If you’re athlete hard in training, one nutrient that you must be sure to get enough of is zinc. Many people completely overlook this mineral, but if you do want to see success with your workout sessions and progress, it’s one to take in. Micronutrients can be just as important as the macronutrients as far as your overall progress is concerned, so you don’t want to overlook it.

Let’s have a quick peek into what benefits zinc offers.

Improved Strength Level

An adequate level of zinc in your body is going to be highly correlated with the amount of testosterone you’re producing and testosterone is one of the main hormones associated with proper muscular growth and development.

If you’re falling low in testosterone, not only will your performance suffer, but you may see other health detrimental effects as well.

Enhanced Reproductive Health

The next reason why you must be sure that you are taking in enough zinc is because it’ll go a long way towards ensuring that you maintain proper reproductive health as well. Those who aren’t taking in enough of this nutrient are going to find that they are suffering from a low libido level and they may not be able to sustain adequate reproductive function as well.

This applies to both males and females, making zinc a vital nutrient to take in all around.

Improved Heart Health

Moving along, zinc is also going to be important for enhancing your heart health as well. If you aren’t taking in enough zinc, you may be at a higher risk of cholesterol buildup and inflammation, which can then go on to cause cardiovascular disease.

Improved Insulin Sensitivity

Finally, the last reason to be paying more attention to your zinc consumption to ensure you are getting enough is because it will help to enhance your insulin sensitivity levels. This then means a reduced risk of suffering from diabetes as well as improved ability to convert carbohydrates to a usable form of energy or lean muscle mass tissue.

If you have low insulin sensitivity, this can really increase the chances that you are packing on excess body fat, so it’s something that you need to be very careful about.

So there you have the primary benefits that an adequate intake of zinc will provide. Are you getting enough? If not, it’s time to take steps to increase your intake so that you are.