More Stress=Less Sex

to read the rest of my articles visit Keizer's Clinic Site at http://www.keizerclinic.com/Wire_Articles/Wire_Articles.html

In the last column, I gave you several tips on how to help your body optimize your body’s natural production of testosterone and we will finish that discussion this week. However, as sometimes happens, I need to inform you of a product recall that effects many of you. The popular “cold-prevention” zinc supplement Zicam has been recalled. Zicam is zinc in a gel form which is applied to the inside of your nostril to boost immune support. While much research exists linking zinc to proper immune function, it appears that application in this way was actually causing people to lose COMPLETE sense of smell! No joke, over 130 reports of complete, seemingly permanent, loss of smell due using Zicam as little as one time.

So, assuming you stop using Zicam, you may actually still have the ability to literally “Stop and smell the roses”, which leads us into the second part of our testosterone discussion: the importance of limiting stress. At the mention of stress reduction, most people listen in a very particular way…they glaze over and mentally check out. So, let me interest you in the subject once more with this statement: “Your stress may be screwing up your sex life.” Ok, got your attention? Good.

I’m going to try to explain a lot of biochemistry in a short space without putting you into a coma so forgive the simplicity. I hope it helps you to understand this very important subject for yourself.

I consider a client’s natural sex drive to be the “canary in the coal mine.” Generally it is the FIRST thing to suffer if lifestyle is out of whack and stress is building. You have to understand that a functional hormonal system (endocrine system) produces whatever your body needs most in order to survive. In good times, your body is healthy, fed and stress-free and your body can focus on things like procreation…sex. This means you have plenty of “raw material” to produce your testosterone and you should be frisky and having a lot of fun with all this extra sex hormone. However, when life get complicated and you start continually producing stress hormones in response to what your body deems to be fight or flight scenarios (which may actually be as benign as money, job or relationship issues), your body doesn’t have the luxury of worrying about sex. In short, if your body thinks that you are constantly running from an imaginary tiger because you are stressed all the time, it doesn’t really care if you have what it takes have fun in the sack.

This trade-off comes from the way our bodies produce testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol. Your adrenal cortex and pituitary gland perform a complex series of conversions utilizing cholesterols to produce androgens and stress hormones. Long story short, you use some of the same building blocks to produce both hormones. If your body needs to choose between producing stress hormones and sex hormones, it will always produce the stress hormones deemed immediately necessary for survival.

The real problem is that this cycle builds so quickly. You may start off working a little too much which causes stress which makes you less open sexually to your partner which creates relationship stress which makes you a bit depressed and further suppresses your hormones ensuring even less sex, more stress and lower testosterone. Before you know it, you have a ton of stress, mild depression and not enough testosterone to maintain decent energy. So, you seek a therapist and hormone replacement.

While seeking the medical help you may need, start taking care of your stress. Take a vacation, set aside time for what is important in your life. People, friends, love, helping others. This is, in my opinion, where the juice in life lies. Find a way to have everything you want in life without sacrificing your health, libido and the people who matter to you. Really, how much fun is having everyTHING when you don’t have anyONE to share with? And how much money do you really need to make it OK that you have to pop a dozen different medications to hold your body together from the years of abuse you inflicted while accumulating your wealth? You can have it ALL; just don’t forget that your body and health IS part of having it all. And remember that lagging testosterone and libido will be one of the first warnings that you are starting to drop the ball.
to read the rest of my articles visit Keizer's Clinic Site at http://www.keizerclinic.com/Wire_Articles/Wire_Articles.html

Banking On Fitness

Banking on Fitness

To view the rest of my articles visit keizer's clinic site at :http://www.keizerclinic.com/Wire_Articles/Archive.html

By Jim Keizer

The good people at the Wire have generously given me the opportunity to do my own fitness column and you are probably wondering why. So here is where I tell you about my impressive credentials and build my credibility. It is true that I own my own exercise and nutrition clinic here in south beach. Yes, I have advanced certification in personal training, corrective exercise, post-rehabilitation, exercise coaching, advanced supplementation protocols and holistic lifestyle coaching. It is also true that the programs my business partner and I design yield measurable, consistent and permanent results for our clients.

However, the reason I love what I do and am jumping at the opportunity to write this column is that the more I learn, the more awestruck I am by the perfection that is the human body. The number of systems, chemical processes, and functions that must be coordinated every given second to just have me sitting here writing this column is mind-boggling. When I see someone who is down on his body because of weight gain, low energy or illness, I also see a body that has done a remarkable job of damage control for years before getting to that point. I hope that each time you read my column, you are left with a new appreciation for your body, while learning to cooperate with it to cultivate your health.

My actual degree is not in fitness but in Economics. When I began my fitness career nearly 9 years ago, I feared that this would always hinder my practice. To my surprise, I found that there really are more similarities than differences between the industries.

Like the financial industry, we have brilliant and ethical people in the fitness world to help you chart your fitness path and, like Bernie Madoff, we have our share of conmen. Unfortunately, you are caught in the middle and likely skeptical and more than a little resigned about ever unraveling the mystery of getting (and keeping) the health and physique you want. You may turn to reading the fitness magazines, getting tips from friends, and buying contraptions from pony-tailed pitchmen in the infomercials. For most people, this just adds to the frustration and the perception that nothing “works.”

Finding what works just isn’t that difficult if you can learn HOW to filter the information. Most of my clients know a lot about health and exercise before our first meeting. My job is to help them sort through fact and fiction and put it all together in a framework that they can follow for the rest of their lives.

I believe that the natural state of a healthy body is lean, strong, and attractive. You can get these results, temporarily, with steroids, fad diets, and a million other gimmicks but the results are always temporary and come at a cost to some other system in your body, eventually leaving you more aged and essentially less healthy.

It helps to think about your fitness as an asset, just like you’re the balance of money in your bank account. So if it is an asset, the trick is to accumulate more health and spend it wisely. The more you have saved, the better you look and feel. Just like making and spending money, there are so many ways of making and spending health. You may exercise every day (making a deposit toward your healthy and attractive body), meditate, practice yoga, or play with the kids. Then there are the things that drain your fitness savings: drinking a little too much, staying out all night dancing, working 60 hours per week and sleeping 5 hours per night. These are all drains on your health reserve.

I have studied under many different teachers, many different philosophies and have found what works best for me as a coach. It goes something like this: “You can be a neurotic saver your entire life, do everything right, pinch every penny, avoid most costs, and live to be a 100. BUT you can’t take it with you!” I have studied with people who live avoiding every unhealthy influence and, frankly, it’s not for me. I respect their decision to live in such a restricted fashion but I LIKE to spend. I also know that because I like to spend, I have to work hard in other places to bank enough in my account to keep looking and feeling the way I want.

By eliminating moral judgments around fitness and giving you the facts about what helps you bank fitness and what drains your account, you can make the choices that best fit your life. Twice a month, I will add a piece to the puzzle, covering new research, current events, and your questions about food, supplementation, and exercise. Your questions will shape this column.

Nothing kills the long-term effectiveness of a fitness program as quickly as being told what you “have to do.” I have learned through my years of coaching that the solution to your fitness goals is as individual as you are and must be chosen by YOU. I look forward to being your source of information about food, exercise, and supplementation, so that you too can find the solution that is right for you and your lifestyle.

To view the rest of my articles visit keizer's clinic site at :http://www.keizerclinic.com/Wire_Articles/Archive.html

Jim Keizer

That Tooth Pain May NOT be a cavity!

I have recently become a little stressed out. Yes, Even a lifestyle coach who KNOWS how to take care of stress can sometimes get a little "over-worked." Heck, when I am up to something BIG in life, a little stress and excitement are not only unavoidable but one of the measures that I am really LIVING life.

The stress showed up for me as sleeping restlessly and clenching my jaw. I used to clench my jaw a lot when I was younger and suffered from canker sores on my tongue and cheeks from the pressure. On top of the teeth-clenching, I began to get that deep throbbing pain in my back molars signaling a tooth abscess.

Being no newbie to root canals with 3 other molars completely replaced, I have felt this pain before. This time, I booked an appointment with the dentist but had a funny feeling that I was doing the wrong thing. I poured through articles and certification that I have studied trying to find out more about my teeth until I found a book I read about 2 years ago called Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual by Doctors Janet Travell and David Simons.

This book had helped me numerous times with clients with muscle knots and pain related to these trigger points. Astonishingly, I found a passage about trigger points actually CAUSING tooth pain and heat/cold sensitivity! The book explained that certain trigger points above the ear and in the jaw muscles will actually sends pain to the teeth sometimes causing unnecessary extractions.

So, I started to massage my trigger points and, yup--you guessed it...the pain went away. I have been working giant knots in my jaws daily and the pain in my teeth is almost gone...including the heath and cold sensitivity that accompanied that side of my mouth for the past 2 years.

I wonder if the over $3000 of dental bills for my other teeth was even necessary. Perhaps I did have abscesses but the teeth I had pulled on the right side of my mouth are the EXACT teeth that were killing me just days ago. I guess I will never know...but now YOU CAN KNOW before you go under the drill.

Check out the book excerpt with pictures of the trigger points here

Sugar Shock - Part 2 (note: Video May Load SLOWLY)

Well folks...want to see just how much sugar you consume in a day? This lady takes the time to show us in this video. Does anyone really wonder why we are having so many health problems?

Rest It or Work It: 6 tips for back pain

Back pain can be debilitating--or irritating--but rarely can it be ignored. So, one of the frequent questions we get from clients who come in with pain is: "Do I rest it or do I work it to get rid of the pain?"
It seems obvious to some that when something hurts, you need to stay off of it...and, in many cases this is where people can get into trouble. Many times, back pain is caused by postural deviations and imbalances which place stress on vertebrae or on the sacro-iliac joint at the junction of the pelvis and spine. Muscles will begin to spasm and compensate around that joint to stabilize and prevent further injury through movement. Many times doctors will simply suggest that a back-pain sufferer stay off their feet and avoid lifting anything--and sometimes this is exactly what needs to happen. However, after the point that acute pain has subsided, too much rest can cause the muscles to further weaken and worsen the postural deviation that started the pain in the first place. In my opinion, and that of many respected practitioners, the key to regaining a healthy spine is through correcting the imbalance, strengthening muscles and retraining the body proper movement patterns for bending, lifting and rotating.

So, how do you know when to rest and when to work? Here are my tips:

1) If the pain is acute or has an electrical, shooting quality, get cleared by a doctor prior to working out...there is nothing gained by herniating a disc or creating nerve damage.

2) Hire a corrective exercise specialist...a trainer who is specifically trained to assess and correct postural deviations and who is willing to work with you, your doctor and your chiropractor if necessary.

3) If you have dull, aching, aching pain which often presents itself after bending, sitting, or lifting, you are likely in the beginning stages of pain caused by postural or movement imballances stressing your spine and SI joint. You may want to seek assistance from an exercise coach to help you correct and strengthen.

4) If you have had a traumatic injury which is causing shooting pain, a high level of pain, you will likely need to work with a physical therapist and chiropractor to get you to a base level of strength.

5) If you have joint pain following or during a work out---STOP AND GET THE HELP OF A QUALIFIED EXERCISE SPECIALIST. It is so easy to correct things BEFORE damage is done!

6) Finally, NEVER let anyone convince you that you can not function and that you need to just wait around and take pills. There are amazing practitioners all over the world, from CHEK trainers to Physicians and Chiropractors, who can help you--you just need to find someone who believes in your body and health as much as you do!

Why Calorie Counting Doesn't Work

We are all aware of the fact that portion sizes are going up...resteraunts are serving more food on a plate and sodas have gone from 6oz to 60oz in a decade. Nutritionists rightly harp on the danger of over-consuming calories and do battle daily with clients, teaching them to count calories, measure portions and have more will-power. We are inundated with articles such as this one (How much is too much? The bigger the portion, the more we overeat) from my very own Miami Herald. I used to marvel at how difficult it was to keep my clients to reasonable portion sizes. I wondered why it was so hard to just quit eating when you know you should. Some labeled it as an addiction and I watched people struggle. Some would do well for a while until their will-power buckled under the stress.
I now know that calorie-counting, in my own never-humble opinion, is crap. Yes, it is important to not consume more calories than you need...however we have been looking largely at the behavior and ignoring the cause. We have been telling people that it is mental...and just takes more will-power and education to start eating less... BULL $%!*.
I came to the realization that most of my clients were starved for the nutrients their body craved and that is why they are over-consuming foods. NOT just micro nutrients, but most of my clients were depriving their bodies of the proper MACROnutrients for their metabolic types. Many teach their bodies to turn to sugar and caffeine for energy. However, As soon after they begin eating metabolically, nearly EVERYONE decreases or eliminates thier sugar cravings. When they consume the proper ratio of carb/protein/fat for their type, they AUTOMATICALLY begin to feel full at the proper portion sizes...their bodies to not crave more food because it is getting exactly what it needs in that meal.
There are other factors which also help to balance hormonal systems and blood sugar (ie: eating organically and ridding yourself of any intestinal fungal blooms) but a vast majority of my clients begin seeing a huge difference in energy, body composition, cravings, and mood stability simply by eating metabolically.
Is metabolic eating a panacea? I believe that it needs to be worked in a way to make it easier to teach and more accessible to the general public but the science is sound and the results are amazing. It certainly has more long-term plausibility for my clientele than gems like: "Share your plate with a friend." or "Drink lots of water before you eat so you can feel full." It is my job as a coach to provide REAL solutions and provide my clients ways to get back in touch with their bodies...not tricks to ignore what their body is trying to tell them. Metabolic Eating is one such tool.
To learn more, I recommend "The Metabolic Typing Diet" by William Wolcott.

Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas

I am continually surprised by how few people actually aware of the true dangers of mercury in your mouth. This is largely because many dentists refuse to admit it or to inform their clients or the dental associations refuse to inform the dentists of the dangers.

Nay-sayers have a huge vested interest in denying this--largely because they have told people for decades that there is ABSOLUTELY NO DANGER in mercury filling. Imagine the class-action lawsuit if we all found that this junk is poisoning us. So, while everyone is busy avoiding tuna because of trace mercury (which I recommend you limit but not cut out completely), many of us are getting hundreds of times more exposure from our dental work.

Watch the full video...it is worth the time. Even if you don't believe everything in this video, pretend that it is just half-true...wouldn't even that be worth the extra effort to get these metals out of your mouth to avoid potential Alzheimer's and other neurological and physiological damage to your body?