Self-Love, Anger Management, & Men's Health with Chris Terzakos

Jennifer Norman:
Hello beautiful humans. Welcome to The Human Beauty Movement Podcast, your source for hope, healing, happiness and humanity. My name is Jennifer Norman. I'm the founder of The Human Beauty Movement and your host. This podcast is here to guide you on your journey of self love, empowerment, soul alignment and joy. With each episode, I invite beautiful humans from all corners of the globe to join me for open conversations about their life lessons and the important work that they are doing to help heal humankind. Take a moment now to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode. I'm so glad you're here, joining me for today's show.

Jennifer Norman:
This episode is for the men and the women who love them. We're going to discuss the powerful aspects of healing, resilience and transformation after facing some of life's most challenging battles. My guest today is Chris Terzakos, an entrepreneur, self healing coach, and author of three wellness books, Hernia Without Surgery, Natural Testosterone After 60, and Belonging to Yourself. Drawing from over 40 years of experience, Chris brings a unique perspective that blends leadership, healthy aging and personal wellness. His mission is to inspire men to reconnect with their inner strength. And his work centers on Healing Warriors, a vision of men walking through the fields of life with the kind of strength that not only leads to personal peace and happiness, but also positively impacts everyone they encounter. Chris dedicates his life to guiding men young and old through their own journeys of self discovery.

Jennifer Norman:
He teaches them to embrace their innate wisdom, cultivate a healthy relationship with themselves, and and ultimately create a life filled with purpose and peace. In this episode, we'll explore Chris's personal healing story, the profound lessons from his book belonging to yourself, and his insights into living a life of wellness, authenticity, and inner power. So let's get ready for the wisdom and heart of Chris Terzakos. Welcome to the show, Chris.

Chris Terzakos:
Hi, how are you today? Thank you for having me on your show.

Jennifer Norman:
It's a delight to have you. Wow. You speak so passionately about the concept of the healing warrior. I would love for you to explain what that means and how this vision came to you.

Chris Terzakos:
Well, the reason it's a healing warrior, a healing warrior is a man that takes responsibility for what he's not responsible for. His key strength is his mind. So whatever happens in life, a warrior will always use his mind because that's his power. And then from there becomes a warrior with solving problems, helping people, and also helping himself first.

Jennifer Norman:
Let's dig into that a little bit further. So how does embracing the identity of a healing warrior help men walk through life with more purpose, inner peace, and strength?

Chris Terzakos:
You have to have adversities. If you have faced with adversities in life, you'll become a warrior. And when you come out of each one on top, whatever the circumstances are, you become a warrior. It's all the strength of the mind. I grew up in a tough neighborhood. I'm from New York City, in my neighborhood, you know, a lot of tough things going on.

Chris Terzakos:
Especially in my generation. You had the Black Panthers and all kinds of gangs, Latin Kings, right? A lot of fighting going on, a lot of prejudice going on. Well, the story is that my best friend was murdered at the age of 20. And that's one of the adversities that I had to overcome. And I loved him like a brother.

Chris Terzakos:
I couldn't save him. He got involved with some wrong people, and he wound up getting murdered. So at an early age, here I am facing this issue. My heart was broke. All kinds of things run through your mind. And being a warrior at an early age, you got to focus on how you're going to get through it. And I did. Five years later, another thing happened.

Chris Terzakos:
My oldest sister, her name was Paula, she died. She died running. She was a marathon runner. She ran every marathon. California, Boston, New York. She was out on a 10 mile run and she died. Now here's another adversity.

Chris Terzakos:
How am I going to deal with this? She was like my second mom, she used to put us to bed at night. My mother was a single mother. But you know what? A single mother, no dad, there's no man present. So now I had to overcome my sister's death. And which is painful. If you lost anybody in your life, you know how painful it is. Especially in this case. She's like your second mom.

Chris Terzakos:
So here I go again. But in that case, it was a little different. In that case, I got angry. And that's something a warrior doesn't do. A warrior doesn't get angry. So I got in trouble with the law. So while I got in trouble with the law, I told my friends growing up, that's it, don't call me, you know I love you guys.

Chris Terzakos:
Stay away from me. I had to revamp my whole life because that's not what I wanted to do. I didn't want to get in trouble. So then that was the transformation point of my life. When I got in trouble with the law, I did go to anger management, because I was angry, because my sister just died. And then five years before that, my best friend died. So I did go to anger management. I gave the woman a hard time, I think for the first two months.

Chris Terzakos:
But then I couldn't wait to go to anger management. I was like loving every session twice a week. I loved it. And I learned a lot. And by transforming from the life that I had to this life, I was like, wow, this is something that I didn't know about. Nobody taught me. My mother worked her job. You think my mother had time to teach me anything other than clean the house? So that was the transformation point in my life.

Chris Terzakos:
I was a leader. I worked for one company for 18 years. He's actually my best friend today, the boss of that company. After 18 years, I opened up my own company and I became a leader. And with the leadership role, they come to you because they trust you with their problem. I'm not a therapist, I'm not a doctor, But I'll give you the best advice that a warrior could give you. And that's what they did.

Chris Terzakos:
They used to come, whether it's wife problems, marital, kids, and they come to me and I give them the best advice that I can give them.

Jennifer Norman:
I'm curious about what you learned in anger management, because I think that some men might think, well, getting angry is a natural emotion. Being tough, sometimes you gotta get angry because it's motivating and you have to show your strength. It's almost a sign of strength and toughness. If you're able to puff out your chest and maybe have power over another, some people might think that that's what a warrior is. Could you describe why you believe that's not what a warrior is? And perhaps some of the things that you learned in anger management that showed you a different side.

Chris Terzakos:
Great question, man. I love that question. A warrior doesn't act that way. I'm considering myself as a warrior. When you're a warrior, that's one place you don't touch is the anger. Now, I'm going to answer your question. We have a lot of testosterone, especially early age, right? Testosterone plays a big factor on men's behavior, and men need to control that. I know how I controlled it after I went to anger management.

Chris Terzakos:
I controlled it with love, self-love, self-compassion. I treat people kind. So the testosterone played a big part in the anger. The loss of my sister played a big part of that triggering that anger. I got through it. I got through all that. I made sure that when I'm done with anger management, that I'm going to be a new person. And you know, Jennifer, when I became that new person, I lost a lot of friends because they didn't like the new Chris.

Chris Terzakos:
They wanted the old Chris back. And I wasn't going to go back. So. Yeah. So I hope I answered your question.

Jennifer Norman:
Yes. I'm curious what some of the things were that you learned in anger management that were able to transform you into the new Chris.

Chris Terzakos:
Patience. You need to be patient with others. Don't fly off the handle. If the car was dented, or if somebody broke a window in your house, somebody cursed at you or gave you the middle finger while you're driving the car. Relax, relax. Just take a chill. Count to 10, however you're going to get through it. Just relax.

Chris Terzakos:
The people who act like that, they're not in your world because now you're in another world that's not your world. So let them live their world. You stay in your world. Stay right where you are. Love your wife, love your kids. You're always going to have something come up, always in life. Life is a challenge.

Chris Terzakos:
So getting through each challenge, you got to be that warrior. How you going to get through it? First thing is you do just chill, relax. You don't need to fix any issues right away. Issues could take time. It could take a day, could take an hour, could take five hours, could take a year. But just take it easy. You need to relax. Because there's so many things going on in life.

Chris Terzakos:
You have to have more gratitude. You got to appreciate people. People that are negative, you got to get them out of your life. They're only going to bring you down. So these are all things that I learned after going to anger management. I think in AA, I was never into alcohol or drugs, but I think in AA there's an old saying, people, places, and things. The same goes with a regular person. You gotta watch the places and the people and things that you do in life.

Chris Terzakos:
So I'm gonna go along with that too.

Jennifer Norman:
Also interesting. I think that one of the pieces of advice that's hard to take if somebody is angry is to say, relax. Cause then they'll probably beat you up.

Chris Terzakos:
That's possible. That's possible. You know, there's a saying, why have road rage when you can have peace? Why? Okay, so I'm gonna cut you off. Good.

Jennifer Norman:
I agree. I agree.

Chris Terzakos:
You cut me off. Go ahead. Good. Good for you. Bye. I hope you're safe. Wish always good on people, never bad on people. Wish them good.

Chris Terzakos:
That's good karma, Good harmony. You feel good? You wanna feel good. Because if you don't feel good, no one's gonna feel good around you, right?

Jennifer Norman:
True, true. Now, earlier you talked about developing some self love and self compassion. I think that a lot of fellows may think that's a little too touchy feely, it's too emotional, it might be more feminine than they're used to being. Some other fellows that I've had on my podcast said that the hardest advice that they ever got or the strangest and most confusing advice was 'be a man'. Because they didn't really know what that meant. But developing self compassion and self love, I'm curious to hear what that journey was like for you and how after being what you would consider an angry person because things happened in your life, a lot of people think that things happen to them and not for them. And so it damages their own personal sense of ego or that pain when they feel that perhaps in the testosterone kicks in. But developing this concept for a man of self loving and self compassion, I'm curious what that was like for you and then how you help coach people or other men to learn how to find that in themselves.

Chris Terzakos:
Okay, well the first step, that's another good question. You got to drop the ego. A man, we all have egos, but I, I dropped my ego. My ego was so big growing up, I can tell you, playing baseball, nearly became a baseball player professional, being a leader, the ego was tremendous. So if a man is listening to this podcast and he's listening to me and my words, I would tell him, brother, first you got to drop your ego. Because if you think that self love or self compassion is only with women. Got it all wrong, bro. Got it all wrong.

Chris Terzakos:
So guys listening to this, I lived it. I got the experience, I got the wisdom and I'm putting it out there. Okay? I'm going to help young guys drop the ego, okay? Drop, just drop the ego. Because the ego is only going to get you in trouble. It's just a matter of time before your face goes slamming into a wall because of the ego. But if you drop the ego, watch how much nicer life becomes for you, how it becomes better for your wife, better for your house, when you go to the store, a stranger at the cash register. Just drop the ego.

Chris Terzakos:
Everything else is simple. So I know women have egos, too. But if women drop their ego, guess what? You live a better life. And I know ego comes at an early age. I'm going to say that by the time you're 35 years old and you still have an ego, I don't know, man. I don't think it's going to. It's not going to turn out good for you. So me, myself, once I drop that ego, I love life. I love life so much better. I didn't hurt anybody. Nobody hurt me.

Chris Terzakos:
There's one thing, though, that I did notice. When you do drop the ego, some people, they think it's weakness, and they take advantage of your kindness. And I ran into that multiple times. And I would always confront you right in your face and say, oh, you're disrespecting me. Whether you're a woman or a man.

Chris Terzakos:
Excuse me, Are you disrespecting me? What did you just say? Because you can't walk away from that. You have to ask the question. You don't need to get angry, but you can ask the question. And most of the time the answer is no, not at all. I didn't disrespect you. Okay, good. I appreciate that. And just walk away, because that can happen.

Chris Terzakos:
So it's just a matter of being strong up here in the mind. So I think I answered your question.

Jennifer Norman:
Yes. I think that some men may say, okay, he's telling me to drop my ego. How? What, what is that? What does that mean, drop the ego? How do I even do that? Or how will I know if I have dropped the ego? Is there any answer to that? Because I think that it's one of those things where you hear it, you can say, but what does it really mean and how do you do it?

Chris Terzakos:
When you drop the ego, you become an amazing person. You truly become an amazing person. Become an amazing man, amazing woman. You just become amazing because nothing sparks you. Nothing will spark that energy to explode because you drop the ego. And that's the key, man. The key is the ego. You don't understand.

Chris Terzakos:
There's a book, The Course of Miracles. They talk about the ego all the time in that book, The Course of Miracles. As long as the ego is in you, life is going to be kind of tough for you. I don't care what kind of car you got. I don't care the size of your bank account. I don't care how good looking you are. I don't care about any of that. You know, I don't have an ego, but I did when I was younger.

Chris Terzakos:
My girlfriend needed to be really pretty. The pocketbooks that they used to have. Guess what? That's all gone. God bless you. If that's your life, God bless you. I lived that life already. So any guy wants to talk to me, I'll tell him. I'll tell him what I was up against.

Chris Terzakos:
The things that I heard from groups of people that I knew and they were like, you got to be kidding me. You know, stuff that I used to hear, now I live a profound life. I'm grateful for everything I have. And that's it. That's it.

Jennifer Norman:
Yes. Some people will liken the ego, because we hear about, oh, that person has a big ego. And what they mean is like, oh, that that person is arrogant or is they're full of themselves. But the ego that we're talking about here is similar to that but different in that it is the facade. It's almost like that mask that you're wearing. It's that front that you're showing people because you're afraid to reveal the true you inside. And so to your point about the cars, the girlfriends, the purses, the labels, all of those things, a lot of those are badging to showcase status or a certain representation of yourself in the world. And a lot of that is typical for people that are insecure inside because it's almost like they're overcompensating for feelings of lack.

Jennifer Norman:
And so on the outside, they might project themselves in a place where there's always a yardstick. People are comparing themselves to each other. I have to show that person that I am better than that person is. I have to show that person that I make more money than they do or that I'm more successful. And so it's always a race and you're always trying to get ahead and it can be exhausting. There's a lot of pressure there. There's a lot of...There's very few real friends when you're living a life that is only, that is driven by ego.

Jennifer Norman:
And so when we say drop the ego, it's really at the core of self discovery. And we'll get to that a little bit more in a moment. But it's really understanding the things that really, really make you happy. The things that you're doing just for you and not to please somebody else or to show off to somebody else or to get, make an impression on somebody else. It's like, what are the things that are really you, that light you up and bring you joy? And so from that aspect, it gets harder to be angry at things. So road rage, perfect example. That person in the other car didn't cut you off. And it's not a personal affront.

Jennifer Norman:
Even if that person did it to try to prove something, it doesn't even bother you because you realize that, like, oh, that poor soul. They think that they have something to prove, but they really don't. And so you can let things slide off and roll off and you don't get triggered as much anymore. I often will say, notice your triggers, notice what you notice, because those are those secret hot buttons that are often jabs at the ego. Often, not always, but often jabs at the ego or a place of pain where it's like, okay, notice that and see what you can do. So that if anybody were to say something to you or if anybody were to act in a way that wasn't so kind to you, that it's almost like they're speaking a different language that you don't understand. It's like if somebody were to say something bad to you in a language that you didn't understand, it'd be like you wouldn't even understand it. It doesn't even affect you.

Jennifer Norman:
But if somebody were to call you a blankety blank in English or what have you, then yeah, I mean it's offensive. So those are the things that we talk about when we say dropping the ego can be a good thing. Now can we completely drop the ego? No, because we all have to socialize, we all have to get along in the world. And certainly there is an air of the fact that once you do find your true self, then self expression and self presentation starts to come forth in your ego. But it's done from a place of trueness, truthfulness for you.

Chris Terzakos:
Right.

Jennifer Norman:
You mentioned something earlier too that I wanted to just talk about a little bit further. You said sometimes when you're kind, it can be mistaken as weakness. And some men may fear being vulnerable because they feel that they need to be strong and they need to be protective and they need to protect themselves and their families. And they don't want to be taken advantage of. Nobody wants to be a sucker. Right?

Chris Terzakos:
Right.

Jennifer Norman:
But yet that can happen. So what do you do to help people lean into their vulnerability?

Chris Terzakos:
I came across that too in my life. I would talk to another guy and you know, he's got that look on his face and I was like, hey, dude, being nice to you, bro. I'm speaking to you on a kind level. You don't have to be like that, and I tell him, I call him right out. You don't have to act like that with me. Relax. You don't have to be like that. What's with the face? You know, with the ego face? They make that face, like, listen, I was being nice to you.

Chris Terzakos:
So you do come across that. You know, people think that you're weak, but what you see, you got to call people out on their shit. Excuse the word. You got to call them out on their shit. There's a way to do it. Kindness. If you call them out on their shit. Kindness.

Chris Terzakos:
They probably can't even look at you in the face. They have to look left or right. Just call them out on their shit. And that's the way it is. So I always do. I always call people on this shit. Just the other day, I'm in the gym and a guy told me that I have a beautiful wife.

Chris Terzakos:
Okay? And you know what? He's telling the truth. I do got a beautiful wife. But I looked at him, I said, you're not disrespecting me, are you? I gave him the opportunity to answer that. Are you disrespecting me with that? Or are you being kind? No, no, I'm being kind, man. He was like. He answered me. Because you got to call people out on their stuff. What they say, words could get tricky.

Chris Terzakos:
So when you do call them out, just be nice about it. And if you feel like they're not being nice about it, just pack it in, walk away. Now you know what kind of person you're dealing with. And that's what I do.

Jennifer Norman:
Excellent.

Chris Terzakos:
Yeah.

Jennifer Norman:
Now, in your book Belonging to Yourself, you talk about the importance of self love. Why do you think self love is so crucial, especially for men?

Chris Terzakos:
Well, from my experience, I didn't have self love for a very long time. Like I said, single mother, two jobs. She. She worked playing baseball. Nobody, no family, coming to watch. I was like an elite player. You know, that hurts. You know, those are all hurtful things.

Chris Terzakos:
So whatever I had to do in life, I did it on my own. And what I realized, and that's why the book is called Belonging to Yourself, I was always looking to belong to a group. When I worked for the company for 18 years, I felt like I belonged there. Like there was my family. If you were my friends, a group of friends, I treated you like family. And what I realized back then, I would love them first before I would love me and love myself.

Chris Terzakos:
I had the ego going on. I was a leader talking to people. But I didn't have self love. I would love you first. That's not good. You got to love yourself first. Be true to yourself. Love yourself so you can love others.

Chris Terzakos:
And that's how I transformed. Through my management, anger management, I developed self love. I took care of me first and that's what I still do today, take care of me.

Jennifer Norman:
So you talk about being a leader and you've been a leader for 40 years and different industries, different places. And so how do you think that your approach to leadership evolved through your own personal healing and wellness journey?

Chris Terzakos:
My approach is straightforward. My approach, this is the way it is. Now if you know my story, which I'm transparent. I don't hide anything. Did I hide things years ago? Yeah. Do I hide anything today? No. So when I do sit with anyone and I talk to them, I'm straightforward and I expect the same from you.

Chris Terzakos:
So we're going to talk to one another. Just be straightforward with me. I'll help you because I'm straightforward and I'm going to give you my experience. Now, if it's something that I can't help you with, I would have to tell them they have to go talk to somebody else. But it's something that I experience in my own life. I'll help you because I've been through that. I've been through a lot of stuff.

Chris Terzakos:
I raised a kid for five years being told that the child was mine. And after five years, the child wasn't mine. We had a DNA test, that child belonged to somebody else. So that's another adversity. My best friend died. I told you earlier, my sister died. My single mother raising up single family has a lady in my life, tells me that she was pregnant with my baby, didn't work. That wasn't my baby. These are all things that I lived.

Chris Terzakos:
And you know what? I'm grateful. I wasn't angry when I found out the results from my lawyer. He called me up to give me the results that the baby's not mine. I was nice to the lady. I told her over the phone, I'm not mad at you. She was crying. I know. I'm not mad at you.

Chris Terzakos:
Just go on with your life. I actually forgive you. Wow. Yeah. I actually also offered if you can't take care of the baby, I'll take care of the baby. I'll raise it. The child. You know, I have a lot of sisters.

Chris Terzakos:
You know, I got six sisters.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow.

Chris Terzakos:
They'll all help me.

Jennifer Norman:
Amazing. You've been quite a help to a lot of people, in terms of helping them to find more self love in themselves, helping them understand that being a man doesn't mean it's all about ego. It's not all about power over another, as it were. And you also help them be healthier, not just mentally and in their hearts, but also physically too. Because there's a lot of things that men go through in terms of their bodies and the way that they are aging that might also impact the way that they feel about themselves. Can you tell us, because you've been able to keep yourself quite healthy even over 60 years old, what do you think are some of your secrets that help people to age healthfully and also have a good sense of self when it comes to their physiques?

Chris Terzakos:
Well, self care, self care is extremely important for men and women. So great question again. Self care. Now, what is self care? Eating healthy, your hygiene, exercise, being kind to your family or to your friends. It's all part of self care. Me, I've been in the gym for over 40 years. I will never give up exercise. It's one of the happiest times of my life is when I'm in the gym, I put the headset on, I listen to phenomenal music.

Chris Terzakos:
It motivates me. I motivate people because I know people like my energy, have a lot. I have a lot of energy in the gym. My wife is always with me in the gym. She loves the energy. Yeah. So you got to eat healthy, you got to maintain a healthy testosterone level. I wrote a book on how to increase testosterone naturally.

Chris Terzakos:
No injections, no steroids is the real deal. You just got to be dedicated and discipline. Okay, you want to be the warrior, do it the right way. Back in ancient times, the American Indians look at the shape they were in, look at how healthy they ate. So why can't we do that? You want to sit on the couch, eat potato chips and popcorn and watch four movies? That's your life. That's not my life. I won't do that. So self care, self love, be kind to everyone around you.

Chris Terzakos:
Exercise is extremely important. And a good night's sleep.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, yes. In the men's health world, testosterone is talked about ad nauseam. And you just talked about no injections, no artificial...How do you recommend increasing natural testosterone?

Chris Terzakos:
There's a couple of steps. I'm going to show you the book cover. Here's my book cover. That's a picture of me that was taken about six months ago. Vitamin D is extremely important for both men and women. But for men to increase testosterone. If you can get natural vitamin D, wonderful. Thirty minutes a day is all you need.

Chris Terzakos:
But if you don't, or if you can't get natural vitamin D, I recommend that you go on either 5,000 or 10,000 IUs a day, five days a week, two days off, five days on. And the reason for it all, supplements that I take, I only take them five days a week. I don't want the body to always rely on the supplement. So that's why it's always good to do two days off. Okay. You don't want consecutive days. Yeah, you could do like three days straight, take a day off, another day, but just make sure two days off. So if you're taking, say, Omega 3, take Omega 3 five days a week, two days off.

Chris Terzakos:
That's all you need. Don't do it every day. I don't recommend it. So to increase testosterone and keep it at a normal level, the level, the range is 300 to 500 nanograms. If a man is below 300 nanograms, your testosterone is low. Now, what are the symptoms of low testosterone for women that are listening to this, maybe your husband, your boyfriend. Low testosterone is if he's moody, very moody. He's always tired, he has no ambition, low libido are all major symptoms of low testosterone.

Chris Terzakos:
Now, it doesn't make him a bad person. It's just that he needs some help. So I wrote the book. I went on a program. My testosterone level was low, and I did something about it. Now, the doctor wanted to put me on TRT, testosterone replacement therapy. And I said to the doctor, no. You know why? That's for the rest of your life.

Chris Terzakos:
That means you got to go every week and get a shot, testosterone shot. Your blood thickens. You got to donate blood every three months. Your red blood cells go up. You got to watch your prostate. You can get a heart attack, you can get a stroke. There's so many things to it. So I don't recommend it.

Chris Terzakos:
But there's one thing I'm not against it, and I need to emphasize it this. There are men that cannot produce testosterone. Even if you're on my program, there are men that can't. Those are the guys that need and have to go on TRT. So I would say, yes, recommend that. We can't live without testosterone. Just like women.

Chris Terzakos:
Women can't live without estrogen. You need estrogen. So, yeah, so I wrote in the book, I went on a program. I couldn't believe it. My testosterone was low eight or nine months Later. And both tests are in the book. Okay. Just to show it came from the doctor's office to show the, the audience.

Chris Terzakos:
And when I went back to the doctor after my program that I went on, my testosterone was 790. That's high, especially in your 60s. 700 is high. So my program worked. And then my wife gets in my truck and she says, I want you to write a book. I'm driving. I looked at her, I said, really? Write a book.

Chris Terzakos:
You're going to help a lot of men with this. Write a book. People need to know that you don't need to do that conventional doctor stuff. With TRT, I said, okay, I'll write a book. And whatever I wrote is exactly what I did. I mean, I think an 8th grader could read the book. I made it so simple.

Chris Terzakos:
It's so easy. Just go through the steps and you'll increase your testosterone.

Jennifer Norman:
So there are other steps aside from natural or supplemental vitamin D?

Chris Terzakos:
Yeah. Like I'll give you a couple of tips. You got to go on healthy fats. Healthy by us. Our body love healthy fats. What are healthy fats? Olive oil. Now, when you look at the olive oil, you got to look at the back of the label. This is important.

Chris Terzakos:
This is really important. If it comes from five or six or seven different countries on the back of the label, I'm going to ask you, please put it back on the shelf. You know why you're not buying authentic olive oil if it comes from one country on the back of that label, whether it's Italy, Greece, Morocco. Those are the three that I buy. Greece, Italy, Morocco. It comes from one place. Now I know I'm buying authentic genuine olive oil. So that's important for the audience to understand.

Chris Terzakos:
It's got to come from one place. Don't go listen to the sign in the supermarket. Supermarkets really, really can fool people. So, yeah, so healthy fats, olive oils, great avocado, omega 3, which you get into wild caught salmon. And here's another thing. Please don't buy farm raised salmon. It's toxic. So people don't know about this.

Chris Terzakos:
I'm telling you, I did all the research. I took many, many hours on this. Please. It's got to be wild caught salmon only. It's high in omega 3, high in protein, great for your brain, great for your blood. Egg yolks. Don't believe the old story 'don't eat so many eggs'.

Chris Terzakos:
Eat them. Eat as many eggs as you want. Eggs will not harm you, especially the yolks. The yolks will help increase testosterone. Brazilian nuts, pumpkin seeds. Now, pumpkin seeds are great because they're high in zinc. So if you don't like pumpkin seeds, go on a zinc supplement. It'll help increase testosterone.

Chris Terzakos:
If you like oysters, I strongly recommend you eat oysters. I eat oysters every Friday. That's my regimen. Every Friday I go out and get two dozen oysters for me. My wife. Yeah, my wife doesn't eat oysters. So I eat oysters because they're high in zinc, high in protein, they're good for androgen receptors. They open up all the receptors in the body for the testosterone to flow.

Chris Terzakos:
Good. I also recommend grass fed meat only. If you're not eating grass fed meat, you're not eating healthy meat. So if you're going to eat meat, steak, a hamburger, just make sure it grass fed. I don't recommend buying regular meat. Yeah, I really don't.

Jennifer Norman:
You know, those are amazing tips. Thank you so much for that.

Chris Terzakos:
You're welcome.

Jennifer Norman:
You've explored many alternative healing techniques over the course of your life. Have there been any others that have been impactful you. Not necessarily just with respect to testosterone, but physically in other ways. And how might they benefit other people, too?

Chris Terzakos:
Yeah, I wrote another book, Hernia Without Surgery. So that book there is... I spent all my life in the gym exercising. In my late 40s, I started what they call ego lifting. Ego lifting is putting on more weight that you shouldn't be putting on. I'm not, I'm not a bodybuilder. I'm not going to compete. So I put more weight on.

Chris Terzakos:
And what happened? I got a hernia. I got an inguinal hernia. It's right by the groin again. Go to the doctor, checked it out. He looked at it. This is 15 years ago. So anyway, he says, we got to set you up for surgery. I said, surgery? He says, yeah, we're going to put a piece of mesh in your body.

Chris Terzakos:
It's like a patch, it holds the hernia in. I says, I'll get back to you, doc. All right, let me think about this. So what did I do? I went on another mission. How I'm going to get through the hernia and heal without surgery. And that's what I did. So I wrote another book, Hernia without surgery. So 15 years ago, I got a hernia.

Chris Terzakos:
Fifteen years later, you're never going to 100% cure it. But guess what? You don't even know you have a hernia. If you read my book, you know, I live a normal life.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. And are there any other tips that you can reveal from what you had done in order to stem the hernia and avoid surgery?

Chris Terzakos:
So here's a few of the tips. In the beginning, when you start the program, I recommend you take an Epsom salt bed for about 40 days straight. Epsom salt bath. Reason for it, it's going to bring down the inflammation of the wounded area, wherever your hernia is. Could be inguinal, your belly button, it could be up by your diaphragm. There's three types. And women, by the way, also get hernias when they give birth.

Chris Terzakos:
Yeah. So, you know, you got to push the baby, boom. You got a hernia anyway. 40 days straight. This is what I did. I took Epsom salt baths every day, every night, every morning I would wake up, I would put on a hernia belt. So the moment I woke up in the morning, the belt went on to the moment I went to sleep at night, the belt came off. I did that for 40 days straight.

Chris Terzakos:
Because now you're training... the belt is pushing the hernia in. So you're training the hernia to go inside the body. Basically, your body's telling the hernia you belong inside, Basically, and that's why you're wearing the belt. So Epsom salt bath, hernia belt for 18 hours during the day. Right. You don't lift anything heavy, at least for about two months. Don't lift anything heavy.

Chris Terzakos:
Once you see the hernia going inside your body. Now you know that your program is working. Turmeric, it's a supplement. It's anti inflammatory. I also eat every morning. I eat fresh, organic ginger. I have a teaspoon. My wife chops up the ginger.

Chris Terzakos:
We put it in a jar to last us for about four days. One teaspoon is equivalent to five ounces. That's all you need. Eat raw ginger. Organic. I recommend organic and watch the inflammation. And besides ginger helping the hernia, ginger is good for so many other things. It's good for gut health, good for blood flow.

Chris Terzakos:
It increases testosterone for men. So ginger is actually really good for you. So I recommend that you do eat ginger. Whether it's ginger tea, I recommend it. So, yeah, those are three things that I'll share with you. Is the hernia belt. Epsom baths, Eating ginger, Turmeric is a great supplement. Magnesium.

Chris Terzakos:
Did you know with my studies, 70% of people are magnesium deficient?

Jennifer Norman:
Wow.

Chris Terzakos:
Why not eat magnesium if you don't want to take a supplement? Eat a banana every day. Bananas are loaded with magnesium and potassium. So go eat a banana or two bananas if you don't want to take a supplement.

Chris Terzakos:
Look, I have... this is on my website. I have an all natural spray. It's a magnesium spray. I use this spray. I spray two sprays on my hernia, two sprays on my shoulders before I go to bed at night. You know why? It's going to relax me. It's going to take all the inflammation down. It works amazing. The guy that, the founder of that, it was the greatest thing.

Jennifer Norman:
I've never seen it in a spray.

Chris Terzakos:
Oh. Oh, it's amazing. You'll never buy a supplement again if you buy that spray. It's on my website. Healingwarriors.com is my website. There's a bunch of supplements there. That's one of the items. He also makes another item called trace minerals.

Chris Terzakos:
Did you hear of trace minerals?

Jennifer Norman:
Kind of. I've heard of trace minerals, but I haven't really seen them in terms of supplements as trace minerals.

Chris Terzakos:
I recommend everyone should be taking trace minerals. It's a drop. You do eight drops in your coffee or eight drops in your tea or water every day. You're just putting minerals in your body. Remember your cells, they crave minerals. They love minerals. So every morning when I make my first cup of coffee, now actually my only cup of coffee, I only drink one a day, I put 10 drops of trace minerals in my coffee.

Chris Terzakos:
That starts my morning, that starts my day. So I recommend people going on trace minerals. The body loves minerals, cashews, Brazilian nuts. They're all loaded with minerals. So eat them. Body is going to love it, so eat them.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow, Chris, you are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to men's health. And I really appreciate you joining us for this podcast. Before I let you go, what do you hope for men? What is the one thing that you would wish for all men after listening to you here?

Chris Terzakos:
Be true to yourself. Always be true to yourself. A man has his word and his word needs to be golden. So keep your word. If you made a promise to somebody, keep your word. Whether it's business, wife, kids, mother, father, because that's all you got. A man only has his word. And if you don't have that and you got to go soul searching, get it? A man, when you shake another man's hand, that's important.

Chris Terzakos:
That handshake, believe it or not, is important because that's a man with integrity. Show another man you got the integrity. Show your wife you got an. You got integrity. Show up. She can only love you for it. So that's what I recommend for most men.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh Chris, yes, show them who you are. But most importantly, show yourself who you are. Have integrity, know yourself, and be true to yourself. Thank you so much for being my guest on The Human Beauty Movement Podcast today. It was such a pleasure.

Chris Terzakos:
Thank you so much.

Jennifer Norman:
Thank you for listening to The Human Beauty Movement Podcast. Be sure to follow, follow rate and review us wherever you stream podcasts The Human Beauty Movement is a community based platform that cultivates the beauty of humankind. Check out our workshops, find us on social media, and share our inspiration with all the beautiful humans in your life. Learn more at thehumanbeautymovement.com. Thank you so much for being a beautiful human..