Healthy Life Journal

Once considered a taboo subject, now we are constantly analyzing our sex life. Science has given us the opportunity to evaluate the exact befits of sex, and it is amazing how great sex is for your overall health. The moral? More time in the bedroom equals a longer, healthier life!

1. To the delight of most males, one of the benefits of a habitual sex life is reduced chance of impotence. Interestingly enough, heart problems and impotence are linked together. Although daily exercise is recommended, if a man has sex more than three times a week, he reduces his chance for a heart attack by fifty percent.
2. Another benefit of having a habitual sex life is overall fitness. The more you exercise, the more in shape you become. It can even promote motivation to do more exercises outside of bed. An average session of lovemaking raises the heartbeat to about 150 beats per minute, which can burn approximately 200 calories. You get to exercise and strengthen various parts your body. Plus, men get a chance to increase their testosterone level.
3. The third benefit of a habitual sex life is heightened senses, or that “feeling alive” feeling. The release of endorphins is the reason why sex is a sought after experience. If you are feeling depressed, habitual sex can help change that drastically.
4. Adults who enjoy the benefits of habitual sex will tell you that they tend to get sick less often. Medically, it has been proven that sex releases antibodies called immunoglobulin. These antibodies will lessen the frequency of flu, colds and cough.
5. For us men, a huge benefit of a habitual sex life is prevention of prostate cancer as long as you do not practice habitual sex with multiple partners. (Having several sex partners increases your risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease which makes it something you should avoid at all costs.)
6. Intimacy is a feeling craved by most females, and one benefit of habitual sex life is increased intimacy with your partner. The moments after can be your most memorable moments with your partner.
7. Did you know you can actually lower cholesterol with sex? This is a great benefit of habitual sex for people with high levels of bad cholesterol.
8. Not only do you get to exercise and enjoy it, you also get to relieve some of the stress in your life. With the endorphin release, you forget any emotional and mental stress you have, at least for the time being.
9. Finally, a great benefit of habitual sex for women is being able to produce hormones naturally. With habitual sex, a woman can increase her estrogen levels which in turn protects her heart, and promotes a healthy weight.
10. (Bonus!) It’s just plain fun!

Hepatitis is classified as a virus causing inflammation of the liver. It can be both acute, lasting less than six months and healing on its own, or chronic, lasting longer and can be fatal. There are many strands of the virus throughout the world today, however we will be focusing on the most common: hepatitis A, B, and C. It is estimated that just over 3% of the worlds population carries a strain of the virus, most not even being aware of it. It can lie dormant for decades, slowly eating away at you liver without any physical symptoms. In this article we will examine the three strains in depth, and provide pictures to better illustrate.

Hepatitis A, the least severe of the three, is transmitted by a fecal to oral route. The most common ways to become infected is consuming contaminated food or water, eating raw sea food, or sexually. Due to its nature, it is much more common in third world countries. Hepatitis B can be transmitted via blood transfusions, tattoos, and even from breastfeeding a child. However it is commonly referred to as an STD, or sexually transmitted disease – as that is the most common way to get it. Many people refer to it as an STI, or sexually transmitted infect. Similar to B, hepatitis C can be transmitted though blood. However, this is the only way it can be transmitted.

Hepatitis A takes between 15-45 days to between the time of infection, and the start of the illness. Within a week, jaundice will set in, causing a yellowing of the skin and eyes. This strain of the virus does not have a chronic stage, and there exists a vaccination that will permanently prevent the illness. Symptoms are as follows:
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Appetite loss
• Depression
• Jaundice
• Weight loss
• Sharp pains in upper right side of abdomen

Unlike hepatitis A, hepatitis B can be either acute or chronic. Over 95% of adults who contract the virus will clear it and build up the appropriate anti-bodies. This number severely drops the younger you are. Newborns only have a 5% chance of clearing the virus on their own. Symptoms differ depending on whether it is acute or chronic. Acute symptoms include:
• Ill health
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• General pains
• Mild fever
• Dark Urine
• Jaundice

However if the virus moves into the chronic stage, you liver will become inflamed permanently, which will lead to cirrhosis. Although there is chance of the virus being fatal, a low percentage of cases turn out this way. Hepatitis C can also be acute or chronic. Acute hepatitis C is often mistaken for the flu, as symptoms are very similar. In fact, 60% of the people who have contracted acute hepatitis C never even knew they had it, as it often goes misdiagnosed. However symptoms can be any of the following:
• Decreased apatite
• Fatigue

• Abdominal pain
• Itchiness
• Jaundice

Chronic hepatitis C, clinically speaking, has a habit of only being found by accident – as it can go years without any symptoms at all. Like all forms of hepatitis, your liver becomes inflamed, impairing its ability to work effectively. Unfortunately, the virus can eventually lead to any number of things if left untreated, including liver cancer, cirrhosis, and fatal scarring of the liver.

A simple blood test can tell if you are infected with any kind of hepatitis. If results come back positive, your doctor will identify which type it is and offer you the best course of treatment. Sometime, a liver biopsy is required to determine the severity of the disease. If required, you doctor will give you a local anesthetic, and insert a small needle into your liver to retrieve a tissue sample, which they can then study under a microscope. For acute versions of the A and B strain, plenty or rest and fluids is all that is needed to clear out the virus.

If you are infected with chronic hepatitis, your doctor may advise weekly injections of pegylated interferon alfa, along with twice-daily oral doses of ribavirin. With luck, the combined efforts of the medicine will clear the virus from the bloodstream completely, or at a minimum greatly slow the virus down. If you liver is fatally damaged, you will be put on a liver transplant list and await surgery. If a donor is found in time, and the virus can be or has been cleared from your system, you can expect a full recovery.

Eli Lilly and Co, the makers of the popular male enhancer Cialis, just received FDA approval for a one-a-day pill. Officials say that it takes the pressure off missing the time the pill is effective, now when your ready, the pill is ready. The company made over $800 million dollars in sales last year, and they are on track for over 1$ billion this year. The still trail behind Viagra, however that could change depending on how they price their new product.