Zinc is an important mineral for many reasons. I think zinc is likely most well-known for immune system function. When I did a question box in my Instagram stories, a lot of the questions were about taking zinc when you’re sick or to prevent illness. While zinc is absolutely important for our immune system health (we will get into more on that in a bit), it’s also essential for many other functions in the body.
One topic that I find zinc particularly important for is fertility. Both men and women need adequate zinc in order to support their unique fertility. Let’s get into how zinc impacts each.
Some of the most significant and groundbreaking research on zinc and what first led to zinc being recognized as essential is on how zinc deficiencies impact men. Dr. Ananda Prasad has a ton of research on zinc and how it impacts testosterone and men’s health. Some of his research in Iran found that men with hypogonadism and low testosterone were deficient in zinc. When they replenish zinc, the hypogonadism was reversed, they grew 5-6 inches, and their testosterone levels improved. Studies also show that zinc deficiency can have a dramatic effect on testosterone in healthy men and cause serum testosterone levels to decrease. These low zinc levels are also found to interfere with sperm production, which shows just how important zinc is for male fertility.
From one of Dr. Prasad’s studies:
“Dietary zinc restriction in normal young men was associated with a significant decrease in serum testosterone concentrations after 20 weeks of zinc restriction (baseline versus post-zinc restriction mean +/- SD, 39.9 +/- 7.1 versus 10.6 +/- 3.6 nmol/L, respectively; p = 0.005). Zinc supplementation of marginally zinc-deficient normal elderly men for six months resulted in an increase in serum testosterone from 8.3 +/- 6.3 to 16.0 +/- 4.4 nmol/L (p = 0.02). We conclude that zinc may play an important role in modulating serum testosterone levels in normal men.”
There are also some studies that show that zinc may inhibit aromatase, which is an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen. If you already have low testosterone and are also converting that testosterone to estrogen, it will lower it further and lead to imbalances.
The other important thing to note about zinc is that it is a powerful antioxidant. Our bodies use antioxidants to protect them from oxidative stress and inflammation. If we have a lot of inflammation, we will use up more zinc to protect ourselves from that. If we are deficient in zinc, that can make it harder to protect our bodies from inflammation. There is a study on inflammation and male fertility that concluded the following:
“The imbalance between prooxidative and antioxidative substances in semen leads to metabolic and functional disorders of the male germ cells and may be a primary cause of some types of infertility.”
This means if we have more oxidative stress than antioxidants in the body, it can negatively impact male fertility. This is even more reason to support optimal zinc levels that act as powerful antioxidants in the body.
When it comes to zinc and female reproduction, there are a few important highlights:
Ovulation
Zinc is important for FSH and LH, which are both essential for ovulation to occur. Zinc deficiencies can impair FSH and LH production, which impairs the signaling from our brain to our ovaries and can prevent ovulation. Ovulation is how we make progesterone and keep estrogen and progesterone in balance. Ovulation is also how we release an egg so that we can conceive if that is the goal.
Egg Health
Zinc is important for the development of an oocyte, which is an egg before it has gone through the maturation process. Zinc ensures it rests for as long as it needs to until it can then be properly matured into a healthy egg ready for fertilization. If the egg doesn’t mature properly, fertilization may not occur properly. Zinc is also important for egg quality, which is very most important when we are thinking about conception and pregnancy.
Pregnancy & Postpartum
Zinc is also essential for pregnancy. When zinc is deficient before we conceive, it can lead to poor placenta development, which impacts the development of our baby and increases the risk of miscarriage, low fetal weight, neural tube defects, and stunted development. I feel like iron gets all the attention for growth and development, but zinc is so important during this time as well. Coincidentally, almost all foods that are rich in iron are also great sources of zinc.
Here’s an image from The Role of Zinc in Female Reproduction, a great breakdown of how zinc impacts female fertility, that brings everything full circle:
Image from The Role of Zinc in Female Reproduction: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8599883/
What Lowers Zinc
Why are so many men and women struggling with suboptimal zinc levels? A major contributor is stress. Chronic stress can lead to a magnesium deficiency, which then leads to a zinc deficiency. The body will use up zinc when it has to compensate because it no longer has adequate magnesium.
Other common causes of zinc deficiency:
It’s also important to note that we don’t store a lot of zinc in the body. Up to 57% of zinc in the body is located in the muscle and bones. There is no other storage site for zinc, which is why we need it on a regular basis.
If you feel like you have fertility concerns and are looking for more support I invite you to check out my Nurture Your Fertility program, I am currently accepting applications!
Do you want to learn more about zinc? Check out my zinc deep dive podcast episode here.
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