Zinc Benefits for Men: Sex Mineral of The Endocrine System

Zinc Benefits for Men

Zinc plays a critical role in men’s health and wellness. It helps the body to produce over 300 enzymes and plays a role in many important processes in the body, including cell repair, the production of DNA, supporting restful sleep, supporting the immune system, a healthy reproductive system, and for supporting good night vision.

Zinc promotes a healthy immune system because it increases the amount of the body’s white blood cells that help to fight infections such as colds and the flu. Zinc also increases the amount of T-cells in the body that are also important for fighting infections.

Zinc is especially important for older people who often do not maintain sufficient zinc levels, and their immune systems may get weaker as they age. Zinc can also help to facilitate hair growth by supporting the immune system

Benefits of Zinc for Men – Testosterone

Zinc is called the “sex mineral” for good reason, as it plays a critical role in sexual health for both men and women.

For men, zinc levels in the body can impact fertility, testosterone levels, a healthy prostate, potency, and sex drive.

Zinc is required to produce healthy sperm. In fact, a deficiency in zinc is a leading cause of reduced semen volume and testosterone.

During an ejaculation, a man will lose up to 5mg of zinc, which is about half of the male daily requirement for zinc.

Be sure that you have sufficient zinc daily intake if you and your partner are planning on having children soon.

A 1996 study conducted at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan found that young men who consumed a diet low in zinc for 20 weeks experienced a 75% reduction in their testosterone levels.

In contrast, older men in the study who were deficient in zinc experienced a doubling of their testosterone levels after consuming a zinc supplement for six months.

This study clearly demonstrates just how critical zinc is for supporting optimal male testosterone levels.

Zinc Benefits for Men – Libido and Sperm

It has been found that a deficiency of zinc not only reduces your sense of taste, but also reduces your sense of smell, and a reduced sense of smell may be linked to reduced libido.

Researchers believe that this might possibly be due to a reduction in the body’s ability to detect subtle pheromone and other body chemistry changes that induce sexual arousal.

Low sperm motility (the vitality and strength of the sperm cells to swim forward and fertilize an egg) is a major cause of infertility for men.

One reason for low sperm motility in men can be due to inadequate levels of zinc and other nutrients.

It is important to note that issues with sperm motility and sex drive can also be due to stress and other factors, so be sure to check with your doctor if you are having these issues and suspect that a zinc deficiency may be the culprit.

It is important to note that issues with sperm motility and sex drive can also be due to stress and other factors, so be sure to check with your doctor if you are having these issues and suspect that a zinc deficiency may be the culprit.

Zinc Benefits For Men – Prostate Health, Thyroid Function, and Exercise Recovery

Zinc is important for supporting prostate health, as the prostate has a high demand for zinc. In fact, the prostate contains more zinc than any other tissue in the body except for bone tissue.

Men who are deficient in zinc are at a higher risk of developing prostate-related health problems, such as an enlarged prostate and inflammation of the prostate, as well as a potentially higher risk of developing prostate cancer.

Zinc is necessary for proper thyroid function. A hampered thyroid gland can lead to low testosterone levels in men, and can potentially cause other health problems such as weight gain.

Zinc is important in the repairing and rebuilding of cells, especially after strenuous activities such as weight training and running.

When we work our muscles hard through these physical activities, we also expend lots of energy, which produces free radicals in the body.

When we engage in intense training, we also sweat a lot, and sometimes we fail to take in sufficient calories to make up for what we’ve lost.

When this happens, we can become deficient in zinc in our bodies. Zinc acts as an antioxidant to mitigate this free radical damage that can occur during these processes.

If you participate in any form of rigorous physical training, it is especially important that you make sure you are getting enough zinc to compensate for the creation of these free radicals. 

As you can see there are so many zinc benefits for men, and now we will show you how to get more zinc into the body.

How to Get More Zinc

Because of zinc’s crucial role in maintaining general health and healthy testosterone levels, and because our bodies don’t make it, it’s very important that we get a sufficient intake of zinc every single day.

Beware of heavy drinking, as alcohol depletes the body of zinc, especially within the thyroid gland.

Certain types of medicines can deplete zinc levels, such as ACE inhibitors, thiazide diuretics, and acid blockers like Zantac and Prilosec.

You may also be zinc deficient if you have a gastrointestinal condition and you aren’t absorbing the nutrients properly from the foods that you eat.

If possible, strive to get your suggested daily dose of 11mg of zinc from food.

Zinc can be found in the same food sources that increase testosterone such as oysters and other shellfish, turkey, cereals, chicken, beans, beef liver, red meat, whole grains, nuts, pumpkin seeds, egg yolk, and dark chocolate (just one more reason to favor high-quality chocolate).

If you find that it is challenging to get enough zinc through food, or if you aren’t efficiently absorbing the zinc through your diet, you might consider taking a zinc supplement.

However, be careful with zinc supplementation, as too much zinc in the body can potentially be harmful.

Too much zinc in the body can compete with other important nutrients such as copper and iron, and can cause symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, and headaches.

Due to these potential negative issues associated with a zinc overload, it is recommended that adult males 19 years and older do not exceed 40mg of zinc per day.

If you are trying to decide on the best zinc supplement to take we recommend choosing Zinc orotate because the human body’s cellular membranes most readily absorb this type of Zinc.

Research done by Dr. Hans Nieper has found that the orotate form of zinc is more neutrally charged than normal zinc allowing them to pass through the membranes of cells easily leading to higher tissue concentrations of zinc.

Conclusion

I hope this post shows the numerous zinc benefits for men and show the importance of this mineral for anyone interested in natural hormone optimization.

If you are not getting enough good quality foods containing Zinc and working out a lot in the gym zinc supplementation with zinc oratate could be a valid option up to ensure you are getting enough.

Thanks for reading

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