
It is an antioxidant
It improves cognitive function and aids those with ADHD like issues
Elevates mood and decreases depression

Magnesium    
Helps reverse osteoporosis symptoms
Prevents cardiovascular disease
Helps regulate blood pressure
Helps with migraines, insomnia and depression
Helps treat diabetes

What foods provide zinc?
This is where vegetarians need to listen up!  A lot of good sources of zinc are found in meats.  Remember zinc is essential and so for vegetarians I ALWAYS recommend to take zinc in pill form to ensure you don't become deficient.

• Oysters, which are the best source of zinc.
• Red meat, poultry, seafood such as crab and lobsters, and fortified breakfast cereals, which are also good sources of zinc.
• Beans, nuts, whole grains, and dairy products, which provide some zinc. 

What foods provide magnesium?
Here is where vegetarians will have the edge!  Magnesium rich foods are often involved in a lot of wheats, grains and vegetables.  So for you meat eaters out there (who don't also eat fish), and I am one of them who is a big fan of high protein low carbs meals, you must look at supplementing for magnesium or aiming for these foods:

Foods High in Magnesium	Serving Size	Magnesium (mg)
Beans, black	1 cup	120
Broccoli, raw	1 cup	22
Halibut	1/2 fillet	170
Nuts, peanuts	1 oz	64
Okra, frozen	1 cup	94
Oysters	3 oz	49
Plantain, raw	1 medium	66
Rockfish	1 fillet	51
Scallop	6 large	55
Seeds, pumpkin and squash	1 oz (142 seeds)	151
Soy milk	1 cup	47
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	157
Tofu	1/4 block	37
Whole grain cereal, ready-to-eat	3/4 cup	24
Whole grain cereal, cooked	1 cup	56
Whole wheat bread	1 slice	24

Now you may have noticed I did not mention a whole lot on Vitamin B6 which accompanies this supplement stack.  That is simply because, there isn't a lot of information out there on how it works with zinc and magnesium.  Some studies have shown and Victor Conte claims, it helps in the absorption of the macronutrients.  I am still out on this fact, but Victor Conte is a very very intelligent man with a lot of technology at his disposal that can give you a complete body breakdown to the cellular level, so that being said, if I had to chose, I would lean towards taking B6.

In conclusion, the truth is we need both of these nutrients for our bodies to run properly.  They are essential, and they are in my mind worth taking.  If not for the benefits in testosterone production, the lists above should be reason enough to try supplementing with either of these products.  The recommended dosages would depend on the product and you should ask your supplement shops for the serving sizes.

Cheers!

Ryan Trueman
Ryan.Trueman@dal.ca