icon-account icon-glass

Popular Searches

Popular Products

The Lean Protein
Whey protein powder for weight-loss.
The Energy Booster
Pre/intra-workout powder with BCAAs.

CATEGORIES

How Super Supplement ZMA Can Improve Your Health And Wellbeing

8th August 2022

Fitness Health

8th August 2022

By Beth Shelper

If you’re looking for an article that breaks down the science surrounding the popular ZMA supplement – hello there. We’re glad you could make it.

Zinc Magnesium Aspartate, which is more commonly referred to as ZMA (as it’s a bit less of a mouthful), is a hugely popular supplement that combines the benefits of minerals Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6. ZMA supplements are widely used as a result of this killer combination, as the benefits of these supplements alone (let alone with each other) are beneficial to your overall health in a heap of really great ways.

You may be thinking - why are these vitamins and minerals combined, and is that advised?  Well, here at Innermost we are huge advocates for the benefits of ZMA. Any supplements that pack the benefits of all three of these vital supplements into one easy source is a no brainer to us. In fact, we love the benefits so much, that we’ve included ZMA into The Recover Capsules to help improve your performance and enhance your recovery.

Before you start implementing ZMA into your routine, it’s good to read into some research and facts surrounding the supplement. That’s where we come in! So let’s dive into some of that all-important information and get you on board and clued up with all things ZMA supplements, shall we?

What is ZMA?

As above, ZMA is made up of three core components: Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6. There’s been a lot of research into the effectiveness of ZMA supplements, with many of these studies concluding that athletes that implemented the supplement into their routine saw significant increases in performance and strength.

Let’s break down these nutrients and find out some more about their feel-good effects on our health, wellness and performance levels.

Zinc

Zinc is a great boost to your immune system due to the nutrient's essential role in immune cell functioning. Zinc is naturally occurring, with many people choosing to take ZMA supplements to enhance their zinc levels, as zinc has been linked to an in increase their metabolism.

Magnesium

The benefits of magnesium are huge. We won’t go into too much detail here, as we’ve written an overview surrounding the benefits of magnesium supplementation here. But simply put, adding Magnesium into your diet is beneficial in reducing anxiety levels, helping with migraines and boosting exercise performance – to name but a few benefits.

Vitamin B6 

Vitamin B6 is found naturally in many foods that you most likely already incorporate into your diet, including:

  • Beef
  • Vegetables
  • Non-citrus fruits
  • Tuna
  • Chickpeas 

This vitamin is often taken as a supplementation due to it's important role in regulating your memory and maintaining your mood. Vitamin B6 is also a key player in the creation of red blood cells, so it's important that you maintain healthy levels of this vitamin in your diet.

Who takes ZMA?

Generally speaking, ZMA is a pretty popular supplement amongst groups such as bodybuilders, high-intensity athletes and those that train regularly. This is because of the range of benefits that supplementation presents, which helps in areas ranging from sleep quality to muscle growth.

Many athletes also opt to take ZMA supplements as a healthy, natural replacement for anabolic steroids, due to the risks that taking these carry.

The health benefits of ZMA

Strap in, because this list is pretty long.

  • Improves physical endurance levels
  • Enhances recovery processes
  • Boosts muscle growth
  • Aids in sleep quality
  • Improved immunity
  • Ups your mood
  • Helps control blood sugar levels
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Aids weight-loss
  • Reduces your appetite

So, should I be taking ZMA supplements?

The answer to this can come from asking yourself a couple of pretty simple questions:

  • Are you feeling tired at the end of everyday?
  • Are you struggling to incorporate Zinc, Magnesium or B6 into your diet?
  • Could you do with that extra boost?

If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, then we would wholeheartedly recommend you give ZMA supplements a try.

Are there any health risks?

As with everything we put into our body, it’s important to know if there are any risks. With ZMA, there are no known side effects, but as with all supplementations, ensure you are taking the correct, recommended daily dose.

The Recover Capsules

When starting to incorporate a new supplement into your routine, you might be feeling a little bit overwhelmed with who to trust and where to start. Formulated by leading nutritionists, The Recover Capsules include ZMA as well as other active ingredients such as Selenium and Vitamin D.

Summary

Basically, ZMA supplements improve your health and wellbeing in a wealth of areas, so you can see why it’s pretty popular with fitness enthusiasts.

If you’re looking to improve your performance, ZMA supplementation will assist in any deficiencies as a result of your diet plan. For example, body builders commonly focus on a protein-rich diet, leaving room for zinc deficiency. If you’re looking to improve your sleep, the included zinc and magnesium will help you on you out with that.

It’s all about the balance.

References

  • Moëzzi, N., Peeri, M., & Matin, H. (2013). Effects of zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6 supplementation on hormones and performance in weightlifters. Ann. Biol. Res, 4, 163-168. Click here.
  • Khorsandi, H., Nikpayam, O., Yousefi, R. et al. (2019). Zinc supplementation improves body weight management, inflammatory biomarkers and insulin resistance in individuals with obesity: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. Diabetol Metab Syndr 11, 101.Click here.
  • Sheykh, A. V. D. & Bordbar, S. (2012). Effect of ZMA supplement alone and in combination with carbohydrates, with six weeks of resistance training on anabolic hormone levels and cellular damage indexes in untrained males. Click here.
< Older post Newer post >

Product Spotlight

The Recover Capsules. These nootropic capsules contain research-backed ingredients that support the recovery process, reduce inflammation, and regulate hormone activity.

The Recover Capsules
Our daily capsules to help speed up physical and mental recovery, reduce inflammation and regulate optimal hormone activity. Start your Innermost journey today.
Team Favourite

Need Expert Advice?

Take the quiz

Take the quiz

If you're not sure where to start, take our 5 minute health consultation to get product recommendations tailored to your goals.
Read more

Other Insights

Halal Logo

The Complete Guide To Halal Protein Powder

When it comes to improving your fitness levels, lifestyle and nutrition are key. From the number of hours of sleep you get each night to your daily nutrition and everything in between, each is as important as the other. This extends to finding the right protein powder to fuel your workout routine. Yet today more than ever, what goes into that shaker bottle now goes beyond macros and muscle; more and more people are asking themselves – ‘how does this protein powder align with my religious values and beliefs?’ While we’ve spoken before about our clean, research based and ethically sourced ingredients here at Innermost, this time we want to get a little more specific with a focus on halal and halal protein powder. With so many voices and fluff information around, it can be difficult to know exactly what protein is and isn’t halal friendly. That’s why we’ve put together this nifty guide. We’re going to break down all the myths and everything you need to know about halal protein. What you should be looking out for, what makes proteins like whey halal friendly as well as the benefits that halal friendly protein can offer to your body.  Right, let’s get into it. What is halal protein? I’m sure most of you are already aware of halal, but for the 1% of you that might not be, let’s take a step back and ask: what is halal protein? Halal – meaning ‘permissible’ in Arabic – refers to any food product that complies with Islamic dietary laws as stated within the Qur’an and Islamic jurisprudence. This makes it a core element of Islamic faith and a key cornerstone of their commitment to leading a pure and disciplined life under the guidance of Allah. Some of the key guidelines for halal foods include: Halal friendly ingredients – certain ingredients are not permissible under a halal diet, including pork (and any byproducts), alcohol and blood. Other animal products can be halal as long as they are killed in accordance with the ethical treatment guidelines below. Ethical treatment of animals – For non-pork meats to be considered halal, animals must be treated humanly and responsibly during their life. This includes: Having access to clean water and nutritious food. Being raised in a free-range and stress-free environment. Not being subjected to cruelty, abuse, or unnecessary suffering. The process of killing any animal must also be quick and humane to be considered halal, with any suffering kept to the complete minimum. Importantly, to be considered halal, the name of Allah must be pronounced during the humane killing to ensure the sanctity of life is recognised throughout the process. No cross contamination - During the preparation process, halal foods must never come into contact with non halal foods. This means no cross contamination between preparation surfaces, equipment used, the handling of foods and storage. As such, ingredients such as milk can be halal however it depends on the production process and if additional non-halal additives (such as gelatin) are added. So, what does this mean for protein?  Essentially any animal protein is halal as long as it adheres to the guidelines we’ve mentioned. The best way to tell is that products – such as Innermost proteins - will be certified halal friendly on the packaging. Is protein powder halal? So, with that said you might be wondering: is my choice of protein powder halal? The truth is that protein powder can absolutely be halal, however it entirely depends on the ingredients used as well as the overall production process. Common protein sources like whey, casein, egg white, and plant-based proteins (such as pea, soy, or rice) can all be halal if they are sourced and manufactured in compliance with halal standards. While many of the larger brands do not meet these standards and cannot claim to offer halal protein, our range of Innermost protein powders and supplements are all certified halal, emphasising our dedication to ethical sourcing our use of clean sourcing without additives. From our pea protein fuelled (and vegan) The Health Protein, The Fit Protein, to our whey protein powered The Strong Protein and The Lean Protein, all our products are sourced in a halal-compliant manner. Benefits of halal protein powder You hear it all the time when it comes to ethical and dietary beliefs – ‘a vegan diet isn’t good for you’ or ‘a vegetarian mix can’t possibly have the nutrients you need. The reality is, that adhering to these sorts of values within your fitness routine and diet can have great benefits for the body. Halal protein powders are no different; they offer a range of benefits for individuals who are conscious of both their health and dietary requirements. Just some of the benefits of halal protein powder are: Clean ingredients: With halal protein powders, you can be confident that there will be no harmful or questionable ingredients/ additives such as silica. What does this mean? Your body has an easier job digesting and absorbing all the good stuff, ensuring you get the most out of your supplements. Quality protein: Halal protein powders use complete protein sources, ensuring your body gets all the amino acids it needs for effective muscle repair and growth.  Ethical production: We’ve mentioned plenty of times already, but that’s just how key ethical and clean production is to making protein halal. By avoiding things such as additional additives and cross contamination, your body is fuelled with a safer and more trustworthy supplement. Supports fitness and wellness goals: Whatever your fitness goals; halal protein has you covered. From building muscle to losing weight, the absence of excess sugars or fillers ensures you are best placed to smash your targets. Common misconceptions about halal protein powders With so much noise and no real answers around halal proteins, we thought it would be helpful to list of some of the key misconceptions regarding the diet and what the actual truths are. All vegan protein powders are halal Given that so much of halal is driven by animals and their ethical treatment, you might just assume every vegan protein powder is halal because it is made of.. well, plants. The reality however is that vegan proteins aren’t necessarily halal – it all comes down to the production process. While Innermost vegan proteins are proudly halal certified, other protein powders can be produced with alcohol-based flavourings, non-halal emulsifiers, or might be processed in facilities that handle haram products – leading to cross contamination – not good! Is whey protein halal? On the other side of the spectrum, whey protein – being a byproduct of milk – is generally considered to be haram. Again, the truth is that whey protein can be halal provided that the milk is taken from cows that were treated ethically and within halal principles. Today, there are many halal-certified whey protein powders that are safe and effective for Muslim consumers. Halal certification doesn’t matter There is often an assumption made that if the ingredients look clean then the protein must be halal – regardless of certification. The truth is that what makes something halal goes beyond ingredients. Production and sourcing our also key factors that many companies do not consider. With halal certification on your favourite protein powders, you can be sure that every step—from sourcing and production to packaging and distribution—has been reviewed and approved according to strict halal standards.  Is Innermost protein powder halal? In short, yes. We at Innermost make it our mission to not only aid in muscle growth and recovery, but also to create protein supplements that are ethically sourced and rigorously tested to ensure individuals of any faith can smash their fitness goals.  Unlike competitors, our proteins are clean and built with the highest quality of ingredients and free from unnecessary additives and artificial ingredients.   We are proud to say that all our products are officially halal certified making them a suitable choice for those following the halal beliefs. This certification ensures that all ingredients and manufacturing processes meet Islamic dietary laws, with no use of haram substances such as pork derivatives or alcohol. With this in mind, why not check out our range of Innermost supplements to find out more about our halal proteins?    
Read more
Our Top Tips To Freshen Up Your UAE Fitness Routine

Our Top Tips To Freshen Up Your UAE Fitness Routine

Even in a city as energetic and inspiring as Dubai, falling into a workout rut is something everyone experiences at least once. So, we’ve put together some pointers to help you keep plugging away at your goals. 
Read more