Scientifically Proven: Sex Twice a Week Reduces Heart Disease in Men

Good news. Scientists at the New England Research Institute in Massachusetts have discovered that frequent sex can almost halve the risk of heart disease in men. For 16 years they monitored the sexual activity of more than a thousand men aged from 40 to 70 years old, reporting their findings in the American Journal of Cardiology.

The men who had sex twice a week or more were found to be up to 45 per cent less likely to develop serious heart conditions than men having sex less than once a month. It is not clear whether the health benefits of an active sex-life result from physical or emotional effects on the heart, or both.

The subjects' underlying state of health was also likely to be significant - men in the study who desired, and had, sex on a regular, frequent basis were more likely to be generally healthy than those who didn't. It was also probable that they were in established relationships and that fact - implying a level of contentment and emotional satisfaction - may also contribute to cardiac health.

Volunteers were questioned regularly about their sex lives and monitored for any sign of incipient heart disease. Results were balanced against factors such as age, height, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

An active sex-life has long been thought to have positive effects on health but there has been little prior research into its effects on rates of cardiac or other serious disease. One study at the National Cancer Institute has demonstrated, however, that men who had sex five times a week or more are less prone to get cancer of the prostate gland. And having sex at least weekly in winter is believed to increase resistance to colds and flu, according to researchers at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania.

It is known that having sex increases blood levels of immunoglobulin A6, a substance that binds to invasive organisms in the body, triggering immune system responses to destroy them.

Scientists at Calgary University in Canada have discovered too that frequent sex can boost a woman's sense of smell by triggering release of the hormone prolactin.

So - more good reasons to enjoy an active sex-life...

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