ZMA — a Testosterone Booster?
As I mentioned earlier, ZMA includes two minerals—zinc and magnesium, and one vitamin—Vitamin B6. The complex was invented by Victor Conte, who at that time co-owned the BALCO lab, which served many famous athletes.
According to the inventor, ZMA was simply invaluable in aiding the body's production of testosterone: take the supplement and get more 'testo' in your blood.
This applied to both men and—strangely enough—women. Later, Conte admitted that ZMA was just a marketing move to attract wealthy clients, or clients who could make BALCO famous.
Later, the supplement served as a cover for the real substances that actually raised testosterone levels, which BALCO discreetly offered to its clients. Indeed, those substances were illegal, whereas ZMA was perfectly legal: WADA never even thought to ban it.
Yet, the former lab owner insisted that ZMA could indeed provide some benefits for testosterone production. Let's try to find out if that's really the case.
The Benefits of ZMA
So what's so magical about combining zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6 under one roof? In reality, there is no synergy in this case—each component of the complex can be taken separately with exactly the same effect.
All three components are very important for the body's functioning. For instance:
- Zinc deficiency can eventually lead to hypogonadism (persistent deficiency of endogenous testosterone), reduced insulin sensitivity, lethargy, and depression;
- Magnesium deficiency also affects tissue sensitivity to insulin, and can cause spontaneous spikes in blood pressure and nervous exhaustion;
- Vitamin B6 deficiency can strike a blow to the immune system and slow down protein assimilation.
But none of this has anything to do with “boosting” the production of endogenous testosterone. Moreover, a comprehensive study conducted in 2004 (42 people—all men, regularly engaged in power training) led to a discouraging conclusion.
Scientific conclusion: ZMA does not have any significant impact on the levels of total and free testosterone, IGF-1, growth hormone, cortisol, the cortisol to testosterone ratio, or overall load responsiveness.
Subsequent studies have been conducted, but the result has remained unchanged…
Why You Need ZMA and its Use in Sports
How can (and should) you use ZMA? Yes, if you want to increase your testosterone levels with ZMA, I would advise you to spend your money on something more useful in this regard. Like going to the movies, for example. But to say that the supplement has no benefits at all... well, that would be too much.
Zinc deficiency most often occurs among enthusiasts of heavy training—this trace element easily leaves the body with sweat. In hot weather, zinc deficiency can also be a concern for those who train relatively lightly.
Intensely training "naturals" not infrequently notice a decrease in libido, but usually link it to overtraining. However, the true cause could be just a zinc deficiency. This deficiency can also occur with increased insulin resistance.
In this case, it's like a snowball effect: reduced insulin sensitivity leads to a zinc deficiency, and a zinc deficiency further reduces tissue (especially muscle) sensitivity to insulin.
What do you say: insulin resistance isn't a threat to you? You haven't tried a strict "no-carb" diet yet. In fact, for a passionate "bodybuilder," alternating periods of "loading" (that is, binging) with periods of "abstinence," increasing insulin resistance is not just a theoretical problem.
And yet, doctors note a magnesium deficiency in half the population of developed countries (although there are countries where this deficiency is virtually non-existent). And active lifestyle enthusiasts are certainly not an exception.
Conclusion
So what do we conclude in the end?
That taking ZMA during a strict diet will definitely not let you slide into the abyss of insulin resistance. That heavy training will not affect your libido, weaken your immune system, or deplete your nervous system. That your blood pressure won't resemble a grasshopper and won't jump at the slightest provocation.
For those who expect miracles from sports supplements, this may seem too little. As for me, that's more than enough reason to include ZMA in your arsenal.
ZMA Supplements
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