Muscle Memory digital Dec/Jan 2019 | Page 21

ZINC IS KING. IF YOU’RE FEELING RUN DOWN, WHETHER FROM INTENSE TRAINING OR OTHERWISE, YOUR BEST BET TO HELP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM RECOVER ISN’T VITAMIN C – IT’S THE MINERAL ZINC. “Evidence for the prevention of the common cold possibly supports the use of zinc supplements,” says Dr. Michael Allan of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta. Many studies have pointed to the effectiveness of zinc for strengthening your immune system and many others have concluded the use of vitamin C to be disappointing. Multiple trials have indicated that subjects who took 10 or 15 milligrams of zinc sulphate daily had significantly lower rates of colds. To a fitness athlete, zinc is essential for its role in producing testosterone and for white blood cell function, acting as a catalyst in the immune system’s killer response to foreign bodies. Prostate cancer is a very real and significant threat to all adult males, but if your lifestyle is excessively fast- paced (or you constantly over train and accidentally run yourself down), you may triple your risk of contract- ing the disease. An enlarged prostate is also related to erectile dys- function, so ask yourself if all those late nights at the office are really worth it. 10 % is the loss of maximal contractile strength you experience if you’re just two per cent dehydrated. 30 % The amount of extra calo- ries you’ll burn on the treadmill if you simply swing your arms (active- ly). If you hold onto the rails, you’re inadvertently removing a portion of your body weight from the ac- tion. Since you’re already atop the conveyor anyway, why not do some- thing natural and easy – and reap the rewards of greater calorie burn? MUSCLEMEMORYMAG.COM 19