Zinc

Zinc is an essential trace mineral: the body cannot make it, does not store much of it, and needs a steady dietary supply. Meat, shellfish, legumes, seeds and whole grains are the usual sources. Health Canada sets a recommended intake of 11 mg a day for adult men.

Unlike the botanicals on this label, zinc has established physiological roles that regulators accept — including a contribution to normal fertility and reproduction and to maintaining normal testosterone levels in the blood. That phrasing matters: it describes keeping a normal system running normally, not raising anything above baseline.

Deficiency is uncommon in Canada but not absent, and it is more likely in men eating little animal protein, in older adults and in people with absorption problems. Anyone taking zinc long term at high doses should know it competes with copper for absorption — another reason to treat a daily gummy as a top-up rather than a therapeutic dose.