Do Men Need More Zinc than Women?

Understanding which vitamins and nutrients your body needs are important for your overall health; therefore, you might be wondering if men need more zinc than women do.

Yes, indeed, men certainly do need more zinc in their bodies. According to the Men's Health Institute, zinc is what controls the metabolic levels of testosterone in the prostate gland and at the cellular level. Zinc is found in semen in high quantities, as a result. Of course, keeping up these basic functions of the body is of utmost importance, but why else do men need to have more zinc?

• The sexual glands can start to regress if zinc is in short supply.
• Zinc helps to prevent a lowering in sex drive.
• Loss of appetite may occur from a deficiency.
• As the levels of zinc in the body decrease, so can sperm count.
• In addition to less sperm, the sperm will also not be of the highest quality without enough zinc.
• Emotional problems are another issue that comes to surface if there is a zinc deficiency.

Of course, a number of these items are related to sexual health and reproductive properties. Therefore, a man with a lack of zinc in his body might have issues having babies. Fertility issues are not only a result of the woman's sexual health.

Qualities of Zinc

Women also need zinc in their bodies, although not in as high of doses. Other benefits of zinc are as follows.

• Involved in cell division
• Involved in enzyme activity
• Works with DNA and protein synthesis
• Helps with the healing of wounds
• Helps a person to grow normally from the womb onward

The source for the benefits of zinc is also the Men's Health Institute as listed above. Clearly, zinc has many important properties.