Sex, Health, Diet Info

One of the advantages of reaching midlife is that we are finally finished with all those issues that make childhood and adolescence such a pain in the neck, such as needing set bedtimes as well as  regular dental and eye checkups; having to worry about using protection during sex and about cigarette smoking; getting all those shots to prevent diseases and wearing helmets to prevent sports injuries; needing to eat all our vegetables and avoid sugar as well as not missing gym class. What a relief to let these issues fade right along with our memories of tetherball on the school playground!

Not so fast. Would it surprise you to know that you still have to be aware of each and every one of the above so-called “child/adolescent” health issues?  

For instance, what about set bedtimes? The obvious reason that we needed enforced, regular  bedtimes each night was so that we would get enough sleep. Being tired and sleepy the next day in school caused everything from lousy concentration to crabby moods. Now that we’re in midlife, many of us believe that sleep is no longer an issue. This is not the case at all. It’s still essential to our health and wellbeing. Recent studies have shown that not only do sleep disturbances often indicate a serious health problem, but that lack of sleep can actually cause health problems, such as weight gain. Polls have shown that nearly two thirds of adults over the age of sixty-five have sleep complaints, but that less than 15 per cent of them have been formally diagnosed with a sleep problem. Why? Because we don’t mention sleep problems to our health care providers. Our mothers were right — we still need to be concerned about our bedtimes.

Once we’ve gotten the glasses we need and all our baby teeth are gone, we no longer need to get regular eye and dental checkups as we did in our younger years, right? Again — no. Although our vision does remain stable from young adulthood until we need bifocals, there are common eye diseases that begin to occur in midlife, and that can lead to blindness if not diagnosed.  And even though we no longer have our baby teeth,  other dental issues take the forefront upon reaching midlife, such as gum inflammation which has been shown to be associated with diabetes and heart disease. So, continued regular dental and eye checks are as important as in our younger years. 

And what about sex at midlife and beyond?  We’ve moved from groping and being groped in the backseat of the car to more sophisticated maneuvers in a comfortable bed, and finally, finally no longer have to worry about pregnancy. So we don’t need protection; or so many of us think. Although it’s true that once menopause arrives one can’t get pregnant (warning: make sure you have completed menopause before assuming this as diagnosing menopause can be tricky),  protection is still needed during sex because of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Yes, we can still get those, and in some cases are even more prone to becoming infected after menopause, even after a hysterectomy. And even though we’re past the childbearing years and our reproductive organs seem to have no further use, we still need regular pelvic exams and Pap smears. It is also important at that exam to discuss with our healthcare providers the need for testing for STIs; if there is a new partner or the worry that the current partner is not monogamous, this testing is a must.

STIs are not the only threat held over from our adolescent years; so is cigarette smoking. Many women in midlife think that there is no reason to stop smoking cigarettes at this age, since they wrongly assume that the damage is already done from all the prior years of smoking. This is not the case. No matter how many years one has smoked, stopping can prevent further damage to the heart, blood vessels, and lungs, and in some cases can reverse some of that damage.  

Also relevant to the lungs is the fact that asthma can begin in midlife, where once it was thought to only begin in childhood.  The two major causes seem to be occupational exposure to substances that damage the lungs, and the recreational exposure to air pollution by adults who run predominantly outside. So, a new onset of shortness of breath at this age — even if it occurs only with exercise — does not necessarily mean heart disease; remember that we can develop asthma now.

Did you think you were finished with all those horrible shots you had to have in childhood and adolescence? Sorry, you’re not. There is a recommended immunization schedule for adults in midlife and beyond, just as there are for children. At certain ages over 50 and at certain intervals, you’ll need shots against the flu, certain types of pneumonia, tetanus, and in some instances, shingles and hepatitis.  Ask your primary care provider about these.

And did you pack away your helmet when you gave away your bike with training wheels? Probably ok to have done this since now you will need a bigger size helmet. But you do need a helmet. A recent report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission stated that sports-related injuries in the Baby Boomer population was on the rise, with over 1 million injuries in this age group in 1998 alone, most of the injuries being due to bicycling and basketball.  The same report said that the many head injuries associated with bicycling were probably due to the fact that Baby Boomers use helmets less than younger people do.

The fact that exercise and proper nutrition are as important in midlife and beyond as in childhood may not come as a surprise. Regular exercise at this age has been shown to increase longevity and wellbeing, postpone and possibly prevent dementia, strokes, heart disease, and diabetes, and aid in the treatment of depression. Important to know as well is that several different types of regular exercise are recommended at this age, including aerobic (cardio) exercise, weight-bearing exercise or strength training, and exercises to improve balance and flexibility.

What we eat as we get older is every bit as important as it was in our younger years. One particular healthy way of eating, the Mediterranean diet, has been shown to stave off dementia, prevent heart disease and diabetes, maintain a healthy cholesterol level, and improve longevity. One study showed that this diet even improved sexual function in certain women! This diet is exactly as expected given its name: lots of natural whole foods, like vegetables, fruits, and nuts, lots of fish and olive oil, moderate amounts of wine, and limited amounts of foods containing refined sugar. Controlling the portions of the foods we eat is even more important at this age. Our metabolic rate decreases with age, making it easier to gain weight while eating the same amounts of food as in our younger years.  

So, as you are rummaging through your mother’s attic looking at your old dolls, baseball bat and Ouija Board, and breathing a sigh of relief that you no longer have to worry about being picked for a baseball team or that your best friend copied your paper doll’s dress, don’t get lulled into complacency about your health. Although you once may have thought that taking care of yourself  health-wise would get easier as you get older, you know now that that’s not true. Make your appointments for regular checkups, get more than 5 hours of sleep a night, use protection when having sex, particularly with a new partner, stop smoking no matter how old you are, get the recommended immunizations, be careful and wear your helmet and seatbelts, and exercise regularly and eat well. Your mother’s recommendations from your childhood continue to apply!

©2008 Janet Horn, M.D.

Author Bio
Dr. Janet Horn is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, with training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She spent many years on the fulltime faculty of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she published articles in medical journals on her research interests, including sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, and women’s health. She was also the primary author of several chapters in medical textbooks.  She started her solo private practice in 1990 while continuing to teach as an Associate Professor of Medicine on the part time faculty at Hopkins. She has been selected by Baltimore Magazine as one of the “Top Doctors in Baltimore” and by the Maryland Daily Record as one of the “Top 100 Women in Maryland.”   She is included in the books Consumer’s Guide to Top Doctors (in the US) and Best Doctors in America, Southeast Region.  She is the co-author of The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife and Beyond, which will be available this September from New Harbinger Publications.

When you think of heart disease, you probably think of a risk of death for men. However, since 1984 more women have died from cardiovascular disease than men. While more men are at a greater risk of having a heart attack than women, women are only half as likely to survive a heart attack as a man. The risk factors and symptoms of heart disease may be different for women. That’s why women’s health information on the topic of heart disease is so important.

Risks and Symptoms

For anyone, smoking is makes heart disease more likely. While women’s health information shows that premenopausal women have some protection against artherosclerosis because of the presence of estrogen, that protection isn’t enough to cover the added risk of smoking or diabetes. Atherosclerosis is a condition in which blood vessels become clogged and narrowed because of the buildup of fatty substances.

The resulting decrease of blood flow causes the symptoms of coronary heart disease. High levels of cholesterol are a risk for heart disease. Especially bad are high levels of LDL cholesterol. Diabetes is as great a risk for a heart attack as heart disease is. A woman with diabetes has the same risk of heart attack as a woman with heart disease.

According to the best women’s health information, diabetic women should manage their blood sugar and get aggressive treatment with LDL cholesterol lowering drugs. The leading cause of death for women with diabetes is cardiovascular disease.

A woman’s risk of atherosclerosis rises over the age of 55. Family history can be a risk factor if a woman has a brother or father diagnosed with atherosclerosis before the age of 55 or if she has a sister or mother diagnosed before the age of 65. The latest women’s health information shows that obesity makes a woman much more likely to develop heart health problems.

Problems linked to obesity include coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure and heart disease related death. According to women’s health information, metabolic syndrome is the combination of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, pre-diabetes and high cholesterol. Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

When a woman is the strong one in the family, she may be less likely to complain about small aches and pains. This can lead to missing early signs of heart disease. According to the best women’s health information, silent ischemia is a result of atherosclerosis that doesn’t cause pain or any specific symptoms.

A woman who is at risk of heart disease should have an EKG to rule this out. Women need to look to women’s health information to learn about their risk of that man’s disease – cardiovascular disease.

Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau

Sex is an important aspect of life. Sex is a complex matter: it involves many of your body organs in order to produce the desire that culminates in the sexual act that produces the sensations of sex and orgasm.

Diet plays a pivotal role in your sex and orgasm. First and foremost, you must be healthy in order to perform (in the case of men) the very sexual act, and to enjoy sex (orgasm in the case of women).

Orgasm or the enjoyment of sex is based on the sensation of pleasure, which is preceded by the enhancement of anticipation and desire. Yes, it is all in the mind. But the body affects the mind as well, and accordingly your diet has an overall impact on your sex life.

According to research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), fish oil not only improves your cardiovascular health but also reduces depression and aggression. In other words, fish oil elevates the dopamine levels in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter of the sensation of pleasure. Dopamine holds the key to female sexual pleasure or orgasm. In addition, male erection is contingent on a healthy heart to send sufficient blood to the male organ to produce the desired erection necessary to accomplish the sexual act.

Saturated and monounsaturated fats (from meat, poultry, and dairy products) also enhance the dopamine in your body. Therefore, a fat-free diet may help you lose not only your weight but also your sexual desire. Fish oil is a safe, healthy, and non-addictive way to effectively elevate the dopamine levels in your body to give you the desire, the performance, and the orgasm in sex. Trans fats (synthetic fats manufactured from other fats) in junk food and commercial basked goods will negate the effect of the fish oil you consume.

In addition to dopamine, serotonin is another neurotransmitter responsible for better sex in that it improves your overall mood and relieves stress that may result in performance anxiety in men and prevent women from reaching an orgasm.

That said, too much serotonin may not be good. Depressed individuals are often prescribed antidepressants to artificially raise their serotonin levels, resulting in lower libido and orgasmic capability. Remember, anything that produces a high is generally followed by a low – which could be damaging to sex. Therefore, avoid caffeine in tea, coffee, sodas, and chocolate. Even a diet of carbohydrates with no protein may spike the serotonin level, upsetting the balance. The key is to maintain a balanced serotonin level in your body for maximum enjoyment of sex.

The American culture is affected by the billion-dollar soy industry: you find soy in everything – from tofu, soy milk, to snack bars. Protein is important to your diet and your sexual health, but it need not come from soy alone. Soy may be good for menopausal women, but too much soy may adversely affect your testosterone levels, and testosterone governs sexual desire.

Changing the way you eat, and eating right will invigorate your sex life. Eat more fish – not the farm-raised ones. If you plan to take the fish oil supplement, get the “fish oil” rather than the fish oil with a particular fish, such as “salmon fish oil” or “cod liver oil.” A word of warning, overdosing on fish oil can lead to a risk of hemorrhage due to the blood-thinning properties of fish oil, so be careful. A balanced diet makes you sexually healthy.

Obesity is one of the reasons why a large number of people suffer from many health diseases. Being obese or too fat than the body needs can lead to many health conditions like type 2 diabetes, coronary disease, hypertension, arthritis, sleep apnea and stroke. Furthermore, obese men are at high risk of blockage of blood vessels that can cause ED and hinder their sexual health.

Studies show that more than 80 percent of men who reported having experienced ED were overweight or obese. These conditions can affect the performance or support of an erection because of the impact on the complex interaction of sensory information, nerves, blood vessels, and hormones. The tissues in the blood should be filled with blood after nerve stimulation transported sexual messages to the brain. ED occurs when the body experiences a break in any one of the factors leading to an erection. One of the disruptions that can occur is the clogging of arteries that supply blood to the male organ tissues. In addition to overweight and body fat, other factors related to obesity that adversely affect human health include the presence of high blood pressure, high levels of triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol buildup, is also associated with low levels of high density lipoprotein.

Because of these risks, it is important to determine the right amount of body fat that a person may have at any time. Many health professionals use body mass index (BMI) to determine whether individuals are carrying too much fat. It is based on a height and waist, and an estimate of the weight is healthy or not, and if one is overweight or obese. These experts say that health is a healthy BMI is between 19 and 26. BMI between 27 and 30 is considered overweight, while 30 above, and is classified as obese. If BMI is below 19 can lead to health problems such as osteoporosis, malnutrition, liver disease, and inadequate absorption of nutrients from the intestine. It applies to individuals, regardless of their gender, age, frame size or muscle mass.

Many experts suggest for health and steps to overcome obesity and to improve sexual health:

Meet with a doctor and get information on the safety diet pills, surgeries, or diet plans available to treat obesity. Change or remove all food an item in your diet makes you fat. Motivate yourself and participate in outdoor activities and exercise regularly. Talk to your partner about your performance problem and develop a plan to solve it together. Learn simple ways to make love. Position it so that your partner does not feel suffocated.

Give you emotional support:
Overweight and obese men should remember that there are no shortcuts to good health. People who are overweight or obese should consider a change in lifestyle and diet. Doctors and other health professionals should be consulted to develop a plan that can work for certain individuals. Men with weight problems should initiate and maintain an exercise program to shed unwanted pounds and improve cardiovascular health. Improvements in these areas can lead to an overall improvement in health; wellnesses reinforced and optimize sexual health.

We have been hearing it for the last thirty years. Do 30-60 minutes of low to moderate intensity ‘cardio’ activity 3 to 5 times each week in your fat burning range of 60-70 percent of maximum heart rate. If you still believe that doing this type of ‘cardio’ workout is the way to go when it comes to getting into great shape and melting away body fat it could be why you are not making the progress you would like to make.

Or, even worse, you think you are in great shape but you are really just ‘skinny fat’, like most cardio junkies which is described as having low lean body mass (muscle tissue) and a high body fat percentage. Being ‘skinny fat’ is usually a problem of someone who continually feels they need to restrict their food intake or people who do primarily ‘cardio’ activity and not strength training exercise.

This is exactly the opposite of being in ‘good shape’ which is a term for having the maximum amount of muscle tissue and the minimum amount of body fat on one’s frame.

It can be very discouraging to learn how high actual body fat percentage is when you spend so many hours doing ‘cardio’ activity.

But these people are often unhappy with their appearance and realize there is something not quite right. Someone in this condition often struggles with doing the right things to change it as often habits are well set and they are virtually ‘addicted’ to the same workout and eating regime. But somehow they need to get their head around the fact that this condition is unhealthy and will cause accelerated aging.

The key to getting into really great shape is determined by the amount and condition of lean muscle tissue on your body. The more toned muscle you have the more fuel (calories) you burn both when you are exercising and when you are resting. And you cannot get in this sort of great shape without strength training exercise.

A proper strength training exercise program is what is needed to reconstruct lost muscle mass and speed up the body’s metabolism (fat burning machinery). Any long slow endurance type activity should be completely discarded.

Strength training exercise will keep your muscle tissue in good shape, stoking your metabolism, getting you lean and keeping you youthful and healthy. With your lower body fat percentage and higher ratio of muscle tissue your body will be healthier and look great too – strong, lean, toned and sleek and more athletic like.

.It is important that you have help from a fitness professional to reverse this ‘skinny fat’ syndrome. You need a program that is monitored and changed regularly so you get good results. You also need to learn the correct level of intensity (degree of effort) to perform them at. As you may have been doing low to moderate levels of intensity with your ‘cardio’ you may have to kick things up a notch or two.

Being in good shape is more than looking skinny in a pair of tight jeans. The real test comes when you put on your shorts or be willing to expose an upper arm or leg. And when you have a strong, lean, toned healthy body you will have no problem doing this. In fact you will be proud to show off your brand new ‘in shape’ body for all to see.

Do you want to discover the secret to rejuvenating your body and improving the quality of your life? Download my free ebook “Ive Found the Fountain of Youth- Let Me Show You Too!” here: Reverse Aging For Free Fitness Report here Fitness Weight Loss Carolyn Hansen is a certified fitness expert and fitness center owner who coaches clients to look and feel younger.

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