When male rats eat food low in zinc and also get phytic acid added, it makes their zinc levels drop even more compared to rats that don't get the extra phytic acid.

Different types of zinc supplements work about the same in male rats eating a diet high in phytic acid, because they grew similarly and had similar zinc levels in their bodies.

When male rats eat a diet high in phytic acid (which makes it hard for their bodies to absorb zinc), giving them a special type of zinc called EDTA disodium zinc helps their bodies use the zinc better than other zinc types. This leads to better growth and more zinc in their blood and bones.

When adult rats don't get enough zinc in their diet, their bodies burn energy at a slower rate, even if they're eating less just because they're being fed the same amount as a control group. This suggests that low zinc levels directly tell the body to slow down its metabolism.

In rats, not getting enough zinc lowers their metabolism and changes how they burn fuel, but this happens mainly because they eat less, not because zinc is directly messing with their energy systems. The drop in energy use is basically just a side effect of them being less hungry.