[CHIQUITITA]

By: Clayton South


Human beings are sexual beings.

Human sexuality used to be the providence of religion and philosophy but modern science has made sexuality the object of independent objective study.

Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud believed that sexuality and the sexual force forms the basis of the human psyche [soul / mind] and drives human behavior. His psychoanalytic theory of personality serves as the basis of modern psychology.

Psychoanalytic personality theory states that ID - the primal element of the unconscious mind - controls survival needs and drives behaviour toward obtaining pleasure and satisfying basic needs. To this end, ID controls the survival mechanisms of the human psyche - the forces of life and death.

Modern psychology has displaced psychoanalytic theory and has replaced it with Maslows' Hierarchy of Needs and drive-reduction-theory.

Drive-reduction-theory states that human beings are driven to satisfy physical or psychological needs. The Hierarchy of Needs orders the sequence in which people seek the satisfaction of their needs. Used together, the two theories allow for a scientific understanding of human behaviour.

Whereas Freud stated that "anatomy is destiny" and that life's purpose is to live, to reproduce, and to die, modern psychology states that human beings seek to live life richly, and that a satisfying life is made possible by first satisfying physical needs, and then moving on to satisfy psychological needs. Modern psychology also contends that human beings have free choice.

However, freedom demands responsibility and brings risk - we also have the freedom to make wrong choices, and the responsibility to deal with the consequences. The free road is fraught with danger.

Nowhere is freedom more important and danger more apparent than with issues of sexuality. Applied correctly, healthy sexual activity can enhance immune function, mental health and quality of life. Unhealthy sexual acts can reap consequences ranging from physical injury and psychosis, to AIDS, to death.

The correct application of healthy sexual practice can enhance mental health, physical function and quality of life; the incorrect application of sexual practice, or even the incorrect application of healthy sexual practice, can impair immune function and decrease anabolic and androgenic hormone levels that contribute to muscle growth.

Can healthy sexual practice improve your immune-system? Can healthy sexual practice improve quality of life? Can healthy sexual practice improve your physical function - including athletic performance - by helping you build more muscle? The answer to these questions is: yes.



All About Testosterone!
Learn everything you will ever need to know about testosterone and how it works...

Many athletes have questions about sexual practice, and how sexual practice is applied so as to maximize immune-function, physical performance and quality of life. Should an athlete abstain the night prior to a competition? Should the athlete partake? Does sexual activity increase or decrease testosterone levels? The answers to these questions are in scientific literature.

This article will examine the latest research on sexual practice and its application within the context of an athletic training program.


The Scientific Research On Sex

The link between sexual practice and endocrine function is only now being studied seriously by academia.

Sex And Immune System Function

Recent research has demonstrated that hormonal fluctuations occur post-induced ejaculation, and that induced ejaculations help to increase adrenalin, prolactin1 and killer cell (CD3-CD16+CD56+)2 levels.

This research is the first to suggest an explanation for the immune system enhancing effects of induced ejaculation. Nocturnal emissions were not correlated with these health-enhancing effects.

Sex, Dopamine, Adrenalin And Arousal

Sexual activity facilitates the release of dopamine.3 Dopamine (C8H11NO2) is a simple neurotransmitter and monoamine that plays a role in the synthesis and release of epinephrine (adrenalin). The increase in heart rate that accompanies sexual arousal is a function of dopamine's impact on adrenalin release. Dopamine plays a role in addiction and pleasure seeking behaviors because it is a "feel good" hormone. Research has demonstrated that hormones do not play a role in sexual deviance, and thus dopamine may underlie sexual addiction and arousal.

Sex And Prostate Cancer

The Prostate...
Learn the facts, symptoms, diseases, and treatments associated with the prostate.

Prostate cancer affects about 70% of men over the age of 65. The American Cancer Society estimates that 2004 will see 230,900 new cases of diagnosed prostate cancer.

Prior to the scientific study of the ejaculation process, it was believed that frequent ejaculations was linked to increased prostate cancer rates. Not only has emerging research refuted this idea4, but new research has demonstrated that increased ejaculation frequency in the mid-to-late 20's was correlated with LOWER prostate cancer rates!

Academia and established medicine think that an increase in the frequency of ejaculations serves to protect the prostate from damage. It does so by clearing the prostate of seminal fluid that may contain DNA damaging carcinogens.

Sex And Heart Health

Heart health is essential to athletic performance. The heart pumps oxygenated blood to vital organs and muscles. Poor heart function can lead to decreased endurance, impaired performance, and stunted muscular growth.



The Myths Of Obesity...
Year after year, month after month, day after day, minute after minute, people are bombarded by advertisements, theories and training advice...

Obesity is the fastest growing health problem in North America. The 1999 HANES report estimated that 61% of adults are overweight and obese, with 15% of this number being morbidly or fatally obese.

Obesity and its related health complications can adversely affect heart health. Extra body fat and elevated blood triglyceride levels can lead to hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Thankfully, research has shown that sexual arousal stimulates adrenalin and thermogenesis (fat burning). Adrenalin taps into adipose (fatty) tissue for energy, and this explains why sexual activity is associated with being slim.6

Testosterone Profile
Testosterone is responsible for muscle growth, and muscle growth does not occur in its absence. Consequently, athletes go to great lengths to boost testosterone levels. Athletes may take a variety of herbs, vitamins, minerals, prohormones, prosteroids, and even illegal steroids, to boost their testosterone levels and performance.

Nutritional supplements are effective at altering hormone levels, but many lose effectiveness over time as the body down-regulates its natural production of substances as a response to exogenous influence. Muscle growth can stop when this occurs.