Sex, Health, Diet Info

You may think that you will only need to be carefully of your diet when you are trying to lose weight. In fact, it is not quite true. Your diet will certainly affect your health and wellness. You will need to choose your food carefully if you would like to keep your body healthy. In fact, it is also very important to choose your food with your greatest care if you want to maintain a healthy sex life.

There are also a lot of pills or tablets that may help you to enhance your sexual performance. However, do you really think that it is the ultimate way to help you? The answer is probably a NO. Instead of taking pills, you should try to maintain a healthy body, as well as a healthy sex life yourself. If you are still a young man, this should be the ultimate way to help yourself! If you have the confidence and libido within yourself, your sex life will certainly be a healthy one.

You may wonder at this point what you should eat and what you should not eat. In fact, things such as soy and chili peppers can certainly be good for your sexual health. As a matter of fact, healthy food will certainly be good to your sexual health.

On the contrary, you should stay away from some unhealthy foods. Saturated fat is certainly something you want to avoid. It is very true that the chance of developing heart attack will increase if you take too much saturated fat. Besides, the fat may somehow block your arteries. This will probably affect your blood flow. As a result, even if you do not develop heart attack, there is still a chance that it will affect your erection. Consequently, you should always remember to stay away from foods that contain too much saturated fat.

You should also quit smoking and drink less alcohol. You should certainly know that smoking is not good for your health. It is also associated with some kinds of cancer. How can you have a perfect and healthy sex life if you do not have a healthy body? This is the reason why you should quit smoking. Of course it is certainly alright if you drink some alcohol. However, you should never drink too much. Again, you need to keep your body healthy in order to have a healthy sex life.

Sexual drive and libido is maintained by an active mind in a healthy body and your body works as whole not in isolation.

To increase libido the following diet should be eaten and you can top up with essential supplements.

Some are not associated with peak sexual performance but their vital, let’s look at them.

A healthy diet First

We will look at nutrients and supplements individually in a bit, but here is a good example of general diet you should eat.

Base it on legumes, grain products, and other complex carbohydrates, with plenty of fruits, vegetables and lean protein. Eat as naturally as you can and avoid saturated fats and processed foods

Alcohol & Smoking The Affects

First the obvious avoid these passion killers:

Alcohol also has an action similar to the female hormone estrogen. This can have a devastating effect on masculinity, causing impotence and shrinking of the testes.

Smoking has a devastating affect longer term on the arteries.

It promotes the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in the penile vessels and at the same time constricts them, preventing blood flow.

You need to cut down or stop now and that goes for recreational drugs

Selenium

Nearly 50% of the selenium in a man is in the testes and seminal ducts; men lose selenium in their semen.

Getting enough selenium is therefore critical for sexual performance. In recent decades selenium deficiency in adults has increased and if you don’t have balanced diet take a supplement.

Zinc

Zinc is required for the production of testosterone and zinc content in the prostate gland and sperm is higher than in any other tissue in the body.

A deficiency of zinc is associated with several sexual problems, including sperm abnormalities and prostate disease.

Zinc also helps produce testosterone and helps to maintain semen volume and levels of testosterone; this of course helps to maintain sex drive.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a trace mineral that is important for the production of sex hormones, such as androgen and estrogen and neurotransmitters that modulate the sex drive such as dopamine and norepinephrine.

Vitamin A

Helps regulate the synthesis of the sex hormone progesterone.

Vitamin B1

Thiamin (B1) is essential for nerve transmission and energy production throughout the body this means it’s essential for sex.

Vitamin C

Participates in the synthesis of hormones that are involved in sex and fertility: androgen, estrogen and progesterone.

Vitamin E

Often referred to as the sex vitamin, it protects cell membranes from free-radical damage and is required for the synthesis of hormones and hormone like substances known as prostaglandins.

These are two supplements you should consider regardless of diet, there great for improving sexual performance.

L argentine

This nutrient is highly important for peak sexual performance and is a non essential amino acid and is nicknamed natures Viagra and with good reason.

Current studies support the use of argentine supplements to ensure that nitric oxide secretion is sufficient to keep blood flowing to the penis and help nitric oxide levels stay high.

Nitric oxide insufficiency can stop the penis from becoming erect.

In 1994 a test carried out showed an 80 percent improvement in the erectile function of men given just 2.8 grams a day of argentine after just two weeks.

L Tyrosine

Supports and assists neurotransmitters in the brain.

When the body is stressed out, aged, depressed or tired the availability of L-Tyrosine is depleted.

L-Tyrosine supplementation helps reduce stress, enhances mood, which manifests itself in better erectile function.

In the next part of this article we will add 3 fantastic herbs that can enhance mood and sex drive and are healthy for you.

If you are healthy the above diet combined with the herbs we outline are sure to increase your performance and stamina without the help of synthetic drugs.

There is a wide incidence of women in the Western world who experience breast changes that are a direct consequence of their menstrual cycle and it is believed that as high as 70 percent of women are so afflicted. These women may find their breasts have become very uncomfortable due to their becoming tender, swollen or lumpy. This is one of the many women’s health issues that need to be studied and understood if one is to be able to treat the ailment and provide much needed succor to the patients. It is important to find an explanation for the condition and know which natural and medical treatments are available for this women’s health issue.

Breast Health: The Facts

Broadly speaking, women’s health issues can be categorized into several important concerns, of which include: breast problems, cystitis, endometriosis, fibroids, heavy periods, hysterectomy, irregular periods, menopause, miscarriage, no periods, osteoporosis, ovarian cysts, PMS, polycystic ovary syndrome, pregnancy, prolapse, thrush and vaginal infections. Women also face problems such as weight control and infertility.

In the case of breast cancer, one can safely say that it is widely prevalent in women living in the United States. This means that such an important women’s health issue needs to be better understood and this involves knowing the stage of the disease, new diagnostic methods versus recurrence, the woman’s age as well as prior treatments. Mostly, different women would respond to the crisis of having breast cancer in different ways but what is most important is for them to know and obtain as much information as possible so that they are better educated about the disease.

It is important that this women’s health issue be taken notice of, and a study of the risk factors involved with contracting breast cancer needs to be undertaken as some factors may have stronger links to breast cancer than others. These important risk factors are: gender, age, personal history of breast cancer, family history of cancer, high breast tissue density, breast hyperplasia, long term estrogen exposure, menopausal hormone replacement therapy, not having children or having first child after age 30, exposure to radiation, Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, genetics as well as diet, environment, and smoking. There is no denying the fact that breast cancer is an important women’s health issue for which no amount of research and development can be said to be enough.

There are different factors that may affect a mans sexual health and with some of these conditions, there are solutions to these problems. The three major factors that most likely affect a mans sexual health especially when it comes to erectile dysfunction problems are obesity, alcohol and smoking.

Obesity is definitely is definitely one situation that may hinder a man from performing properly when it comes to having sex with a woman. Yes an obese man may just as well be interested in having sex just as much as the next guy, but they are not as able to perform due to their obesity.

To rectify a mans obesity problem and to rid oneself of erectile dysfunction problems the answer is to diet properly and as well to exercise properly. For those men that are obese and want too improve and better their sex life, they have to be pro active and that means to take their obesity problem seriously and to eat properly and as well to exercise on a regular basis.

Smoking is another major concern when it comes to a mans sexual health especially erectile dysfunction. For those men who do smoke it has been found from studies that men who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day had a 60% higher risk level of erectile dysfunction compared to those men who have never smoked. As well studies have shown that up to 30% of men who currently or formerly smoked were more likely to suffer from impotence.

For those men who do smoke they are as well at risk of getting lung cancer and as well as asthma, which both situations may lead to an early death. The best solution is to quit smoking which will not only enable a man to perform sexually and to rid themselves of erectile dysfunction problems but will as well make a situation better with their partner in life.

Alcohol consumption by any man is understandable but excessive drinking of alcohol is another factor that will affect a mans sexual health as well as creates erectile dysfunction problems. The major concern with excessive alcohol consumption is that alcohol dilates (widens) the blood vessels and if a man manages to get an erection, the alcohol keeps the blood vessels to the penis open and a man is left hanging in limpland.

If a man wants to improve their sexual health and improve their erectile dysfunction problems, then it is in the best interest not to drink alcohol prior to having sex. As well as those men that drink excessively to the point of being alcoholics the best remedy is to quit drinking totally and joining Alcoholics Anonymous to help to solve and alleviate a mans drinking problems.

In the end every man who has a problem with obesity, alcohol or smoking may enjoy better sexual health and alleviate problems with erectile dysfunction. The choice really is the mans choice and to do that they must take responsibility to making those changes and that is by discipline and taking action to make those changes.

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.

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According to a 2006 survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 22% of high school students in American smoke cigarettes everyday. In fact, even if the study indicated that smoking had already declined over the last four years, the statistics still show that one in five Americans still smoke cigarettes. A 2005 study revealed that more than 20% of adults in the United States are smokers. While smoking rates among high school students have been on a decline since 1997, the rate of teenagers who smoke is equal to, and in some cases, higher than that of adults. The younger the individuals start smoking, the more likely that they will continue smoke as an adult. Given these figures, it is not surprising that smoking is the leading cause of premature deaths in the United States.

The question is still begging to be asked: Why do teens smoke? Is it because of the influence of media or because they get the habit from adults who smoke? Studies show that many teenagers smoke because they were simply curious about how it would taste or feel like. Others said that they thought that smoking was a good method to achieve weight-loss. Even if the warnings plastered on the cigarette box clearly says that, “Smoking is dangerous to your health,” this has not stopped teens from experimenting or taking up the habit of cigarette use.

Medical evidence suggest that cigarette smoking causes an increase in the body’s metabolic rate and may suppress appetite. But it is important to note that smoking tends to dull the taste buds, which, after all, may be the reason for the “loss of appetite.” This argument is somehow supported by cases of people who gained weight after they stopped smoking. Since their taste buds had already regained their functionality, the former smokers enjoyed their meals more and eventually gained some weigh.

Non-smokers may have found a way to kick the habit but for thousands if not millions of smokers around the world — doing away with the stick is still an on-going struggle. The addiction of smokers to the deadly chemical called nicotine makes it hard for them to stop smoking. Nicotine dependence occurs when the chemicals and other cigarette substances reach the brain and activates the pleasure cells, producing mood-altering effects that give smokers short-term pleasure.

The short-term pleasure of smoking somehow negates the clear message that long-term use of cigarettes could possibly lead to lung cancer, emphysema, and heart failure. Studies also show that smoking has adverse effects on male and female sexual health. A number of studies show that smoking is related to the difficulty getting and maintaining an erection. Many toxins present in cigarettes especially carbon monoxide, can damage the circulatory system, which hinders the flow of blood in the penis which is necessary for erection. In addition, smoking is one of the major causes of erectile dysfunction. A study published in the Journal of Urology in 2000 found out that 68% of men with high blood pressure aged 40-79 experienced erectile dysfunction. At least 45% of these cases were considered severe sexual ailments. High blood pressure in men may lead to low testosterone levels, which is a male hormone that plays a crucial role in the sexual arousal. Low testosterone levels lead to decreased arousal and sexual performance. Toxins found in cigarettes may also harm the testes. Smoking may affect the semen and the sperm, reducing their mobility and quality. Men who smoke tend to have lower sperm counts and malformed sperms than their non-smoking counterparts.

Many substance founds in cigarettes may harm the ovaries, studies show that women who smoke or have smoked in the past may encounter difficulties getting pregnant with the chances of conceiving being decreased by up to 40% for each menstrual cycle. The longer a woman smokes, the more difficult it would be for her to get pregnant. The effects of smoking on sexual health have been taken for granted since the focus of previous studies have been on the ill effects of smoking on the cardiovascular system. Understanding the adverse effects of smoking on one’s sexual health may become a motivation for many to quit smoking. Joining a program that helps people quit smoking; and consulting a doctor about medications that reduce the craving to smoke may also help. Others succeed by using alternative methods like hypnosis. Although it may be a very hard habit to break, quitting smoking is one of the best things people can do to improve their sex lives and their over-all health.