Frequent Sex Good For The Heart
24 Mar 2002
Thank God researchers finally have good news! No dire warnings about the dangers of cholesterol. No alarms bells that we’re all headed for Alzheimer’s Disease if we live too long. Rather, there’s a pleasant way to decrease the risk of dying from the nation’s number one killer, heart disease. The prescription, frequent sex.
No longer can we say that Europeans pride themselves on active sex lives while the English just take their hot water bottles to bed. After all, this second research study on sex originated in Bristol, England. Shah Abraham, a professor of social medicine at the University of Bristol, is the author of this heartening news. He reports that men who have sexual intercourse at least twice a week are half as likely to drop dead from coronary attack.
We owe this bright discovery to Caerphilly, a town in Wales. Since 1979 researchers tracked the sexual life and cardiovascular health of 1,000 men from 45 to 59 years of age.
25 percent reported having sex twice or more a week. 20 percent once a month or less. The other 50 percent were somewhere in between .
What about Canadians? Last year a study claimed that 50 percent had sex once a week or more often. And 23 percent had not had sex for one year. The French call orgasm “La petite mort”, or the little death. But they are very quick to add that, a little death now and then can help postpone the big one. I’m sure most people would say “Amen” to that. But how risky is it to experience “La grand mort” during sex? Dr. Abraham offers these calculations. He assumes that we have an active sex life of about 50 years. During that time we’ll have sexual intercourse on an average of once a week.
So from Dr. Abraham’s figures we have one chance in 580 of experiencing “La grand mort” during sex due to exertion. One of the unlucky ones, Nelson Rockefeller, age 70, who died while interacting with his 25 year old personal assistant.
The moral? Frequent sex is good for the heart if it’s with your wife or a long-standing partner. But if you’re cheating on your partner the heart rate jumps up an extra 65 beats. For elderly hearts it could mean “La grand mort.”
It appears the little town of Caerphilly will soon be the sex capitol of the world. Another study by Dr. George Davey Smith of Bristol University followed 2,152 men living in Caerphilly. In this case, to see if more sex resulted in a longer life.
The result? They found that men having sex twice a week were younger (not surprising), taller, more likely to have manual jobs and had half the risk of dying.
So why does more frequent sex result in less heart disease and longer life? Critics say these men were simply healthier than the others. End of debate. Or is it?
After all, we know that exercise is good for you. Admittedly, it’s not like running up the Empire State building. But it does burn up some fat. Men who have sex three times a week burn up 7,500 calories a year. Not as much as jogging. But have you ever seen a happy jogger?
Sex also helps to increase good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. Again critics might say. ” Come on, Gifford-Jones, a few moments of amour isn’t going to have a major effect on blood cholesterol. Agreed, but every little bit helps.
Sex aids in increasing blood testosterone. We now know this produces stronger bones. Increased testosterone also puts more “tiger in the tank”. This means greater chance of job promotion, more money in the bank and increased pleasure.
It’s also a proven fact that sexual exercise increases endorphins. This chemical is the body’s own morphine to fight pain.
Today many men suffer from chronic prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate gland. Infrequent sex causes the gland to become rusty, congested and sets the stage for prostatitis.
I may be stretching facts a bit. But good sense dictates that a trifle lower cholesterol, a few more endorphins and avoiding prostatitis can’t hurt us. And if sex helps, what a small price to pay for increasing longevity! Now I wonder what more sex does for women? Any takers?
