How to Make The Most of Your Sexual Relationship

Did you know that your sexual wellness and wellbeing is integral to not only your emotional health, but also your physical health too? The benefits of being in a loving relationship can have wide-reaching implications for your health. Human touch has long been recognised as having powerful healing properties. It increases the production of growth hormones, endorphins and DHEA, all of which increase your life span and lower the negative impact that stress can have on your body. Studies have even shown that patients who are regularly touched recover faster than those who are not touched at all.

 

Give someone a special hug, pat or massage and you could help to improve the mood and health of both of you. Studies show that those who are loved and cherished by members of their family tend to live longer lives and have fewer illnesses. A loving, meaningful relationship, both with your family and with a significant other, do not necessarily come naturally, but they are worth working on and investing in, as they can create a lot of positive side effects for your health.

 

If you want to work on your relationship, think about it in terms of sharing yourself with another. Share your energy, time and your inner self with your loved one. Look at the life you share and think of ways that you could make them happy. You might want to cook their favourite meal one night as a surprise, or do the dishes to help take the burden off them. You could send them a card, writing inside it all the qualities that make them special to you. You can even buy them a gift, which does not need to be elaborate or expensive, but should be specific to them – something that you know that they will like and that will show how well you like them.

 

 

Categories: health, love, nbsp, relationship, studies, touched

Could Breastfeeding be Healthier for Your Baby and You?

Breastfeeding is the natural way to feed your baby, but is it the healthiest? There are a number of health benefits to feeding your baby with breast milk, not just because it is packed with vital nutrients for your child’s development. It keeps their health in check and prevents them from catching illnesses, but it could also be good for you too. Studies show that it could lower your risk of postnatal depression and also prevent some cancers. Here are some of the main reasons why breastfeeding is the best way to nurture your baby, as well as helping you to stay healthy.

1 – You can increase the emotional bond

There is a distinct bonding experience between a mother and child during breastfeeding that can’t really be replicated. It strengthens that natural bond you have with your baby and also increases the closeness between you, both physically and emotionally. Getting your baby to latch on in the early stages can be difficult, but a nursing pillow can help with this.

2 – It can protect your baby from illness

Studies carried out by the World Health Organisation found that in children from around the globe, those who had been breastfed suffered from a reduced number of diseases, such as ear infections, stomach viruses and respiratory infections. The study also found that infants who have been breastfed early show a decreased risk of infant mortality between the ages of birth to one year.

3 – Helps you to lose weight

This is one for the mums – breastfeeding can help you lose your birth weight! This is because breastfeeding releases the hormone oxytocin which helps the woman’s abdomen shrink to its original size that it was before the pregnancy. It even helps you to burn 500 calories a day, helping you to shed those extra pounds you put on when you were carrying your baby.

4 – It increases intelligence

Research has found that there is a strong link between breastfeeding and your baby’s cognitive development. In children who breastfed for longer than six months, the IQ level was 3.8 points higher than a bottle-fed baby. There have also been studies which show that these children also have higher scores on reading and maths. This is thought to be connected to the emotional bond built up between mother and baby, which promotes intelligence.

5 – It lowers stress and the risk of postnatal depression

The breastfeeding technique could help improve the health of the mum as well as the baby, as studies have found that it can lower stress levels and reduce the risk of postnatal depression. This is because it releases hormones which promote a sense of calm and relaxation. Stress can lead to postnatal depression, so breastfeeding could help to reduce this risk.

6 – It may reduce cancer

Alongside the general health benefits to your baby’s health, it could also help to lower the risk of cancer in infants as well as you. Studies suggest that it could lower the chance of developing breast and ovarian cancers, and the longer the women breastfed for, the lower their risk was.

7 – It offers great savings to you and the environment

One of the main blessings to breastfeeding, aside from those to you and your baby’s health, is that it’s free! Formula and bottles add up and can be expensive, so breastfeeding is a great and natural solution to what to feed your baby. It’s also the best way to ensure your child gets all the nutrients they need to stay healthy.

Categories: Baby, Breastfeeding, emotional bond, health, Health Benefits, Postnatal Depression, risk, stay healthy, studies, Women

Could Prenatal POP Exposure Lead to Long-Term Asthma?

Environmental wellness is always a concern to consider, but this becomes even more vital when you’re pregnant. Not only are you watching out for your own wellbeing; you also have a baby growing inside of you and the outside toxins you’re exposed to could put your baby’s wellness at risk. It’s no secret that prenatal exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may be harmful to a child’s developing immune system – this has been suggested by plenty of previous research – but few studies have looked into the long-term health outcomes of POP exposure, until now. Findings recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives show that if your baby is exposed to certain POPs while still in the womb, he or she may have an increased risk of developing asthma that persists into young adulthood.

 

Todd Jusko, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Rochester, who was not involved in the study, comments, ‘The focus in immunotoxicity studies has often been on immunologic intermediates, such as immune cell counts. This study is unique in that it looks at a long-term clinically relevant outcome.’ For the study, Danish researchers evaluated the relationship between asthma and prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the pesticide hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and dichlorodiphenyl- dichloroethylene (DDE) – which is a daughter compound of the pesticide DDT. Lindsey Konkel, editor for Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate, explains, ‘PCBs, HCB, and DDT have been banned or restricted for many years due to concerns over human health effects, but they persist in the environment and the human body. Although levels of these chemicals have been dropping in the human population, diet—especially seafood consumption—remains an important route of exposure.’

 

Konkel notes, ‘Past studies have reported an association between prenatal exposure to DDE and asthma in children at ages 44 and 7–10. Prenatal HCB exposure has been associated with airway hyper reactivity in rats. Other studies examining prenatal exposure to PCBs and asthma-like symptoms have yielded mixed results; two studies found an association with wheeze in infants and allergic sensitivity in children at age seven while another reported an inverse association with allergic disease.’ However, the authors of the new study argue that previous studies have not followed up with subjects past childhood, and this may be the reason for the divergent findings. According to lead author Susanne Hansen, a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, ‘A twenty-year follow-up allows us to distinguish between [true] asthma and asthma-like symptoms, such as wheeze, which may resolve in the first six to seven years of life.’

 

For the study, the researchers examined the blood POP levels of 872 pregnant Danish women. At the age of 20, the children of the mothers who had had the highest blood HCB concentrations during pregnancy were nearly twice as likely to have been prescribed asthma medication as the children of mothers with the lowest concentrations. If the mother had a high level of one particular PCB congener, dioxin-like PCB-118, the child was nearly twice as likely as children of mothers with the lowest levels to have used asthma medications. Michele La Merrill, a developmental toxicologist at the University of California, Davis, asserts, ‘The association between dioxin-like PCB 118 and asthma is an interesting one but not sufficient to suggest a general link between all dioxin-like chemicals and asthma.’ The possibility of such a general link, says Merrill, is ‘a provocative question that would be worth continuing to ask in future studies.’ If you’re pregnant and worried about the long-term effects of POPs, look online or speak to a health professional for ways to reduce your exposure.

Categories: Asthma, environmental health, exposure, general link, Long term, POP Exposure, prenatal, prenatal exposure, Research, studies

What Everyone Ought to Know About Erectile Dysfunction

If you are suffering from some kind of sexual dysfunction, your wellness and wellbeing may be at the root of the problem. Two studies, both published in the past week, have revealed that there is a link between chronic diseases and erectile dysfunction. The studies go as far as to say that any patient who comes to see a doctor suffering from poor sexual function should automatically receive a full screening to find out if he has a serious underlying illness.

 

Thanks to these studies, people may well start to take erectile dysfunction more seriously. People currently see it as an embarrassment or an inconvenience, and something that is readily treatable with a little Viagra. Now, people may realise that sexual dysfunction may be far more serious than they realise.

 

The research also showed that erectile dysfunction is not necessarily linked to advancing age, as younger men are reporting erectile problems. This may well be linked to an increase in obesity and inactivity.

 

One of the studies found that around 20 percent of the men participating in the study had erectile dysfunction, which, if the proportion held true for the general population, would mean that around 18 million American men are suffering from sexual dysfunction.

 

In the study, it was also found that over half of the subjects who had diabetes or high blood pressure had trouble achieving an erection either sometimes, or all of the time. This was also the case for around 22 percent of obese men and 26 percent of the subjects who were very sedentary (such as those who watched television for over three hours per day).

 

On the other hand, only ten percent of the men who were physically active reported that they were having any kind of sexual problems.

Categories: Disease, Dysfunction, Erectile, erectile dysfunction, nbsp, sexual, sexual dysfunction, studies

Which Complementary Remedies Work Best For Your Body?

Though complementary remedies aren’t backed by a wealth of research, it doesn’t mean that you have to dismiss all of them as ineffective. There are some holistic treatments that work extremely well for a variety of women’s health concerns. These four remedies can help you fend off diseases and stay on top of your game. The first of these is glucosamine and chondroitin which can be used to cure joint pain, although it should be stated that they do not cure arthritis. In a study of 1583 knee osteoarthritis patients, many who took glucosamine and chondroitin found that it offered moderate pain relief and alleviated some of their symptoms. Osteoarthritis develops when wear and tear breaks down the cartilage in the joints, and it can develop over age – particularly in women. Most studies recommend a dosage of 1500mg a day of glucosamine and 1200mg of chondroitin. Researchers are unsure how this works, but if you’re suffering with joint pain on a regular basis these two supplements could offer some relief.

 

Vitamin C has been touted as a cold remedy for many years, and some studies support this claim whilst others dismiss it. According to the latest studies, vitamin C can’t actually help defend your body from the common cold but it can help to cut the number of colds you get when your body is under extreme stress, such as soldiers or marathon runners. It’s not the miracle cure that we once thought it to be, but it can make colds milder and helps to defend your immune system in the long run. Experts advise that you take a 500mg dose of vitamin C up to four times a day, from the moment you feel the cold coming on to whenever you feel more like yourself again. Echinacea is another cold-fighting remedy that seems to have been up for debate of late. It seems that this daisylike flower could help to reduce the symptoms of a cold and speed up your recovery as well. It can reduce your risk of catching a cold by as much as 58 percent and shortens the duration of it lingering in your body. Experts state that more studies need to take place before a definitive result can be published, but they admit that standardised tests look promising. However, there are 200 strains of cold virus, so much more research needs to take place to decipher which ones echinacea works against. It also doesn’t appear to work on the symptoms of children. You can take this herb in tea or in a capsule form a few times a day when you feel your cold developing. Follow the instructions on the packet, as doses vary depending on what form you’re taking.

St John’s Wort can be extremely effective in fighting depression when it is still in a mild or moderate form. Some studies even suggest that it can stand up to prescription drugs such as Prozac. It also offers fewer side effects than such medications, such as upset stomach, fatigue, anxiety and sexual dysfunction. In participants taking St John’s Wort, only 8 percent stated that felt any of these side effects, and the majority only complained of an upset stomach. Naturally, if you worry that you’re suffering with depression you should seek medical advice before taking anything – your GP will then be able to assess the severity of your condition and prescribe accordingly. However, if they state that it is safe, most people begin with a 900mg dose of the herb each day.

Categories: body, complementary, complementary remedies, cure, feel, illness, joint pain, Pain, st john, studies, Supplements, upset stomach

Are Carbs Lowering Your Sperm Count?

Diet impacts a large proportion of your health and bodily functions, but what many men aren’t aware of is that it can also affect your sperm count. A new study has shown that carbohydrates and dairy can lower the quality of his sperm – the more he eats, the lower the quality gets. In two other similar studies involving IVF, it was discovered that women who lowered their carb intake whilst upping the amount of protein they ate actually increased their chances of getting pregnant. The studies did show a connection between diet and fertility, but they didn’t prove any cause-and-effect links. The research for IVF was carried out by Dr J.B Russell at the Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del. The sperm studies were carried out by Dr Jorge Chavarro and Myriam Afeiche, at the Harvard School of Public Health. New studies have shown that there seems to be a downward trend in sperm counts throughout the world for the entire 20th century, and this looks to be continuing into the 21st century as well. The effects of this are not yet clear, but it could well have a detrimental effect. One of the proposed hypotheses is that the exposure to environmental factors, such as environmental oestrogens, could well be the culprit. Obesity is also an important factor, being responsible for many health problems, including fertility.

The carb study involved just under 200 active and healthy men aged between 18 and 22, most of whom were white. The dietary analysis showed that the carbohydrate intake of these men accounted for almost half of all of their calories consumed. However, the carb intake didn’t seem to affect the sperm’s shape or mobility. The more they consumed, however, the lower the overall sperm count was. Where dairy is concerned, the research team noted that the sperm shape was less likely to be normal in comparison to the carb group the more dairy they ate. They noticed that in participants who ate full-fat dairy products, such as cheese, cream and whole milk, the connection was especially strong. The sperm count and movement didn’t appear to be affected by the relationship though. Chavarro stated that the results were still relevant when body weight, alcohol and caffeine consumption, and smoking history were taken into account.

The two other studies involved women undergoing In Vitro Fertilisation. 120 women were first asked to filled out a three-day dietary diary before they had any IVF treatments. Researchers noted that those with a high protein and low carbohydrate intake had a better chance overall of being successful when the egg was fertilised and later becoming pregnant. In a smaller study of just 12 women, who had already tried and failed to become pregnant through IVF, the dietary analysis took place again. When counselled to up their protein and lower their carb intake, there was better success rates across the board. The studies offer a significant body of evidence to suggest that our diets play a bigger role than first thought in the success rates of pregnancy, and of keeping the reproductive organs healthy. Naturally, a healthy and balanced diet is important in any person, so as to keep the organs and bodily processes working efficiently and to maintain a healthy weight. If you’re concerned about your ability to get pregnant, you should seek medical advice from your GP before making any drastic dietary changes, in order to ensure that it is safe for you.

Categories: carb, carb intake, carbohy, carbohydrate intake, diet, dietary analysis, Intake, sperm, sperm count, studies, success rates