Engaging in a moderate sex life may actually help cure the common cold and flu.
In 2009, Wilkes University's Dr. Carl Charnetski, along with associate Frank Brennan, decided to look into the link between sex and measures of what is known as IgA or immunoglobulin A.
The first line of defense in fighting colds and flu, IgA is an antigen in our mucous membranes and saliva that can be analyzed to determine the strength of a person's immunity system.
BBC News reports that Dr. Charnetski and Brennan interviewed 111 Wilkes students about their sexual intercourse frequency. They then measured IgA levels via the surveyed students' saliva.
The findings were:
- Students who said they had sex less than once a week registered a small increase of IgA over those who abstained completely
- Students who said they had sex once or twice a week registered a 30-percent increase of IgA
- Students who said they had sex more than three times a week registered lower IgA levels than those who abstained
This means that having regular sex (once a week) can raise your IgA levels, but everything should be kept in moderation. Having too much sex might deplete your IgA to a point where it's worse than those who don't have sex at all.
Clifford Lowell, an immunologist at the University of California at San Francisco, suggests that because people who engage in a healthy sex life are exposed to more infectious agents than those who don't, "The immune system would respond to these foreign antigens by producing and releasing more IgA."
Dr. Charnetski's feeling is that people who have sex at least once a week may experience less stress and tension than those who do not, and "We know that stress and anxiety make IgA go down."
"Having sex is one of the best ways to cope with being sick," says psychology and sex therapy student Tarah Bowser.
According to Bowser's analysis in the Nevada Sagebrush, orgasms actually release IgA, which in turn fights off colds and flu.
Bowser also says that because orgasms also release endorphins, having sex can help with headaches, because endorphins stave off pain in the body.
In addition, sex releases the hormone prolactin, which instigates firing of the olfactory bulb, heightening one's sense of smell and clearing up sinuses.
Newsweek reports that along with fighting colds and flu, having a regular sex life also:
- Can be a great beauty treatment
- Burns calories
- Fights migraines
- Promotes regular menstrual cycles in women
- Combats incontinence in women
The only trick is finding someone to have sex with you while your nose is running to the floor, your eyes are red and you're coughing up phlegm. But, hey, ain't love grand?
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