Sex can provide protection against cancer, cold and flu

[Naveed Yaseen]

LAHORE: Sex can help ‘cure cold, prevent heart attacks, stave off cancer, increase longevity and stop mood swings’, according to The Daily Telegraph. The paper said researchers at UK’s Nottingham University had earlier found that “men who keep up a regular sex life into their 50s have a much lower risk in developing prostate cancer”. However, it noted, “too much sexual activity, more than 20 times a month, could increase the risk”. The report said doctors agreed that “regular sexual activity” was like exercise. The paper quoted cardiologist Dr Graham Jackson from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital as saying, “In fitness terms, it’s equivalent is going for a mile-long walk or climbing up and down two flights of stairs.” It quoted Dr Sarah Brewer as saying, “Testosterone levels have been found to increase during and after sex.” The paper said a person’s mood was also boosted during and after sex. The paper quoted Professor Nadir Farid, consultant endocrinologist and founder of the London Endocrine Clinic, as saying a number of endorphins, neurotransmitters and hormones were released during sex. “Oxytocin, in particular, is a hormone released during and after sex that has been shown to make people more generous towards their partners and can also help induce calm and sleep.” The paper said if a person had sex once or twice a week, the immune system was fortified, “thanks to the body producing higher levels of immunoglobulin A – a substance that helps fight colds and flu”. The paper also noted that sex had its disadvantages as well. It noted that unprotected sex resulted in the transmission of venereal diseases. It also noted that “since Viagra was released 10 years ago, the rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the over-45 group has doubled”. It quoted Professor Janice Rymer, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, as saying the over-45 group was a generation that did not have open access to sex education, leading to a possible rise in STIs. daily times monitor

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg1_4