Types Of Zinc

Throughout this forum, numerous individuals have mentioned that zinc upsets their stomach. Well, it’s a common complaint but the problem can be overcome.

Did you know there are many types of zinc?

Chelated zinc
Zinc Picolinate
Zinc Acetate
Zinc Gluconate
Zinc Oxide
Zinc Sulfate
Zinc Orotate

Chances are, those with stomach upset are taking one of the types listed here which has a very poor ability to cross the cellular membranes. It is more than likely the inability to cross the cell membrane along with (in certain forms) what the zinc is bound to that is likely the cause for your unhappy tummy. Out of all those listed here it is pretty much agreed that zinc orotate has the highest bioavailability. That’s what I take and I have no stomach upset to speak of and I almost always take it on an empty stomach even.

That said, as some know, are learning or are about to learn…IF you are one of the unfortunates that are sensitive to DHT, you WILL start to quickly see a mass exodus of of the follicular kind in what used to be your once proud mane…in other words…you’ll start losing your hair.

This is also true of anything that would raise your testosterone level, even leg squats and sex itself can raise it…edging can raise it. These things of and by themselves wouldn’t normally trip one into the "too much DHT" zone though, it’s when you’re supplementing and also doing these things. So keep that in mind if suddenly your comb starts to look more and more like what the top of your head used to look like.

I should mention one other thing here. I once saw an article in National Geographic talking about how young boys of today have much less testosterone than their grandfathers had at the same age. Some conspiracy theorists believe that might just be on purpose. Simply put, the less test you have - the less likely you are to fight. Not just physically but just less likely to fight back against perceived slights and injustices as well. It could just be the outcome of living in a modern, industrial society. Hard to say but it sure seems funny that we are inundated with food products loaded with soy and ooops…turns out some stuff in plastic and the coating on thermal receipts "BPA" also lowers it. Regardless of the cause or reason the thing is you’re being robbed of one of the wonderful things about being a man if it’s too low. Depression, fatigue, low labido, poor erections, low strength, low muscle mass, testicular shrinkage…just about everything no man wants to be having to deal with. Please keep in mind you DO NOT have to have all of those symptoms for it to mean you have a low testosterone level…to me it would seem reasonable to start getting suspicious if say you had more than one symptom excluding something else as an obvious cause in your life, like the crack you smoke every day or something.

So how low are you? You probably have no idea. Some wise words, "Know Thyself" and "Nothing In Excess" I believe are inscribed somewhere on ancient temples in Greece. It would probably be a great idea to know where you stand in regards to your age appropriate testosterone level as this particular hormone is just too damn important. Keep in mind, if you suffer from certain chronic diseases like hypothyroidism and diabetes, these would affect your testosterone levels as well. A quick search for testerone test kit at Amazon turned up quite a few, some highly rated for as little as 30 bucks. I’m going to take my own advice and get one as it’s been about 7 years since my last one.

Many people though will get their result see it’s "ok" and be "ok" with that. There’s a problem with that though. Reference ranges are not based on what you would think…sigh.

For a pretty good look at what I mean and how you can get around that read this: http://www.arto fmanliness.com/ … sterone-levels/

Any knowledge on the bioavailability of Zinc Gluconate? That’s what I just bought two days ago. I’m not sure if it’s worth trying to find Orotate if the difference in bioavailability is minor enough to be negligible. Also does this mean that some forms of zinc are not worth taking as most of the 50 mg or so will simply pass through the digestive tract without being absorbed?

In one double blind study…well you might just want to throw it in the garbage. Comparative absorption of zinc picolinate, zinc citrate and zinc gluconate in humans From this study it can be gleaned from the 3 tested (z.picolinate, z.gluconate and z.citrate) that only z.picolinate resulted in an increase in blood, hair, urine and erythrocyte levels.

Zinc orotate is readily found at Amazon.

So basically gluconate isn’t going to do anything for me?

If that study is to be taken as absolute truth and I see no reason for it not to be, then the answer to your question is…not a thing.

I think you should keep in mind though that zinc gluconate comes into form through various different manufacturing processes that can be utilized and the study did not mention what manufacturing process was used. It may or may not make a difference. Z.gluconate can also interfere with the absorption of antibiotics so that should be kept in mind as well.