ZMA in a pill - what should you know?

Professional and amateur athletes are very keen on dietary supplements due to increased nutritional needs and the desire to improve athletic performance. One of the commonly used dietary supplements by sports people is ZMA. Let's find out what ZMA is and how it can benefit athletes' bodies.

• ZMA - what is it?
• Where did the popularity of ZMA among athletes come from?
• ZMA - does it actually work in athletes?
• Zinc supplementation - how can it help sports people?
• Magnesium supplementation - when might it be needed?
• ZMA - other uses

ZMA - what is it?

ZMA is a dietary supplement that contains in its composition the right combination of zinc and magnesium, as well as vitamin B6. In its original formulation, ZMA contained zinc and magnesium in the form of aspartate, while today you can also find other forms of these minerals in dietary supplements, such as magnesium oxide, citrate or lactate and zinc lactate or citrate. ZMA is most often used by competitive and amateur athletes to speed up the rate of post-workout recovery, including improving the quantity and quality of sleep and improving psychophysical well-being. It is worth mentioning that as recently as one and two decades ago, most gym-goers supplemented ZMA with the hope of gaining muscle mass as a result of potentially increasing the release of anabolic hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone and IGF-1 (i.e., insulin-like growth factor 1).

Where did the popularity of ZMA among athletes come from?

The originator of ZMA was Victor Conte - the owner of the US company Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), who was sentenced to prison in 2005 for trafficking illegal doping agents among athletes. Victor Conte conducted a study in 2000 involving American soccer players, which showed that ZMA supplementation contributed to a significant increase in zinc and magnesium blood levels in the athletes tested. To top it off , American soccer players supplementing with ZMA were also found to have increased testosterone and IGF-1 concentrations in their blood, as well as increased lower body muscle strength, compared to those receiving a placebo. The promising results of the study have helped increase the popularity of ZMA among both competitive and recreational athletes.

ZMA - does it actually work in athletes?

In 2004, the results of a similarly designed study to the one conducted by Victor Conte a few years earlier were published. However, the results of the study, which included men who regularly trained at the gym, showed no significant effect of ZMA on zinc and magnesium concentrations, as well as serum levels of hormones such as testosterone, growth hormone, cortisol and IGF-1. In addition, ZMA-supplemented subjects did not show gains in strength and muscle mass, or improvements in anaerobic capacity assessed during an exercise test on a bicycle ergometer, compared to those receiving a placebo. Another study conducted with young men who engage in regular physical activity reported that ZMA supplementation significantly increased blood zinc concentrations and increased its excretion with urine. However, there was no increase in total or free testosterone concentrations in the blood, nor an increase in urinary testosterone excretion in men taking ZMA.

Zinc supplementation - how can it help sports people?

Zinc is a trace element that plays a key role in the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats, as well as the proper functioning of the immune system and the regulation of genetic information expression. More than 85% of the human body's zinc stores are found in skeletal muscles and bones. The Australian Institute of Sport classifies zinc as a group of health-promoting dietary supplements that have well-documented scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness in specific situations (Group A). Zinc exhibits anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, as well as healing and immune-stimulating properties. Zinc supplementation at a daily dose of 75 mg for 5 days can reduce the duration of cold symptoms by up to nearly half. In treating cold symptoms, zinc supplementation should be started as soon as possible, and preferably within 24 hours of the first symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection indicative of a cold. It has also been suggested that zinc supplementation may have a beneficial effect on sleep quality and sleep latency (time to fall asleep), although this needs to be confirmed in further studies.

Magnesium supplementation - when might it be needed?

Magnesium is a mineral that exhibits anti-inflammatory, osteogenic (responsible for osteoblast differentiation), blood pressure-lowering, smooth muscle relaxing and neuromuscular coordination-enhancing effects. Small-scale studies suggest that magnesium supplementation can improve muscle strength as measured by one repetition maximum (1RM) and vertical jump with sweep in trained athletes, but more studies with larger sample sizes are needed. Magnesium has been classified by the Australian Institute of Sport as Group C, which is a dietary supplement with no scientific evidence of benefit to athletes, and especially so when dietary intake is sufficient.

ZMA - other uses

The literature reports that zinc and magnesium supplementation may be beneficial for patients with type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 60 patients with type 2 diabetes and ischemic heart disease showed that 12-week supplementation with magnesium and zinc helped to reduce levels of such studied blood parameters as fasting glucose and insulin and C-reactive protein (CRP). In addition, the simultaneous intake of zinc and magnesium increased concentrations of high-density lipoprotein HDL (the so-called "good" cholesterol) and nitrite/nitrate in venous blood and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), as well as reduced the Beck depression and anxiety score.

Sources:

• Brilla LR, Conte V.: Effects of a novel zinc-magnesium formulation on hormones and strength. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online. 2000;3(4):26-36.

• Wilborn CD, Kerksick CM, Campbell BI, et al: Effects of Zinc Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA) Supplementation on Training Adaptations and Markers of Anabolism and Catabolism. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2004;1(2):12-20.

• Koehler K, Parr MK, Geyer H, et al: Serum testosterone and urinary excretion of steroid hormone metabolites after administration of a high-dose zinc supplement. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2009;63(1):65-70.

• Mason BC, Lavallee ME: Emerging supplements in sports. Sports Health. 2012 Mar;4(2):142-6.

• Gholipour Baradari A, Alipour A, Mahdavi A, et al: The Effect of Zinc Supplementation on Sleep Quality of ICU Nurses: A Double Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial. Workplace Health Saf. 2018 Apr;66(4):191-200.

• Hamedifard Z, Farrokhian A, Reiner Ž, et al: The effects of combined magnesium and zinc supplementation on metabolic status in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease. Lipids Health Dis. 2020 May 28;19(1):112.