Men: Iron Overload Awareness: Too much is TOXIC - consider donating blood to prevent excess iron accumulation!

*Men* ~ PUMP the IRON but do NOT supplement with iron: Make sure none of your supplements contain IRON. I was accidently consuming some in one of my wife's supplements. Glad I caught it: we build up iron in our tissues, (Iron Overload or Hemochromatosis if hereditary), unless we donate blood annually and too much is very toxic! I'm going to blog about it. Whole-food sources shouldn't become a problem unless you eat a lot of red meat. There are some things that help us chelate excess iron out of our blood like Green Tea (EGCG) and Tumeric. But really men should be donating blood annually. Mother Nature already takes care of the ladies:)

Pump the Iron but do NOT EVER supplement with iron if you are a MAN.

Men~ Pump the iron...jack the steel...is good. Swallowing the iron is bad.

Next posts coming up:  (processed) Table Salt vs. (natural) Sea Salt:  Only one of these provides you with adequate IODINE: An essential nutrient for the thyroid gland and human life!...

Also:  High FAT/Ketogenic diets:  Do they work?  Do they work for athletes?  Do they work for high-intensity/fast-twitch/power athletes?...hmmm...

- Max Wettstein

Movember, the Asian Squat, Wim Hoff, & random stuff...

     Been a while!  I think what is happening is that I'm becoming one of those lazy humans who only wants to do anything social media related, from my smart phone.  So that means most of my 'blogging' or posting is being done on my instagram.  Also I only seem to post organically, in-the-moment, and instagram is a better platform for that, since my phone is right there always connected, and my laptop is not.  Also instagram keeps my posts shorter & to the point, so follow me there for more consistent, organic posts @maxwettstein on insta.

     November is 'Prostate Health' awareness month and I have already posted about this numerous times, if you want to check that out.  Yes eventually every man's prostate begins to enlarge, if you live long enough, and it is natural and not the end of the world.  The finger-probe is a more reliable BPH test than the blood/PSA test.  And masturbating or ejaculating daily is healthy for the prostate gland.

Squat more, Sit less.

My version of the 'Asian Squat?'  Yes I know I look like I'm taking a dump in the woods!

     In the above photo, I'm disappointed because I'm 3 weeks into my 'Movember' mustache and you can't even see it!  But more importantly I'm doing a resting, natural deep squat I've always done, which is now becoming popular (again) in fitness circles.  I've even seen it claimed a cultural position - the 'Asian squat', because some of those cultures hang out like this...

In some cultures a proper deep squat is a way of life.  Chairs are bad for your posture, lazy American!

...because in these cultures there aren't chairs available everywhere.  (Also see my post on Sitting is Lethal.)  As a young man, I used to be play Catcher in baseball and got really good at this squat.  As a surfer, I squat like this to loosen up my lower-back while checking the surf.  What's old is new again, and even Men's Health mag recently called this Asian Squat as the one move/exercise you need to be doing each day to maintain full-range of motion - of course MH didn't call it that and claimed it as their own novel idea.  Like I said, what's old is new again.  So next time you're just sitting around, maybe opt out of the chair and for this squat instead.  You will be doing wonders for your lower back, hips and glutes.  Contrary to what one might think, deep (natural) squats are NOT bad for your knees or pateller tendon, even during weight-lifting exercise.  The proper way is heels flat on the ground and butt as low as you can get it.  You may find that over time your achilles tendon has shortened a bit, from so much sitting and this is one natural way to lengthen it back out.  Those of you who have always done Olympic-style lifting, (pulling a barbell from the floor), should have no problem with your achilles tendons, as this traditional type of lifting involves this type of deep squatting.  So this is the heart of this blog post, but read on for more updates...

San Diego's 4L Magazine Celebrates it's 2 Year Anniversary!

     As many of you know I am the resident fitness contributor/writer for San Diego's Four EL magazine - A men's lifestyle and fitness magazine based here in San Diego that celebrates San Diego culture.  From LOCAL brews, bands, bars, beaches, babes, ball teams, etc. - you name it and the magazine covers it.  Rich in original, organic, relevant content for sure - I can personally say I know all the writers and the staff well.  There is no fluff, filler, or recycled material.  And not too many ads either, though I can't say the editors don't want more ad space filled:)  We're all in it out of a passion for San Diego and to promote the magazine's 4 ideals:

Live, Love, Laugh and Learn.  ("For the evolved man")

     I am very proud to say that I have been on board this magazine from ground zero, when my friend Steve Kang invited me to write all about fitness and holistic health.  I was all in and still am.  So we all got together and celebrated the mag's 2 year anniversary the other night downtown, with the live music from Palace Ballroom - another local SD favorite!

with 4L co-founder and Director of Ad Sales, Steve Kang and staff writerJason Stewart at the 2 year party!

Prostate Health and Prostate Cancer Awareness - It's 'Movember'!

Since it is ‘No shave November’, AKA Movember, I thought I would make this month’s nutrition topic about foods that promote a healthy prostate!  But in addition to some healthy food choices, I can’t help but also give you some lifestyle tips as well, to maintain a healthy prostate as you age into your forties, fifties and beyond.  For example, did you know that regular ejaculation is absolutely one of the healthiest things you can do for your prostate?  To be more specific, a recent study (don’t ask me how they studied this), showed that men age 40 and over who ejaculated at least 21 times per month were at 33% lower risk for developing enlarged prostate gland, or prostate cancer than those who ejaculated less frequently.  Obviously the safest but least fun way to accomplish this is through masturbation, because increasing sex partners will increase your risk of exposure to many other STDs which could be more way more life threatening than prostate cancer!

Why should you be so concerned with your prostate anyway?  Well doctors recommend at age 40 that you get your first prostate check, by having your rectum probed with the finger of a medical expert.  This type of check will allow a doctor to manually feel your prostate gland and see if it is enlarged or has any lumps, or hard spots.  At age 50 doctors recommend a prostate check every year, by either manual check through the rectum or a blood lab PSA test (Prostate Specific Antigen test).  The problem with blood PSA tests is they are really only useful when several tests are taken over a period of time detect a trend.  Because your PSA levels can acutely rise into a risk-alert level through many activities such as sexual intercourse, bicycling or any other kind of trauma near that area of your body.  Even a sitting too long during a road trip can spike your PSA levels, possibly alarming you and your doctor for no reason.  So as unpleasant and as violating as it may be, many experts feel that the manual finger-insertion check is more accurate and reliable than a blood PSA test.  What all these tests are trying to check for is early onset of enlarged prostate gland, medically known as ‘Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia’ or BPH.  BPH can then be a precursor to prostate cancer, which at least is considered very curable and isn’t likely to kill you.  But still nobody wants cancer!