ExRx.net

The latest entry on Coach Rut's blog mentions ZMA. I've seen it come up in a few T-Nation articles as well, and of course I've seen it on sale at Sports Authority. So after I saw the mention on Coach Rut's blog I went ahead and started to read up on it.

I did some web searching on it, and I have to say what I found wasn't very confidence-building. Essentially, ZMA was developed by Victor Conte at BALCO. I've found all of two studies about its effects, and one was an 8-week study partly funded by a company in which Victor Conte had a financial stake. The other said ZMA, essentially, didn't have a positive effect.

Here's what I found:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZMA_(supplement)
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/zma.html (basically just ad copy)
http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459250 (ditto)

Studies:
http://www.sportsnutritionsociety.org/s ... -20-04.pdf
(Haven't found the original study from 1998 yet)

So...I'm leaning towards "If I'm eating properly I'm probably not going to benefit." Does anyone have any other information I can check out?

Peter

I think it's like most supplements, if you have a deficiency, you will see a benefit, otherwise you won't. I've heard some say that as we age, there is a greater likelihood of a deficiency and exercise can create a deficiency.

There are side effects from large doses so if your going to try it, go with low doses. There is probably no benefit from high doses anyway.

I think it make more sense to eat right and take a multi-vitamin.

Stu

Don't forget, Rut's getting up there in age,as are some of us. And the main purpose is for zinc and magnesium deficiencies. I tried some back in the 90's, and if it was so expensive back then (I have no idea what it costs now, probably cheapernow) I would stil probably take it. Not for any "anabolic effect", but because it did help me in the sleep category. Slept longer, sounder, got to sleep easier. For us older fogeys, that does matter. And as a side note, sleep is when gh is releases, mostly during the 1sr 60-90 mins. Back in the day there were countless different supps like L-Arginine that you were supposed to take on an epty stomach right beore bed to boost gh production. Don't think those hold water, and doubt that ZMA DIRECTLY does either, but possibly contributes through the sleep factor.
Tim

ZMA is not that expensive here. At least, it's not that expensive when I look at it as a vitamin supplement.

I think I'm getting sufficient magnesium and zinc from my diet, and I'm getting a good amount of B6 as well. The multi-mineral and multi-vitamin I take every day helps, as does a varied diet with lots of meat and fresh vegetables. I'll keep looking into this, but it seems I should be able to bypass this stuff without missing anything. If I end up taking it after all I'll let you guys know if it makes a difference.

Peter

Anyone here taking it? Any thoughts?

I've been taking it for a couple of months and think its worth it just for the quality of sleep I get. It just puts me into a deep sleep and I never want to get out of bed but when I'm up I feel like I've slept well. It's pretty cheap so I think it's worth it.

I may give it a try. One thing I don't understand though is how the RDA for magnesium can be so high. The only chance I see to get the RDA through food would be almonds, and it'd have to be a full cup of almonds - that is a lot of almonds every day.

That many almonds is too much due to high levels of O6. Green leafy vegetables are the best source, especially spinach and swiss chard. Fish is also good.

I added things up based on nutritiondata.com - I'm probably in the 40% RDA range most days.

Got bodytech ZMA - only taking 1 at night, for another 45% RDA - I have noticed, even with a shake at night, sleeping longer before having to go to the bathroom. Not sure if it's because I'm sleeping more deeply, or if the extra minerals is making me retain the water longer.

froggy i'd be interested in hearing how you've got on in a couple of weeks to see how much of a difference it's made.

i'm considering buying some myself but only if I'm sure it works

I take 3 most nights, the sleep is a lot deeper which I like because if I'm having little sleep it still feels good quality. I never wake up to go to the toilet and I find my bladder normally about to burst in the mornings after ZMA which is weird.

Certainly I'm sleeping well, but I was sleeping well before also. After two weeks I adjusted to drinking more water with it. I'm still noticing staying asleep longer before getting up to pee. However I also re-started on creatine and changed my workout routine recently so I've muddied the waters as far as my one-man clinical trial goes.