Six reasons to have safe sex
S EX. IT is fun. It’s thrilling. It’s soothing. It must be safe.
It’s Valentine’s and many couples will be caught up in the throes of ecstasy on February 14. Go right ahead – it’s good for you. Studies have shown that regular sex, done with all safety precautions, is extremely healthy and provides an array of benefits. Here are six ways that sex boosts health. Just remember, use a condom each time you have sexual intercourse.
1. IT FIGHTS COLDS AND FLU
Sexual intercourse once or twice a week raises the body’s level of the immune-boosting antibody immunoglobin by a third, according to research at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.
2. IT’S A BEAUTY TREATMENT
In a study at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland, a panel of judges viewed participants through a one-way mirror and guessed their ages. Those who looked seven to 12 years younger than their age (labelled ‘superyoung’) were also enjoying lots of sex – four times a week, on average. One reason is that it raises a woman’s oestrogen level, which helps make hair shiny and skin supple.
3. IT BURNS CALORIES
A little over four calories a minute or the equivalent of four Hershey’s kisses in a half hour of love.
4. YES, HONEY, I HAVE A HEADACHE
For a woman, a migraine might actually be a reason for making love rather than avoiding intercourse: the increase is endorphins and corticosteroids during arousal and orgasm is analgesic.
5. IT PROMOTES REGULAR MENSTRUAL CYCLES
A series of studies by behavioural endocrinologist Winnifred Cutler and colleagues at Columbia and Stanford universities found that women who have intercourse at least weekly (except during their period) cycle more regularly than abstainers or the sporadically active.
6. IT CAN PREVENT ACCIDENTS
Women use the muscles of the pelvic floor to stem the flow of urine. As they age, they need to keep these strong to avoid peeing accidentally. The same muscles are exercised during intercourse, and as with all muscle-building programmes, the benefits require consistency.