17 Reasons Why You Need a Mango Every Day

Mangoes may very well be the king of all fruits. They fight cancer, alkalize the body, aid in weight loss, regulate diabetes, help digestion, clean you skin, and make the perfect snack. Here are 17 healthy reasons why you should be eating a mango every day.

Nutrition chart

• One cup of mangoes (225 gms contain) contains the following percentages that apply to daily value.
• 105 calories
• 76 percent vitamin C (antioxidant and immune booster)
• 25 percent vitamin A (antioxidant and vision)
• 11 percent vitamin B6 plus other B vitamins (hormone production in brain and heart disease prevention)
• 9 percent healthy probiotic fibre
• 9 percent copper (copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes plus production of red blood cells)
• 7 percent potassium (to balance out our high sodium intake)
• 4 percent magnesium

1. Fights cancer

Antioxidants like quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat present in mango protect the body against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.

2. Keeps cholesterol in check

Mango has high level of vitamin C, pectin and fibres that help to lower serum cholesterol levels. Fresh mango is a rich source of potassium, which is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps to control heart rate and blood pressure.

3. Skin cleanser

Mangoes help you unclog your pores and add freshness to the face. Mangoes are applicable to any skin type. They help clear clogged pores that cause acne. Just slice a mango into thin pieces and keep them on your face for 10 to 15 minutes and then take bath or wash your face and see the results.

4. Alkalizes the body

According to natural health school.com, mango is rich in tartaric acid, malic acid and traces of citric acid that primarily help in maintaining the alkali reserve of the body.

5. Weight loss

Mango has a lot of vitamins and nutrients that help the body feel fuller. Also, the fibrous fruit boosts the digestive function of the body by burning additional calories, helping in weight loss.

6. Regulates diabetes

Not only the fruit but the leaves of mangoes are healthy too. For people suffering from diabetes, just boil 5-6 mango leaves in a vessel, soak it through night and drink the filtered decoction in the morning. This is helps in regulating your insulin levels.

Mango has a low glycemic index (41-60) so going a little overboard will not increase your sugar levels.

7. Aphrodisiac

Mango has aphrodisiac qualities and is also called the 'love fruit'. Mangoes increase the virility in men. Vitamin E, which is abundantly present in mangoes, helps to regulate sex hormones and boosts sex drive.

8. Eye care

Did you know that mango is rich in vitamin A. One cup of sliced mangoes equals 25% intake of your daily need of vitamin A. Mangoes help in promoting good eye sight, fights dry eyes and also prevent night blindness.

9. Helps in digestion

Mango contains enzymes that help in breaking down protein. The fibrous nature of mango helps in digestion and elimination. It is is rich in pre-biotic dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.

10. Heat stroke

When the sun is bogging you down this summer, just chop of a mango in a juicer; add a little water and a tbsp of sugar free or honey. This juice will instantly cool you down and prevent heat stroke.

11. Strengthens your immune

The deadly combination of vitamin C, vitamin A and 25 different kinds of carotenoids keep your immune system healthy.

12. Body scrub

Make a paste of mashed mango, honey and milk and use as a body scrub, you will feel that your skin is tender and smooth.

13. Aids concentration and memory

Studying for exams? This fruit is rich in glutamine acid-- an important protein for concentration and memory. Feed mangoes to children who find it difficult to concentrate on studies.

14. High iron for women

Mango is rich in iron, hence it is a great natural solution for people suffering from anemia. Menopausal and pregnant women can indulge in mangoes as this will increase their iron levels and calcium at the same time.

15. Reduces Kidney Stones

In Chinese medicine, mangoes are considered sweet and sour with a cooling energy also capable of reducing the risk of kidney stone formation.

16. Perfect Snack

Instead of snacking on unhealthy chips and cookies, why not feast on slices of mangoes instead. They are perhaps one of the tastiest dehydrated fruits of all.

17. Stomach Tonic

Before going to bed put some 10 or 15 mango leaves in warm water and close it with lid. The next day morning filter the water and drink it in empty stomach. Do this regularly.

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Types, Benefits and Dangers of Oral Sex

Oral sex used to be something that was only practised by a minority of couples. But it seems likely that in western countries the majority of sexually active people do it sometimes.

In the USA, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported the results of a massive sex survey. The chief findings were:

• among male teenagers, 48.4 per cent said that they had had oral sex with a partner
• among female teenagers, the equivalent figure was 44.6 per cent
• among adult males aged 25 to 44, 90.4 per cent had had oral sex with a woman
• among adult females in the same age group, 88.8 per cent reported having sex with a man.

We must stress that the results of all sex surveys should be regarded with a certain amount of caution because they're unlikely to be absolutely accurate! For instance, in the above survey it's unlikely that people who regard the idea of oral sex as repellent would have agreed to even answer the questions.

Oral sex has advantages, but one serious concern about it has recently emerged – the risk of cancer.

Also, In 2011 conference, where it became clear that chlamydia infection is now a possible hazard of oral sex – particularly if you are promiscuous or do it with a promiscuous partner.
Advantages of oral sex

What are the advantages?

Well, although it's not everyone's cup of tea, for a lot of people oral sex is fun. It can help 'spice up' a relationship.

Oral stimulation given to a woman is often an excellent way of getting her aroused. Also, if it's practised by a reasonably expert partner, it's an extremely effective method of giving her an orgasm.

Many women who have had difficulty in climaxing find that oral sex helps them to achieve an orgasm.

Similarly, oral sex given to a man is something that many males find exciting. Also, where an older man is having difficulties with potency, oral 'suction' can help with inducing a good erection.

What types are there?

There are two main types of oral sex. Sometimes a couple will engage in both of them at the same time.

Oral sex given to a woman by her partner (whether male or female) is called cunnilingus.

Oral sex given to a man by his partner (again, female or male) is generally termed fellatio, though strictly speaking this word only covers the type of oral caress in which the penis actually enters the partner's mouth.

Some couples practise cunnilingus and fellatio at the same time. In other words, the man has his mouth on the woman's genitals, while she has her mouth on his.

This activity is widely known as 'the 69' or 'le soixante-neuf', because of the notion that when viewed from the side, the couple's bodies look a bit like the figures '6' and '9'.

Cunnilingus

Cunnilingus can be intensely exciting for many women. It's also satisfying for a man who enjoys giving his partner intense pleasure.

However, for 'first-timers' it can be a somewhat overwhelming experience. So, if either of you is just learning and not used to this type of thing, it's a good idea to take things easy at the beginning.

Therefore, the man should avoid making a sudden lunge for his partner's genitals. A gradual approach is usually better, taking care to kiss her tummy and thighs before slowly progressing to her vulva. (The vulva is the external and visible part of the female genitals.)

Useful tips include:

• take care to keep things moist
• begin by gently kissing the entire area of the vulva
• later, progress to kissing the clitoral region
• in the early stages, avoid direct pressure on the clitoris, which is a very sensitive organ
• kiss just to one side of it, or just above it – at least, during the first few minutes of cunnilingus.

The most intense stimulation is generally provided by using the tip of your tongue on the clitoral area. If properly done, this will bring most women to a climax.

Fellatio

As noted above, the word fellatio really means putting your partner's penis in your mouth. But women who are skilled lovers will also go in for such techniques as kissing the penis and licking it.

In addition, they may give oral attention to the man's testicles, although this is not as intensely arousing as 'working' on the penis – since there are far more nerve endings in the penile shaft and head.

Having a penis enter your mouth can be a bit of a shock for an inexperienced women. However, a lot of females get used to it, and indeed like it.

Nevertheless, the man should take great care not to 'ram' his organ hard into his partner's mouth. This can cause great discomfort and even gagging.

From the male point of view, the softness, warmth and moisture of the mouth clearly 'mimic' the qualities of the vagina.

In addition, a partner's mouth has two attributes that the vagina does not possess.

• There's a tongue – and this can be used to swirl around the penis during fellatio.
• The mouth can create suction – and this can be useful in creating and maintaining an erection.

On the downside, the mouth has teeth – and you need to take care not to dig them into your man. Some women make a practice of covering their incisor teeth with their lips during fellatio, but this is quite difficult.

Fellatio and the male orgasm

Some couples just go in for fellatio for a few seconds or a few minutes, and then progress to something else – like intercourse.

However, often they agree that the woman will continue fellating the man until he reaches orgasm. This raises some difficulties.

If you're female, it's important that you should realise that there's something primitive in the male psyche that gives him a strong desire to 'discharge' his seed inside a woman. That is one reason why the human race has survived so long!

So the curious fact is that a lot of men actually want to reach a climax inside your mouth. And some of them desperately want you to then swallow their semen.

Indeed, We can assure you that quite a few rather silly young males get resentful or feel rejected if you do not agree to let them 'come' in your mouth, or if you refuse to swallow.

Unfortunately, their views have been reinforced by a good deal of present-day pornography – especially on the internet – which tends to suggest that:

• women love the taste of semen
• they like nothing better than swallowing it – except perhaps 'sharing' it with their female friends, through kissing them.

This is of course isn't true. Seminal fluid does not taste particularly nice, and in consistency, it's reminiscent of uncooked egg white.

So, if you're a woman, don't let yourself be pressured into doing something that you don't want to. And if you're a man, please don't try and blackmail your partner into letting you come inside her mouth.

There are ways of getting round the problem. For instance, many couples agree that the guy will 'withdraw' at the last second. In other cases, the woman may agree to the idea of letting her man discharge inside her mouth – but will then spit the fluid out.

Having said all that, for completeness I must add that there really are some highly-sexed women who do enjoy having a partner 'go all the way' in their mouths. Generally, they seem to feel that this is a tribute to their attractiveness and sexiness.

The new dangers in oral sex

So, oral sex has many advantages, and a lot of couples find it a really fulfilling part of their bedroom repertoire.

Also, it's nearly impossible to get pregnant this way!

However, in 2010 to 2011 a new and serious concern about oral sex emerged. You're probably aware that there is a very widespread virus called human papilloma virus (HPV). It causes cancer of the cervix and some other benign and malignant growths.

Oncologists (cancer specialists) have been pointing out for several years that:

• the incidence of some kinds of mouth and throat cancer seems to be rising
• this type of cancer is often associated with the presence of HPV in the mouth or throat.

In April 2010, the British Medical Journal published a multinational review that showed that there's no doubt the incidence of a particular form of cancer (oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma) is increasing in various western countries, and this rise appears to be due to HPV.

The authors stated that the risk of developing oropharyngeal cancer is associated with a history of having six or more sexual partners – and of having four or more oral sex partners.

The obvious implication is that the virus is being spread by sex, and particularly by oral sex.

This is certainly bad news for people who like oral sex. However, it is hoped that there's little danger to a monogamous couple, who only have oral sex with each other.

But suddenly, promiscuous oral sex seems like a bad idea.

In the next few years, much more will be learned about this subject. My forecast is that the modern anti-HPV vaccines will be used much more widely, in order to combat this unexpected danger caused by the widespread use of oral sex.

Another concern that has recently arisen is the question of catching chlamydia through oral sex.

In May 2011 International conference at Gateshead, at which Dr Indrajit Ghosh and his colleagues revealed the results of their screening programme among female commercial sex workers (FCSWs) in London.

They found that one in every 25 of these women had chlamydia in the throat. It seems fairly certain that they had acquired the germ through offering fellatio to customers.

Additionally, one in every 50 of the FCSWs had unsuspected gonorrhoea in the throat. This research makes it clear that oral sex is not quite as safe as it may have seemed – except of course if you only do it with one partner.

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Can Chinese Herbal Medicine Treat Cancer? The Research Says Yes

A large scale review of research by Australia and Chinese University scientists has proved with thousands of studies using hundreds of thousands of cancer patients that Chinese herbal medicine offers significant treatment for most types of cancers - including breast cancer.

The research comes from Australia's University of Western Sydney and the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The researchers analyzed and reviewed 2,964 human clinical studies that involved 253,434 cancer patients. Among these were 2,385 randomized controlled studies and 579 non-randomized controlled studies.

These studies covered most of the cancer types, but the cancers most studied were lung cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer and nasopharyngeal (throat and sinus) cancer. Yes, breast cancer was the fourth most-studied type of cancer among these thousands of clinical studies.

The researchers discovered that the overwhelming majority of studies – 90% of the clinical studies - utilized herbal medicine.

The researchers found that 72% of these studies applied Traditional Chinese Medicine alongside conventional treatment, but a full 28% applied Traditional Chinese Medicine separately to experimental groups.

In terms of cancer patients, about 64% were given both TCM and conventional medical treatments. The rest were given TCM therapy alone, but a little over half of them did not qualify whether the patient was given conventional treatment at some point in the past.

Because of the large number of studies, there were different types of results, depending upon the type of study, the type of treatment, and the outcome measures tested. Still, in a full 1,015 studies or 85% of those that reported on symptoms, TCM treatment resulted in improvement of cancer symptoms with many of those reporting reduced pain. Another 883 studies – 70% – showed increased survival rates. Another 38% showed reduced tumor size, and 28% showed increased quality of life. Another 19% showed lower relapse rates and another 7% showed reduced complications.

The researchers also found that only a few studies tested TCM acupuncture treatment in cancer therapy. In their discussion they qualified that acupuncture treatment in cancer therapy to alleviate pain is quite popular in the U.S., but in Chinese cancer studies, herbal medicine therapy is the leading type of holistic treatment for cancer.

This study follows another extensive review of research published in 2012 on TCM cancer treatment. This study comes from Norway's National Research Center in Complementary and Alternative Medicine and the University of Tromsø, Norway, also with collaboration with the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

This earlier study reviewed significantly fewer studies, compiling 716 trials that included 1,198 cancer patients with either leukemia, stomach cancer, liver cancer or esophageal cancer.

Among these studies, 98.5% used herbal medicine, and again, acupuncture therapy was rare. In this study, symptom improvement was achieved in 85% of the patients that used the TCM therapy.

In yet another study - this one much larger than the second - 1,217 clinical studies between 1958 and 2011, involving 92,945 patients were analyzed and reviewed by researchers from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. Among these studies, 66% of the patients were treated with TCM therapy alone, while 34% of the patients were treated with a combination of TCM and conventional cancer therapy. Also, 82% of the patients were given herbal medicines orally.

Only 5% of the patients were given more than one type of TCM therapy. This means that 95% were treated with only one type of TCM therapy - typically with a precise combination of herbs.

This study found that among the studies treating cancer, symptom relief was the prominent result among 88% of the studies and among 88% of the patients tested with TCM therapy. Increased survival rates resulted in 73% of patients. Among all the rest of the studies, 96% of the trials resulted in symptom relief and 92% of the patients reported cancer symptom relief.

Did we get this right? Was that 88% and 92% symptom improvement or relief among thousands of studies and nearly 100,000 cancer patients? And 85% improvement of cancer symptoms among 716 clinical studies? And 85% symptom improvement among 1,015 clinical studies among a review involving over 250,000 cancer patients that tested the effectiveness of Chinese herbal medicine against cancer?

It sounds pretty solid that Chinese herbal medicine does indeed treat cancer and overwhelmingly results in the improvement or relief of symptoms as well as longer survival rates and reduced metastases.

Now why again is Western conventional medicine still refusing to at least consider herbal medicine therapy in cancer treatment? Could there be a profit motive involved? Could it have to do with the fact that herbal medicines cannot be patented? In other words, is Western conventional medicine ignoring inexpensive natural treatments that could help millions of cancer patients simply because of profits?

Actions speak louder than words.

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The Health Benefits of Masturbation

Perhaps the joke’s on us. While people love to make wisecracks about it, few will actually admit to doing “it.”

Yet, according to Martha Cornog, of "The Big Book of Masturbation", self-pleasuring is surely the second most common human sex act. And, despite its torrid history, that’s proving to be a good thing. Turns out this once taboo behavior has plenty of health benefits and can do wonders for your sex life.

While the shackles of masturbation have been loosening around our loins, it is only recently that society has started to let go of its guilt around solo sex. This is in part thanks to sex researchers affirming that most of us do it, as well as the embracing of it by television sitcoms. Who can forget the bet made by Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer as to who could remain the “master of their domain” the longest?


Even if you’re not a conformist, there’s something about safety in numbers when it comes to this topic. (And if it makes you feel even better, know that masturbation is common among other animals, like dogs, cats, horses, bulls, rats, hamsters, deer, and whales, too).

This more relaxed attitude is also due to the medical community challenging its own original claims that masturbation was a serious medical-ethical problem with dire results. According to works like Onania, circa 1712, male masturbation was said to lead to disease or disorder with the loss of semen.

Likewise, in losing vaginal fluid, a female who took matters into her own hands was supposedly at risk for hysteria, jaundice, epileptic fits, and other negative health conditions. Of equal concern, self-pleasuring was thought to send her down the road to sodomy as well.

Anybody with “solo sexploration” experience can tell you that, contrary to popular myths, masturbation does not result in any of the aforementioned, nor does it lead to acne, warts, hair on the palm, insanity, blindness...

What many may not know, however, is that stimulating yourself can ultimately boost your health in many ways.

Health Benefits for Men

Research summarized in a 2007 article in Sexual and Relationship Therapy found that masturbation may help men by:

— Improving his immune system’s functioning.

— Building his resistance to prostate gland infection.

— Making for a healthier prostate.

Australian researchers have reported that frequent masturbation may lower a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. A survey of men found the more frequently a man masturbates between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to get prostate cancer. In fact, those who masturbated more than five times a week were one-third less likely to develop prostate cancer.

Health Benefits for Females

When it comes to a woman’s health, self-pleasuring serves her well by:

— Building her resistance to yeast infections.

— Combating pre-menstrual tension and other physical conditions associated with their menstrual cycles, like cramps.

— Relieving painful menstruation by increasing blood flow to the pelvic region. This will also reduce pelvic cramping and related backaches.

— Relieving chronic back pain and increasing her threshold for pain.

Health Benefits for Both Sexes

Masturbation rewards both men and women because it’s:

— The safest kind of sex, keeping you free of sexually transmitted infections.

— A great form of stress relief.

— A mood booster in releasing endorphins.

— A natural sleep sedative.

— A mechanism for building stronger pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to better sex.

— A natural energetic pick-me-up.

As Sigmund Freud once remarked at the Vienna Psycho-Analytical Society, “the subject of masturbation is quite inexhaustible.” While he wasn’t getting at the benefits (Freud saw self-pleasuring as harmful to the genitals and one’s psychosexual and moral development), the same can be said in how it can improve one’s sexual relationship.

For couples who masturbate on occasion or regularly, sex with yourself can:
— Be empowering, especially by helping you to feel better about your body, genitals and sexual response.

— Deliver some of your most intense orgasms ever, which you’ll now know how to recreate with that special someone!

— Increase your sexual awareness, giving you the opportunity to discover what turns you on – the sensations and movements that work best to give you the greatest of sexual gratification.

— Have the potential to enhance your sex life in general, boosting your sexual confidence and turning you into a better lover.

— Get you or your partner off the hook if neither is available or not in the mood.

In the Know Sex News …

Docs Missing Early Signs of HIV. According to Britain's National AIDS Trust, up to half of early-stage HIV cases are being missed by British physicians. With many symptoms flu-like in nature, such as sore throat and fever, patients are often told that they have a minor viral infection and that they should return if their condition does not improve.

Sexual Risk of Young Internet-Using Men Who Have Sex With Men Assessed. A University of Minnesota study, assessing the characteristics and risks associated with sex pursuits of men who have sex with men found that those who met sexual partners both online and offline reported unprotected intercourse more often than those who met their partners either online or offline, but not both. Those who met partners exclusively offline reported the fewest sexual partners. Being drunk or high were significant risks for unprotected sex regardless of how one met their partner.

Sex Taboos Thwarting HIV/AIDS Efforts in Pakistan. According to a study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, the fight against HIV/AIDS is being hampered in Pakistan. The culprit: many believe that the infection is a non-issue for Muslim countries since Islamic law bans sex outside of marriage. UNAIDS, however, holds that at least 85,000 people in Pakistan are infected with HIV.

Written By Yvonne K. Fulbright
FoxNews.com

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18 Health Tricks You Should Know About Your Body.

1. If your throat tickles, scratch your ear!

Tickle in your throat: It's not worth gagging over. Here's a better way to scratch your itch: Scratch your ear. "When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm," says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose, and throat specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. "This spasm relieves the tickle."

2. Experience supersonic hearing!

If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.

3. Overcome your most primal urge!

Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so you won't feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine.

4. Feel no pain!

German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick.According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon, the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.

5. Clear your stuffed nose!

Forget Sudafed. Here's an easier, quicker, and cheaper remedy to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain.

6. Stomach problems like heartburn or acid reflux?

Consider sleeping on your left side. Studies show that patients who sleep on their left sides are less likely to suffer from acid reflux. According to Dr. Anthony A. Star-poli, a New York City gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College, when you sleep on your right side, your stomach is higher than the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. However, when you sleep on your left side, you turn the situation around and stomach acid slides down.

7. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!

Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice.The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.

8. Make burns disappear!

When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natural method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less likely to blister.

9. Stop the world from spinning!

One too many drinks left you dizzy? Ah, luckily there's a remedy. Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance -- the cupula -- floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.

10. Unstitch your side!

If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

11. Stanch blood with a single finger!

Pinching your nose and leaning back is a great way to stop a nosebleed -- if you don't mind choking on your own O positive. A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums -- just behind that small dent below your nose -- and press against it, hard. "Most bleeds come from the front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose," says Peter Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in Durban, South Africa. "Pressing here helps stop them."

12. Make your heart stand still!

Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical- services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. It'll get your heart rate back to normal.

13. Thaw your brain!

Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. "Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too," says Abo. "In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache." The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.

14. Prevent near-sightedness!

Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma, Washington. "It's usually caused by near-point stress." In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles -- like the eyes -- into relaxing as well.

15. Wake the dead!

If your hand falls asleep while you're driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It'll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don't let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.

16. Impress your friends!

Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will cave like the French. By misaligning his hips, you've offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body's ability to resist.

17. Breathe underwater!

If you're dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first -- essentially, hyperventilate. When you're underwater, it's not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it's the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin' ain't right. "When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity," says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. "This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen." It'll buy you up to 10 seconds.

18. Read minds!

Your own! "If you're giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep," says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.

By: Kate Dailey, MensHealth.com

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Spending Five Hours A Day On The Computer Can Kill You

Researchers at the University College London believe that spending more than five hours a day in front of a computer may damage your heart, leading to an early death. This is the same effect that takes place if you spent too much time in front of a television.

People spending more than four continues hours a day in front of a computer or TV are 125% more likely to suffer a heart related death than people that spend less than two hours a day in front of a screen. They also discovered that these people are 48% percent more likely to suffer an early death from a variety of other causes. As for the people that spend five or more hours a day in front of a computer, they increase their risk of early death substantially.

While an obvious thought would be that people spending this much time in front of a computer or television are lethargic, leading to health problems. However the data shows otherwise. People that regularly exercise in their free time were just as prone to an early death.

These researchers believe that this may be caused from prolonged sitting. It can cause a 90% reduction in heart-healthy enzyme and lipoprotein lipase. Inflammation and metabolic problems caused by long periods of inactivity may also be to blame.

They do believe there is a solution. If you get up every 20 minutes to take a brief walk it will reduce these problems and may increase your chances for a prolonged life.

UPDATE: The Research, led by Emmanuel Stamatakis, studied more than 4,500 Scottish people aged 35 or over. The cause of these health problems is sitting, especially in the leaned position that is common while playing video games, watching TV and using a computer. The study, which will appear in the January 18 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, adds to growing evidence of the dangers of prolonged sitting.

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The Healing Power of Pets - They Prevent Allergies, Reduce Heart Attack Risk and Lower Blood Pressure

Though it has been shown that the presence of a friendly pet can have a positive effect on heart rate and blood pressure, it's not clear that a person actually has to own the animal to get the effect. Still, Dr. Friedman, a pioneer of pet-facilitated therapy, concludes that since heart disease and other stress-related diseases are so common in our society, it can't hurt to recommend pets for their calming effect, at least for people who like animals and are willing and able to undertake the responsibility of owning one.

People have interacted with companion animals since the beginning of history, and that interaction may belong as much to the realm of common sense as to science. If a pet adds joy to your life and makes you feel better or more secure in your home, or provides entertainment and structure, you hardly need scientific proof of the benefits.

Prevent Heart Disease

According to a new American Heart Association scientific statement, having a pet might lower your risk of heart disease. The recent statement is published online in the association's journal Circulation.

"Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with a decreased risk of heart disease," said Glenn N. Levine, M.D., professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and chair of the committee that wrote the statement after reviewing previous studies of the influence of pets.

Research shows that:

• Pet ownership is probably associated with a reduction in heart disease risk factors and increased survival among patients. But the studies aren't definitive and do not necessarily prove that owning a pet directly causes a reduction in heart disease risk. "It may be simply that healthier people are the ones that have pets, not that having a pet actually leads to or causes reduction in cardiovascular risk," Levine said.

• Dog ownership in particular may help reduce cardiovascular risk. People with dogs may engage in more physical activity because they walk them. In a study of more than 5,200 adults, dog owners engaged in more walking and physical activity than non-dog owners, and were 54 percent more likely to get the recommended level of physical activity.

• Owning pets may be associated with lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and a lower incidence of obesity.

Pets can have a positive effect on the body's reactions to stress.

"In essence, data suggest that there probably is an association between pet ownership and decreased cardiovascular risk," Levine said. "What's less clear is whether the act of adopting or acquiring a pet could lead to a reduction in cardiovascular risk in those with pre-existing disease. Further research, including better quality studies, is needed to more definitively answer this question."

Reduce Allergies

Children who are exposed to household pets during infancy may run a lower risk of developing allergies to these animals later in life.

Researchers at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden, studied data on 2,500 Swedish children and found that children exposed to pets during the first year of life had a lower rate of allergy rhinitis at ages 7 to 9 and lower rates of asthma at ages 12 to 13.

Researchers found that 3.3 percent of children exposed to pets during infancy had asthma at age 12 to 13 compared with 8.5 percent of children who had no exposure to household pets.

The study also found that children with early exposure to cats showed nearly half the rate of cat allergy when they were adolescents compared with kids not exposed to cats when they were babies.

Pet allergies are triggered by dander, or tiny skin flakes, from cats and dogs. Other studies have suggested children born during the peak of the pollen season have a lower risk of being allergic to pollen when they got older. This study appeared in Clinical and Experimental Allergy.
 

Stabilize Blood Pressure Better Than Drugs

A pet's calming influence may outperform drug therapy when it comes to reducing stress-related spikes in blood pressure.

"We've shown over and over that it's beneficial to be with a pet when you're under stress," explained Dr. Karen M. Allen of the State University of New York at Buffalo. She reported the findings at a meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA).

Numerous studies have found that pets improve the emotional and physical well being of their owners, especially the elderly. The Buffalo researchers' new findings suggest that Fluffy or Fido may even soothe the savage breasts of stress-prone Wall Street stockbrokers.

In their study, the investigators asked 48 stockbrokers to conduct in-home 'stress tests' aimed at producing temporary spikes in blood pressure. Prior to the study, the brokers lived alone and were diagnosed by their physicians as suffering from hypertension.

In initial stress tests, subjects were asked to either rapidly count backwards by 17 or try arguing their way out of a shoplifting charge. During these exercises, blood pressure levels reached an average peak of up to 184/126 mm Hg.

The stockbrokers were then prescribed the antihypertensive drug lisinopril. Half of the study participants also got a dog or a cat as a housepet.

The researchers repeated a second round of stress tests in the subjects' homes 6 months later. They report that in the brokers without pets, stress-induced blood pressure rose an average of 20 mm Hg, reaching highs of 141/94 mm Hg. Readings like these are "still high enough to be diagnosed as high blood pressure if sustained over a period of time," Allen pointed out.

The brokers who owned pets also had stress-related rises in blood pressure, but these rises were only half as high as those seen in the petless group. And with pets present, the broker owners had average systolic pressures (the first number in a reading, indicating pressure as the heart beats) of just 130 mm Hg -- well within the normal healthy range. Stress-related peaks in diastolic pressure (the second number in a reading, indicating the pressure between beats) were reduced by similar levels.

Pets may even outperform human companions when it comes to controlling hypertension. People with pets don't feel they're being evaluated. They're loved and accepted (by their pets)."

Good for Mind and Soul

People in stress mode get into a "state of dis-ease," in which harmful chemicals like cortisol and norepinephrine can negatively affect the immune system, says Blair Justice, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health and author of Who Gets Sick: How Beliefs, Moods, and Thoughts Affect Your Health.

Studies show a link between these chemicals and plaque buildup in arteries, the red flag for heart disease, says Justice.

Like any enjoyable activity, playing with a dog can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine -- nerve transmitters that are known to have pleasurable and calming properties.

"People take drugs like heroin and cocaine to raise serotonin and dopamine, but the healthy way to do it is to pet your dog, or hug your spouse, watch sunsets, or get around something beautiful in nature," says Justice, who recently hiked the Colorado Rockies with his wife and two dogs.

If you're thinking of getting (or giving) a pet, remember the downside. Dogs and cats can be expensive and limiting. You have to provide for their care when you're away from home. They cause wear and tear on your clothing and furnishings, shed hair, and make messes you have to clean up. A barking dog may alienate your neighbors. Some people are allergic to animal dander. A dog must be socialized, that is, carefully trained in order to be a good pet. If infants or small children are part of the household, their relationship with a pet has to be supervised. It's never a one-way street. And pets are not a panaceaas, but for many people, the right pet is a real plus, well worth any trouble and expense.

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The Health Benefits of Sex: Great Reasons to Have Sex Tonight

Think of all the health advice you’re bombarded with daily: Eat more vegetables, stop smoking, exercise, get more sleep, use sunscreen, floss, boost your fiber, don’t text while driving. Protective? Sure. Fun? Not so much.

But here’s one suggestion that’s hardly drudgery: Have more sex. Yep, you read that right. Romping regularly in the sheets really does a body good.

“Having sex benefits us in [many] psychological and biological ways,” says Irwin Goldstein, M.D., director of sexual medicine at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, Calif

1. Sex makes menopause easier to handle.

Menopause is the time when a woman’s sexual appetite dries up with her estrogen, right?

Not really: The “use it or lose it” credo is established fact, says Barnard.

“Regular penetration with lubricant, 2-3 times a week by anything – including a vibrator or fingers – fights vaginal atrophy and improves the flexibility and thickness of the skin inside the vagina,” she says.

Slack off during menopause or perimenopause (the time before menstrual periods cease) and “you’ll see a much quicker acceleration of loss of flexibility and thickness of that skin,” Barnard says.

Other research suggests that regular sex may reduce hot flashes. In a small study, middle-aged Nigerian women who had sex at least once a week had fewer hot flashes than women who avoided it.

2. Sex relieves pain.

This one’s proven too, especially when orgasm is involved.

A climax releases endorphins, natural pain-relievers that can blunt all kinds of pain from menstrual cramps and arthritis to whiplash, back pain, even labor contractions and migraines.

A study of 83 women with migraines, done at Southern Illinois University, found that nearly half of those who climaxed during sex reported that their headaches disappeared.

Why? In the throes of orgasm, pain tolerance jumps dramatically, according to Beverly Whipple, Ph.D, R.N, co-author of both The G Spot (Holt Paperbacks) and The Science of Orgasm (The John Hopkins University Press), who has measured the effects in her lab.

“When women had orgasms, their pain thresholds went up over 108%,” she says.

And it’s not a distracter or anesthetic. “It’s an analgesic,” she says, and even better than Motrin.

Unfortunately, relief is short-lived – 10 minutes at best. Which is the perfect excuse to lure your mate back for another round.

3. You’ll live longer.

Sex will help you live longer, but what's interesting is how: For women, quality counts; for men, it’s all about quantity.

In one of the best-known studies on sex and longevity, involving nearly 1,000 middle-aged British gents, those who had at least two orgasms a week had half the mortality risk of those who reported just one a month.

And a Swedish study found that men past their 75th birthdays were the ones who stayed sexually active; those who died before 75 had holstered their pistol long before.

For women, frequency has no bearing on longevity – the sex has to be good.

In one 25-year-long North Carolina study published in 1982, women who said they enjoyed sex lived longer.

The findings suggest that it’s orgasm, not just sex, that’s important for women’s health, Barnard says.

4. It’s good for your heart.

"Dissatisfaction with sexual activity” is linked with peripheral artery disease, a condition that boosts the risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke by up to seven times, according to data from the Women’s Health Initiative, a multi-year study by the National Institutes of Health.

Of course, that hardly proves an unhappy sex life will give you a heart attack. But researchers know that stress, anger and depression are huge markers for heart disease. Plus, when we’re in emotional turmoil, we hardly feel like making love.

5. It counts as exercise (sort of).

Having sex – even lots of it – is unlikely to get you in shape for a triathalon, especially if your partner is driving most of the action. But it’s no slouch either.

The energy spent in sex is said to equal "walking several flights of stairs or washing windows,” Goldstein says.

Unfortunately, few calories are spent in sexual activity, because – at least in the U.S. – it’s a seven-minute event.

“So the calories burned are not that great,” Goldstein says.

But regular sex keeps your pelvic floor in shape, says Barnard. And that’s important because a toned pelvic floor means big orgasms.

6. It prevents cancer.

For guys, anyway, there’s iron-clad evidence that regular sex (with someone they love or just by themselves) lowers the risk of certain cancers.

According to a 2003 Australian study, 20-something guys who ejaculated five or more times a week cut their risk for getting prostate cancer later in life by a third.

Another study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that for every three ejaculations a man had during the week, his prostate cancer risk dropped up to 19%.

That’s because ejaculation is a workout for the prostate, explains sex and relationship expert Laura Berman, Ph.D., author of The Book of Love (DK Publishing).

“The prostate contracts during orgasm and ejaculation, and that keeps it in good shape,” she says.

Plus, it “keeps the plumbing clean.”

7. Sex improves immunity.

Don’t skip your H1N1 vaccine for a lost afternoon in bed, but research suggests some – but not too much – sexual activity may help boost immune function.

In a small 1999 study of 112 students at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, those who had sex once or twice a week had 30% more infection-fighting immunoglobulin A (IgA) in their saliva than students who made love less frequently.

Interestingly, it may be possible to get too much of a good thing: Randier students had IgA levels on par with their celibate compadres.

8. Sex helps you sleep.

Ever gone wild with your man only to have him roll over and snore afterward?

It’s because of a potent combo of strenuous exertion and feel-good brain chemicals, like oxytocin and endorphins, released during orgasm, Berman says.

“You relax, get calmer, disconnect from the worries of the day and it makes it easier to drift off,” she explains.

9. Sex can make you happier.

If just touching and hugging gets oxytocin flowing to your brain, orgasm makes it surge. That’s like being hooked up to happy drugs and explains why having sex can put us in a great mood and even guard against depression.

Oxytocin, knows as the “bonding hormone,” makes moms fall in love with their newborns. It also makes us feel more connected to the person we’re making love to.

According to a 2008 Arizona State University study, when women were sexual and affectionate with their partners, they felt better and were less stressed the following day. Which led to more sex.

Preliminary research from the State University of New York at Albany even suggests that semen may contain some antidepressant compounds.

In that study, women exposed to more semen (because they didn’t use condoms) scored lower on depression scales than those who either had less sex or used condoms more frequently. Still, you might want to wait for the follow-up studies before tossing out your Paxil.


10. It improves fertility.

But not in the way you might think. Having frequent sex regulates menstrual cycles, which makes conception easier. Plus, having an orgasm, especially after your partner finishes, may even boost the odds of getting knocked up.

“During orgasm, the uterus dips down into the vagina and vacuums up sperm, so orgasm may actually assist with fertilization by helping sperm get into the uterus [and] the egg,” says Mehmet Oz, M.D., host of “The Dr. Oz Show” and co-author of YOU: Having a Baby (Free Press).

By Norine Dworkin-McDaniel, Special to Lifescript 

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Top 10 Cannabis Studies the Government Wished it Had Never Funded

10) MARIJUANA USE HAS NO EFFECT ON MORTALITY: A massive study of California HMO members funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found marijuana use caused no significant increase in mortality. Tobacco use was associated with increased risk of death.
Sidney, S et al. Marijuana Use and Mortality. American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 87 No. 4, April 1997. p. 585-590. Sept. 2002.


9) HEAVY MARIJUANA USE AS A YOUNG ADULT WON’T RUIN YOUR LIFE: Veterans Affairs scientists looked at whether heavy marijuana use as a young adult caused long-term problems later, studying identical twins in which one twin had been a heavy marijuana user for a year or longer but had stopped at least one month before the study, while the second twin had used marijuana no more than five times ever. Marijuana use had no significant impact on physical or mental health care utilization, health-related quality of life, or current socio-demographic characteristics.
Eisen SE et al. Does Marijuana Use Have Residual Adverse Effects on Self-Reported Health Measures, Socio-Demographics or Quality of Life? A Monozygotic Co-Twin Control Study in Men. Addiction. Vol. 97 No. 9. p.1083-1086. Sept. 1997


8) THE “GATEWAY EFFECT” MAY BE A MIRAGE: Marijuana is often called a “gateway drug” by supporters of prohibition, who point to statistical “associations” indicating that persons who use marijuana are more likely to eventually try hard drugs than those who never use marijuana – implying that marijuana use somehow causes hard drug use. But a model developed by RAND Corp. researcher Andrew Morral demonstrates that these associations can be explained “without requiring a gateway effect.” More likely, this federally funded study suggests, some people simply have an underlying propensity to try drugs, and start with what’s most readily available.
 Morral AR, McCaffrey D and Paddock S. Reassessing the Marijuana Gateway Effect. Addiction. December 2002. p. 1493-1504.


 

7) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART I): The White House had the National Research Council examine the data being gathered about drug use and the effects of U.S. drug policies. NRC concluded, “the nation possesses little information about the effectiveness of current drug policy, especially of drug law enforcement.” And what data exist show “little apparent relationship between severity of sanctions prescribed for drug use and prevalence or frequency of use.” In other words, there is no proof that prohibition – the cornerstone of U.S. drug policy for a century – reduces drug use.
National Research Council. Informing America’s Policy on Illegal Drugs: What We Don’t Know Keeps Hurting Us. National Academy Press, 2001. p. 193.


6) PROHIBITION DOESN’T WORK (PART II): DOES PROHIBITION CAUSE THE “GATEWAY EFFECT”?): U.S. and Dutch researchers, supported in part by NIDA, compared marijuana users in San Francisco, where non-medical use remains illegal, to Amsterdam, where adults may possess and purchase small amounts of marijuana from regulated businesses. Looking at such parameters as frequency and quantity of use and age at onset of use, they found no differences except one: Lifetime use of hard drugs was significantly lower in Amsterdam, with its “tolerant” marijuana policies. For example, lifetime crack cocaine use was 4.5 times higher in San Francisco than Amsterdam. Reinarman, C, Cohen, PDA, and Kaal, HL. The Limited Relevance of Drug Policy: Cannabis in Amsterdam and San Francisco.
American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 94, No. 5. May 2004. p. 836-842.

5) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART I): Federal researchers implanted several types of cancer, including leukemia and lung cancers, in mice, then treated them with cannabinoids (unique, active components found in marijuana). THC and other cannabinoids shrank tumors and increased the mice’s lifespans. Munson, AE et al. Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids.
 Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Sept. 1975. p. 597-602.


4) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER, (PART II): In a 1994 study the government tried to suppress, federal researchers gave mice and rats massive doses of THC, looking for cancers or other signs of toxicity. The rodents given THC lived longer and had fewer cancers, “in a dose-dependent manner” (i.e. the more THC they got, the fewer tumors). NTP Technical Report On The Toxicology And Carcinogenesis Studies Of 1-Trans- Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol, CAS No. 1972-08-3, In F344/N Rats And B6C3F Mice, Gavage Studies.
  See also, “Medical Marijuana: Unpublished Federal Study Found THC-Treated Rats Lived Longer, Had Less Cancer,” AIDS Treatment News no. 263, Jan. 17, 1997

3) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART III): Researchers at the Kaiser-Permanente HMO, funded by NIDA, followed 65,000 patients for nearly a decade, comparing cancer rates among non-smokers, tobacco smokers, and marijuana smokers. Tobacco smokers had massively higher rates of lung cancer and other cancers. Marijuana smokers who didn’t also use tobacco had no increase in risk of tobacco-related cancers or of cancer risk overall. In fact their rates of lung and most other cancers were slightly lower than non-smokers, though the difference did not reach statistical significance.
Sidney, S. et al. Marijuana Use and Cancer Incidence (California, United States). Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 8. Sept. 1997, p. 722-728.


2) OOPS, MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT CANCER (PART IV): Donald Tashkin, a UCLA researcher whose work is funded by NIDA, did a case-control study comparing 1,200 patients with lung, head and neck cancers to a matched group with no cancer. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers had no increased risk of cancer, and had somewhat lower cancer risk than non-smokers (tobacco smokers had a 20-fold increased lung cancer risk).
Tashkin D. Marijuana Use and Lung Cancer: Results of a Case-Control Study. American Thoracic Society International Conference. May 23, 2006.


1) MARIJUANA DOES HAVE MEDICAL VALUE: In response to passage of California’s medical marijuana law, the White House had the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the data on marijuana’s medical benefits and risks. The IOM concluded, “Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana.” While noting potential risks of smoking, the report acknowledged there is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting. The government’s refusal to acknowledge this finding caused co-author John A. Benson to tell the New York Times that the government loves to ignore our report; they would rather it never happened.
(Joy, JE, Watson, SJ, and Benson, JA. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. 1999. p. 159. See also, Harris, G. FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana. New York Times. Apr. 21, 2006)

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Aerobic Exercise Can Help Suppress Hunger, Study Says

In a new study, researchers have made the conclusion that aerobic exercise such as rope jumping, which involves the body's vertical movements, can suppress appetite and cravings for fatty food. Researchers, who published their report in the journal Appetite, sought to find out if exercises that involve up and down bodyweight movements, which lead to "gut disturbance," actually affect hormones such as ghrelin, which our body releases when we are hungry. Moreover, the study compared the level of hunger in men who did rope-skipping to those who did cycling.

Previous studies support a similar claim

Prior to this new study, a number of other studies suggest that running curbs hunger more than cycling and that jumping rope can suppress hunger more than running. Since there is no horizontal movement in jumping rope, it is more of a weight bearing exercise compared to running.

According to researchers, jumping rope leads to more gut disturbance and could stimulate greater appetite suppression.

Comparing vertical and horizontal movement aerobic exercises

To test their idea, researchers tested 15 healthy men who had the average age of 24 years. On non-consecutive days, the men were made to jump rope for 30 minutes, exercise on a stationary bike or rest.

At a number of points during and after their work out, the researchers measured the men's level of appetite hormones. Likewise, researchers also asked the men how hungry they were as well as how much they craved sweet, salty, sour and fatty foods.

The initial results showed that those who skipped rope and cycled in stationary bikes felt less hungry than those men who had controlled resting sessions. They even felt less hungry 15 minutes after their exercise session.

But 25 minutes into their exercise, those who skipped rope felt less hungry than those who were cycling. Likewise, researchers found out that those who exercised had less craving for fatty foods, and this observation was more obvious for those who jumped rope. Furthermore, those who did cycling felt hungrier after their cycling session than when they did rope-skipping sessions.

With such results, the researchers concluded that cycling, and not skipping rope, causes hunger that eventually makes those who skipped rope compensate for the energy they burned through eating.

However, the study determined that there was no clear difference in the level of gut hormones between those who did cycling and skipping rope. As such, there might be another mechanism or explanation why the men who jumped rope felt less hungry than when they exercised on a stationary bike.

In totality, the researchers concluded that aerobic exercise, especially rope-skipping, could regulate a person's cravings for fatty foods. Doing such exercises may improve the dietary behavior of adults, especially when it comes to foods rich in fat.

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Can Food Make You Infertile? Foods to Eat and Avoid

1. Men who drink at least a quart of cola daily have sperm counts almost 30 percent lower than men who drink no cola.

The Danish study that yielded this stat suggests that the caffeine in cola hinders sperm. “However, in a Petri dish, caffeine enhances sperm movement,” says obstetrician Niels Lauersen, co-author of Eat, Love, Get Pregnant: A Couple’s Guide to Boosting Fertility and Having a Healthy Baby. “So I would not discount the high-fructose corn syrup found in these drinks as possibly being the real culprit. First, studies show too much sugar can lead to insulin resistance, which disrupts fertility. Second, powerful pesticides used in America’s cornfields—including Atrazine—have been shown in studies to be endocrine disrupters. Male corn farmers who regularly work with Atrazine are found to have lower sperm counts.”
Tina Kold Jensen, et al.

 “Caffeine Intake and Semen Quality in a Population of 2,554 Young Danish Men.” American Journal of Epidemiology, 171 (8): 883-891.

2. Women who eat lots of low-fat dairy products face an 85 percent higher risk of ovulatory infertility than women who consume little or no low-fat dairy products.

Failure to ovulate is a common cause of infertility. The Harvard-affiliated study that yielded this stat found this condition strikingly high in women who consumed two or more daily servings of low-fat dairy products. Because past fertility studies on milk were inconclusive, “we compared low- and full-fat dairy products as an exercise in thoroughness,” says Jorge Chavarro, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard University and coauthor of this study and of The Fertility Diet: Groundbreaking Research Reveals Natural Ways to Boost Ovulation and Improve Your Chances of Getting Pregnant. “These findings were extremely surprising,” Chavarro says, given that the government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults consume three or more servings of low-fat dairy products daily.
J.E. Chavarro, et al.

 “A Prospective Study of Dairy Foods Intake and Anovulatory Infertility.” Human Reproduction, 22 (5): 1340-1347.

3. Men who eat large quantities of soy-based foods produce 32 percent less sperm per milliliter than men who consume no soy-based foods.

The Harvard-based study that yielded this stat examined the effects of 15 different soy-based foods on men whose partners were trying to become pregnant. “The very reason menopausal women find soy-based foods helpful—because they exert mild estrogenic effects—is the same reason they can be harmful to male fertility,” Lauersen says. “While including a few soy-based foods in your diet won’t affect most men, if a man’s sperm count is low, or even low-to-normal, soy foods could tip the estrogen/testosterone balance in the wrong direction and reduce sperm count further.”

J. E. Chavarro, et al. “Soy Food and Isoflavone Intake in Relation to Semen Quality Parameters Among Men from an Infertility Clinic.” Human Reproduction, 23 (11): 2584-2590.

4. Women who consume at least one daily serving of whole milk are more than 50 percent less likely to experience ovulatory infertility than are women who consume less than one serving of whole milk per week.

The same Harvard-based study that linked low-fat dairy products to one kind of infertility linked full-fat dairy products with the opposite effect: “Successively higher intakes of ice cream” show promising results, its authors write. Fat and cholesterol are building blocks for hormones, so eating full-fat dairy products while attempting to become pregnant “is sound advice,” says Alice Domar, an assistant professor of obstetrics at Harvard and author of Infertility Explained: The Complete, Authoritative Guide to Everything You Need to Know on Your Journey to Parenthood. “Is there anybody who doesn’t want to be told to eat more Häagen-Dazs?” But she warns against the sensationalism that such studies spark.

J.E. Chavarro, et al.

 “A Prospective Study of Dairy Foods Intake and Anovulatory Infertility.” Human Reproduction, 22 (5): 1340-1347.

5. Men who are exposed to large quantities of bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical used in the manufacture of canned foods, have sperm counts about 23 percent lower than men with no BPA exposure.

Still crave Spaghetti-Os? When used in the linings of cans, BPA leaches into food. The University of Michigan-affiliated study that yielded this scary stat also found a 10 percent increase in sperm DNA damage among men exposed to large quantities of BPA. Widely used in many products since the 1960s, BPA is now the subject of investigations by the Food and Drug Administration as the agency seeks to calculate risks, reduce human exposure, and support the shift to alternatives.

John Meeker, et al. 

“Semen Quality and Sperm DNA Damage in Relation to Urinary Bisphenol A Among Men From an Infertility Clinic.” Reproductive Toxicology, 30 (4): 532-539.

6.Vegan women are only one-fifth as likely to have twins as are vegetarian and omnivorous women.

Published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, the study that yielded this stat suggests that the difference is driven by insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a protein released by the liver in response to growth hormone. IGF levels are much lower in vegans than in non-vegans. “Diets including dairy products, especially in areas where growth hormone is given to cattle, appear to enhance the chances of multiple pregnancies,” writes the study’s author.

Steinman, Gary. “Mechanisms of Twinning: VII. Effect of Diet and Heredity on the Human Twinning Rate.” Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 51(5): 405-10.

7. Men with high concentrations of trans-fatty acids in their semen have 96 percent fewer sperm than men with low concentrations of trans-fatty acids in their semen.

Eat donuts, shoot blanks. Trans-fatty acids are commonly found in fast food and junk food; their presence in a man’s semen proves that he ate foods containing them. The Harvard-affiliated study that yielded this stat confirmed previous rodent studies suggesting that “trans-fatty acids can affect spermatogenesis profoundly,” the authors write. High TFA in men’s drastically lower sperm counts raise stark questions, as the researchers were unable to determine the timespan over which TFA accumulates in the testes and/or how long it stays there. Potentially, it could last a lifetime.

J.E. Chavarro, et al. “Trans-Fatty Acid Levels in Sperm Are Associated With Sperm Concentration Among Men From an Infertility Clinic.” Fertility and Sterility, 95(5): 1794-1797.

8. Women who consume at least one alcoholic beverage per day have a nearly 50 percent greater risk of ovulatory infertility than women who drink no alcohol.

The Harvard-based study that yielded this stat followed 18,555 women for eight years as they attempted to become pregnant. “Alcohol hinders the liver’s ability to metabolize hormones,” says licensed acupuncturist Randine Lewis, author of The Infertility Cure: The Ancient Chinese Wellness Program for Getting Pregnant and Having Healthy Babies. “Most ovulatory infertility includes hormonal imbalances that are worsened by hepatic congestion. Hormonal excesses in the blood require a clean and healthy liver to metabolize and excrete. The body cannot rid itself of excess hormones when it is busy metabolizing alcoholic beverages.”

J.E. Chavarro, et al. “Caffeinated and Alcoholic Beverage Intake in Relation to Ovulatory Disorder Infertility.” Epidemiology, 20(3): 374-81.

9. Women who are exposed to large quantities of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a synthetic chemical used in the linings of microwave-popcorn bags, face an infertility risk ranging from 70 percent to 134 percent higher than that of women with the least amount of PFOA exposure.

Also used in candy wrappers, fast-food wrappers, and pizza boxes, PFOA has also been linked with breast and prostate cancers. The UCLA-based study that yielded this stat examined whether industrial pollutants might explain why “a remarkable decline in fertility rates has been observed in developed countries,” according to its authors, who found associations between high PFOA exposure and irregular menstrual periods, among other troubling effects.

Chunyuan Fei, et al. “Maternal Levels of Perfluorinated Chemicals and Subfecundity.” Human Reproduction, 24 (5): 1200-1205.

10. Men who eat a traditional Dutch diet have sperm counts nearly twice as high as do men who eat a fish-and-produce-based diet.

A study affiliated with Rotterdam’s Erasmus University examined the semen of men whose female partners were trying to become pregnant. One group of men ate the meat-and-potatoes-based diet that the study’s authors call “Traditional Dutch”; the other ate what the authors call a “Health-Conscious” diet high in produce and fish. The Dutch diet’s beneficial factor “might not be the meat and potatoes,” Chavarro speculates. “The Dutch diet is also very high in fatty sauces and mayonnaise, which is a strong source of omega-3 fatty acids”—which many studies link with increased fertility in both women and m

M.Vujkovic, et al. “Associations Between Dietary Patterns and Semen Quality in Men Undergoing IVF/ICSI Treatment.” Human Reproduction, 24 (6): 1304-1312.

11. Women who eat large quantities of omega-3 fatty acids are 22 percent less likely to be diagnosed with endometriosis—a common cause of infertility—than women who eat little or no omega-3s.

“Consuming each additional 1 percent of energy from omega-3 fatty acids”—say, from mackerel, flaxseed, or supplements—“rather than from saturated, monounsaturated or omega-6 polyunsaturated fats was associated with approximately a 50 percent lower risk of endometriosis,” write the authors of the Harvard-affiliated study that yielded this stat. Powerful anti-inflammatories, omega-3s “are probably the single most important fertility nutrient,” says Lauersen, adding that omega-3s “not only can help control emdometriosis symptoms, but can also reverse some of the fertility-related damage” that endometriosis causes.

Stacey Missmer, et al.

 “A Prospective Study of Dietary Fat Consumption and Endometriosis Risk.” Human Reproduction, 25 (6): 1528-1535.

12. Women who consume large quantities of non-heme iron—the kind found in lentils, spinach, and supplements—have a 40 percent lower risk of ovulatory infertility than women who consume little or no non-heme iron.

“The kind of iron that is found in meats is essentially not related to fertility,” says Chavarro, who led the Harvard study that yielded this stat. “Instead, the strong association is the kind of iron that comes from either supplements or vegetable sources.” Can lentils help you get pregnant? No one knows—yet. Of the many infertility-causing conditions, ovulatory disorders are the ones that studies show respond most strongly to dietary changes, Chavarro says. Yearning to learn more, his team is soliciting participants for a huge new fertility study.

J.E. Chavarro, et al. “Iron Intake and Risk of Ovulatory Infertility.” Obstetrics & Gynecology, 108 (5):
1145-1152. 


13. Women who consume at least 5 percent of their daily calories in the form of vegetable protein rather than meat protein have a 50 percent lower risk of ovulatory infertility than women who consume only meat protein.

Replacing chicken and red meat with vegetable sources of protein might reduce the risk of ovulatory infertility, write the authors of the Harvard-based study that yielded this stat. “Red meat contains arachidonic acid that can cause or worsen internal inflammatory reactions,” Lewis explains. “When the body is in a state of internal reactivity, it is in a state of ‘dis-ease,’ and has less energy available for housekeeping functions like procreation.”

J.E. Chavarro, et al. “Protein Intake and Ovulatory Infertility.” American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 198 (2): 210.

14. The sperm of men who consume very low quantities of antioxidants is only two thirds as motile as the sperm of men who consume high quantities of antioxidants.

The UC Berkeley-affiliated study that yielded this stat found that high antioxidant intake increased not only sperm motility—that is, their swimming strength—but also sperm count. While it’s tempting to think that quaffing green tea leads straight to parenthood, “I don’t think there are any foods you can eat to make you fertile, nor are there any foods you can eat to make you infertile,” Domar says. “Wouldn’t it be great if grapes made you infertile? Then we wouldn’t need birth control.” Her best advice is to “eat exactly as your grandmother told you to eat. Have meatloaf and lots of fruit and vegetables. Don’t drink soda. And take prenatal vitamins.”

B. Eskenazi, et al. “Antioxidant Intake Is Associated With Semen Quality in Healthy Men.” Human Reproduction, 20 (4): 1006-1012.

15. Men whose mothers ate beef at least seven times a week while pregnant with them are three times as likely to have low sperm counts as men whose mothers ate less beef while pregnant.

Did Mom bolt brisket? “To look at possible long-term risks from anabolic steroids and other xenobiotics in beef, we examined men’s semen quality in relation to their mothers’ self-reported beef consumption during pregnancy,” write the authors of the University of Rochester-affiliated study that yielded this stat. Their conclusion? “Sperm concentration was inversely related to mothers’ beef meals per week.” These findings “suggest that maternal beef consumption, and possibly xenobiotics in beef, may alter a man’s testicular development in utero and adversely affect his reproductive capacity,” the authors write.

S.H. Swan, et al. “Semen Quality of Fertile U.S. Males in Relation to Their Mothers’ Beef Consumption During Pregnancy.” Human Reproduction, 22 (6): 1497-1502.

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