Love and Sex: Hope or Hype?

Love can benefit your health as well as any drug. Let us count the ways.

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Q: Are there any health benefits to love and sex?

A: Greeting card companies and tattoo artists aren't the only ones capitalizing on love. You can, too: Strong intimate relationships can benefit your health as well as any drug. Let us, as the sonnet says, count the ways:

At a romantic dinner Red wine contains resveratrol, an antioxidant that increases HDL cholesterol, and flavonoids that reduce damage to arteries. Real cocoa-based chocolate also contains healthy flavonoids.

Every day Studies suggest married men are less likely to have heart disease than single men; happily married women are less likely to develop heart disease than their unhappily wed peers.

In bed A study found that men who had sex at least twice a week were half as likely to die over a ten-year period as men who had sex less than once a month. For women, better -- not more -- sex is the key. Though it's unclear how sex might improve health, it's likely the therapeutic value: Quality sex decreases stress, promotes companionship and increases emotional satisfaction.
From Reader's Digest - February 2006
 
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