Many people are choosing a gym for a workout because they have complete facilities, including a special place for a sauna and a hot shower. Unfortunately, a hot shower after a workout is not a good choice.

Recent research suggests that a cold shower is thought to reduce muscle soreness after exercise. These findings also refute some of the opinions of scientists who say a cold shower would strain the muscles of the body and is considered dangerous.

To prove it, researchers reviewed 17 clinical trials with a cold water bath involving 366 people. The study looked at whether the bath with cold water can relax muscles, or just the opposite.

In that study, participants were asked to bathe or soak in a bath of cold water after they were asked to exercise. Participants spent an average of five to 24 minutes in water temperature 50-54 degrees Fahrenheit. However, in some cases, participants were asked to get in and out of the water at the specified time.

“We found some evidence that a cold shower after a workout can reduce muscle pain, but only compared with the resting muscle only or did not do anything,” said lead researcher, Dr Chris Bleakley of the University of Ulster, quoted by BBC.

Nonetheless, researchers still have not found any side effects if a person continuously cold shower in the long term.

“It’s important to consider that soak in cold water can shock your body temperature. We need to ensure that people are not doing a dangerous thing, especially if they are exposed to very cold water for a long time.

Most women know the symptoms of a heart attack — squeezing chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea. But as it turns out, these symptoms are more typical for males. Female heart attacks can be quite different — and it’s important for all women to learn the warning signs.

Rhonda Monroe’s story is a cautionary tale. She was mystified when strong pain struck her left breast and left arm. Monroe, who was a 36-year-old mother of three, didn’t know it at the time, but she was having early symptoms of a heart attack. “I certainly wasn’t thinking about my heart because I was young and healthy and had been skinny,” she says.

As the pain moved into her shoulder and back, Monroe took pain relievers and showered for relief. But the next day, she was overwhelmed with nausea, sweating, vomiting, and chest pain. An ambulance rushed her to the emergency room.

Her next hurdle: getting the doctors to believe her. “They didn’t take me seriously,” Monroe says. She didn’t fit the profile of a heart attack patient. The doctors told her she was too young, she was not overweight, and there was no family history of heart disease.

Bedeviled by worsening pain and weakness and convinced she was dying, Monroe returned to the hospital several times over the days that followed, only to come home with no answers. “I was angry and frustrated,” the West Virginia resident says.

Monroe turned to her primary care doctor about her situation and went through more tests at the hospital. Finally, she got her diagnosis — a week after the initial breast and arm pain. As Monroe recalls, a cardiologist who had previously dismissed her complaints made the diagnosis. “The doctor told me, ‘Well, it’s a good thing you’re persistent because you’re having a heart attack.’”

Heart experts say Monroe’s situation is all too common. Women who have “atypical” symptoms, such as arm or back pain or nausea, might not realize at first that they’re having a heart attack. Then when they do seek emergency care, doctors sometimes misdiagnose them.

Female heart attack symptoms

“Typical” heart attack symptoms include chest pressure or squeezing or stabbing sensations in the center or left side of the chest, says Myung H. Park, MD, FACC, who is director of the Pulmonary Vascular Diseases Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center. “It’s very typical for people to make a fist when they’re describing their symptoms,” she says. “Some people describe it as feeling like a vise encasing their whole chest area.”

But in women, symptoms can be less typical. Although women can experience chest pain or discomfort, many don’t. In a 2003 Circulation study of female heart attack patients, scientists found that during an attack, 43% of the 515 women studied had no “acute chest pain, a ‘hallmark symptom in men.’”

The study noted some common female heart attack symptoms:

• shortness of breath (57.9%)
• weakness (54.8%)
• unusual fatigue (42.9%)

Women had other atypical heart attack symptoms, too: nausea, dizziness, lower chest discomfort, upper abdominal pressure or discomfort that feels like indigestion, and upper back pain.

Often, women are unaware that these symptoms can be a sign of a heart problem, and blame them on heartburn or indigestion, arthritis, or stress, experts say. If women become short of breath with little exertion, they tell themselves they are out of shape, overworked, or fatigued.

Pay attention to heart attack symptoms

Experts urge women to learn the various heart attack symptoms and to call 911 promptly at the appearance of these signs.

Though most women feel indigestion once in a while, experiencing a cluster of unusual symptoms or a persistent sensation in the chest, back, or stomach never felt before is reason to seek emergency care. Park has seen too many patients wait too long. Because women have lots of competing demands — jobs, families, and sometimes caregiving duties — “taking care of themselves, even if they don’t feel well, usually doesn’t make it to the top of the list,” she says.

That can be dangerous, experts say. “The longer a woman waits before getting treatment to open the blocked blood vessel to the heart, the more damage is done to the heart muscle. If a large amount of the heart muscle is damaged, the woman will be at risk for heart failure,” says Teresa Caulin-Glaser, MD, co-author of The Woman’s Heart: An Owner’s Guide and director of preventive cardiology and research at McConnell Heart Health Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Assert yourself if you have heart attack symptoms

Unfortunately, doctors may also be unfamiliar with atypical symptoms and may overlook a woman’s heart attack, experts tell. In fact, according to the Circulation study, women have more unrecognized heart attacks than men and are more likely to be “mistakenly diagnosed and discharged from emergency departments.”

Be direct with doctors and other medical staff, Caulin-Glaser says: “Women arriving at the emergency room should state clearly that they think they are having a heart attack and need to be evaluated.”

At a minimum, an immediate evaluation should include being placed on oxygen, being given an aspirin, having blood drawn, having an electrocardiogram performed, and receiving a cardiac monitor within minutes of arrival, she says.

Being bold can save women’s lives, Caulin-Glaser adds. “If the triage nurse or emergency room physician does not take their concerns seriously and begin the immediate evaluation for a heart attack, then all women should tell the emergency room physician they want to be seen by a cardiologist.”

Shortly after Monroe’s heart attack was finally diagnosed, she underwent emergency quadruple bypass surgery. She reports that she didn’t know all the right questions to ask when she first felt symptoms, “but I definitely knew that something was wrong.”

Now she urges other women who believe they might be having a heart attack to advocate for themselves. “Persist. No one knows your body the way you do,” Monroe says. “I really believe the only reason I’m alive today is that I wouldn’t give up, and I wouldn’t relent.”

Learn about your local heart attack resources

One of the most important ways you can advocate for yourself is doing research. “Take action before you ever have a heart attack,” Caulin-Glaser says.

“It’s important for women to do their homework regarding the hospitals in their neighborhoods. Find out which hospitals specialize in heart disease,” she says. Some questions for women to ask:

• Does the hospital have a cardiac catheterization lab that performs procedures such as angioplasties and stents?
• Is this “cath lab” available 24 hours, seven days a week?
• Is there a coronary bypass surgery program?
• Once a woman arrives in the emergency room with a heart attack, how quickly is she sent to the cath lab?
• Can doctors open a blocked blood vessel within the acceptable range of 90 minutes?
• Are all of the doctors in the emergency department

Source: WebMD

Here there is no magic pill to get ripped. But if you’re willing to sweat, there are ways to pump up your physique in less time than you might think. With the right moves, you can work toward powerful pecs and bulging biceps in just two workouts a week. If you have a medical condition, check with a doctor before starting a fitness program.

Here is a quick way to Bigger Muscles, the source of WebMD:

Bigger Arms: Hammer Curl

For biceps that beg to be displayed in short sleeves, start with a hammer curl. Hold dumbbells so they face your outer thighs. Exhale and bend the elbows, raising the dumbbells until their tips nearly reach your shoulders. Inhale and lower slowly. To see results, men should hit each muscle group with 3-4 different exercises, twice a week, says conditioning specialist Neal I. Pire, MA, CSCS.

Bigger Arms: Preacher Curl

This twist on the biceps curl will also work the deltoids, muscles that give shoulders a chiseled look. Rest the back of your arm on a support pad while holding a dumbbell, palm facing up. Slowly raise the dumbbell, then lower it to the starting position. If any move feels wrong, check with a qualified fitness professional. Depending on your health and physical condition, some exercises may not be recommended.

Bigger Arms: Triceps Pushdown

When building buff arms, don’t neglect the underside. To do the triceps pushdown, grasp the handle with palms facing down and hands 6 inches apart. Keep your upper arms near the sides of your chest. Start with your forearms parallel to the floor. Push the cable down by straightening the arms until your elbows are fully extended, but not locked. Pause and slowly return to the starting position.

Bigger Chest: Bench Press

This classic move hits all your chest muscles at once. Grab the bar with a closed grip and slowly lower until it lightly touches your chest. Exhale and press back to starting position. A trainer can recommend the best load for you; 50% of body weight (including the weight of the barbell) is a common starting point. The flat version works the entire chest, says exercise physiologist Irv Rubenstein, PhD, so there’s no need to add incline versions.

Buff vs. Mr. Universe

The right weight and number of reps for you all depend on your goals, and of course your physical fitness. Beginners can start with 3 sets of 10-15 reps for each exercise — and the last few reps should be difficult.  Those at an intermediate level can aim for 4 sets of 8-12 reps. If you’re looking for huge, prize-worthy muscles, the best bet is to consult a fitness professional.

Strong Shoulders: Front Raise

If hulking shoulders are a goal, muscle this exercise into your workout. Do it standing or seated on a bench or stability ball, with weights at your sides. Raise one straight arm to the front, up to shoulder level, while turning your palm towards the floor. Slowly lower back down. Keep an erect torso and neutral wrist position. Using one arm at a time makes it easier to keep the back straight.

Strong Shoulders: Lateral Raise

This classic move targets the deltoids to create a Popeye-worthy bulge in this rounded area where the upper arm meets the shoulder. Start with the weights by your sides. Contract the abdominals to stabilize your spine. Then sweep both arms up to shoulder level to form a “T.” Keep the arms relaxed and elbows unlocked. Rotate elbows slightly outward to isolate the shoulder muscles. Slowly lower back to the starting position.

Tapered Torso: Wide-Grip Pulldown

Wide-grip pulldowns develop the latissimus dorsi muscle or “lats.” This back exercise creates the illusion of a narrower waist for that tapered look, says Pire. Sit on the pulldown machine and grasp the bar wider than shoulder width. Lean back slightly, contract your abs, and bring the bar down to your upper chest. Avoid using momentum. Pause and slowly return the bar to starting position.

Abs: Kettlebell Twist

Men seeking the fabled “six-pack abs” first need to shed excess body fat, which can hide even the most toned mid-section. When you’ve reached a lean weight, the Kettlebell twist can help your abdominal muscles really pop. Sit on the floor, knees bent, heels down.  Lean back, back straight, and engage the abs.  Place the kettlebell on the floor, switching from one side to the other.  Want faster results?  Hold your feet off the floor.

Quicker Results: Super Sets

To build rock-hard muscles in less time, try super sets. This means doing sets of two different exercises with little or no rest in between. Beginners should do supersets that work opposing muscle groups – for example, a set of biceps curls and a set of triceps pushdowns.

Quicker Results: Compound Sets

After you’ve been lifting weights for a few months, you can try compound sets. This means doing two different exercises for the same muscle group without resting in between. For example, target the chest with a set of dumbbell bench presses immediately followed by a set of pec flys. This exhausts the muscle quickly and thoroughly, setting the stage for larger muscle growth.

Lower Body: Leg Press

Every gym’s got a guy with “light bulb” syndrome – a muscleman who neglected his lower body. If you don’t want to be that guy, spend some time on the leg press machine. Place your feet on the resistance plate with knees bent at 90 degrees. (Don’t bend your knees any further to avoid injury). Grasp the handles and slowly push the plate out until your knees are straight but not locked. Pause and slowly return to starting position. The leg press works most of the major leg muscles.

Lower Body: Squat

Squats target both the inner and outer thighs. Use a barbell heavy enough to challenge the muscles without compromising your form. Position the bar behind your head and your feet shoulder-width apart. Keeping your spine straight, squat down until your thighs are nearly parallel with the floor. As you come back up, raise the hips and chest together. For safety, keep your knees behind your toes, shoulders behind your knees.

Lower Body: Dead Lift

Yes, the dead lift shows off your manly upper body musculature — but it’s one of the best workouts for your hamstrings, too. Start in a standing position, feet shoulder width apart, holding the bar in front of you.  Lower the bar to just below your knees, or further if you’re more flexible and can keep a flat back and stable spine. Slowly return to the starting position. Keep the bar close to your body to protect your lower back.

Lower Body: Calf Raise

Stand on one foot with the arch of the foot and heel hanging off of the edge of a step or platform.  Hold on to something if you need to for balance.  If you are able to balance without holding on, you will work your core muscles and promote joint stabilization in the standing leg.  Drop the heel all of the way down below the step and then raise all the way up on the toes.  Hold dumbbells to increase resistance.

Muscle Confusion

If you reach a plateau after several weeks of working out, it’s time to mix things up. You need to constantly challenge or “confuse” your muscles to keep them growing. You can do this by putting a twist on your basic moves. For example, do a biceps curl with a reverse grip. Or find a bench for the step up move shown here. For best results, change up your workout frequently — at least every 4 to 6 weeks.

High-Intensity Training

When you train hard, you won’t just burn calories during your workout. You get the added benefit of an effect called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or EPOC. This means your body will keep burning extra calories even after you’ve finished a training session. How long and how many calories varies with the intensity of your workout, says Pire. “It can add up to significant additional calories burned over time.”

Eat Right: Before You Lift

No amount of weight training will add bulk unless you give your muscles the right fuel. If you really want to get ripped, eat protein at every meal and snack — lean meats, eggs, cheese, and milk are good sources. Add whole-grain carbs like oatmeal to provide sustained energy. Research suggests men who eat a snack of protein and carbs right before and after working out build more muscle and burn more fat.

Eat Right: After You Lift

After lifting, take in some protein as quickly as possible — the longer you wait, the more time your body will break down muscle instead of building it. Sports dietitian Amy Goodson MS, RD, LD, recommends having whey protein (found in dairy products such as milk and yogurt) within 30 minutes of your workout. Include a wholesome carb, such as fruit. One quick solution is a smoothie made with whey protein powder and frozen berries.

Stay Hydrated

Muscles are about 75% water, so give them what they need by drinking enough fluids. Allowing yourself to get even a little dehydrated could compromise your workout, your concentration, and your immune system. While sports drinks and soda will keep you hydrated, the best choice is simple calorie-free water.

Muscle-Building Supplements

Creatine is a popular supplement among athletes and body-builders. Studies suggest it can increase strength and muscle mass. Evidence supporting the use of amino acid supplements, including BCAAs and glutamine, is less clear. It’s best to check with your doctor or dietitian before taking any supplements.

The Truth About Steroids

Getting in shape takes a lot of work, but anabolic steroids are not a wise shortcut. Using steroids to build muscle is illegal and can cause many health problems, including:

• Acne
• Breast growth in men
• Heart disease
• Liver disease

Reality Check

How fast you bulk up depends on some factors that are out of your control – namely, genetics. “Your parents determine your structural and skeletal shape and your predisposition to get big,” says Rubenstein. But even if a bodybuilding centerfold is not your destiny, there’s good news. Most men can noticeably increase their muscle mass and strength with an efficient weight training regimen.

Want to look buff in your swimsuit this summer? Building abs and sculpting muscles starts in the kitchen before you ever hit the gym. Achieving muscle growth is a formula based on adequate calories, fluids, protein, and muscle-fatiguing strength training.

Drinking plenty of fluids, eating the right energy-rich foods along with weight lifting — all timed to fuel workouts and repair muscle tissue — will help you sculpt your muscles.

Nutrition Game Plan

A balanced dietary intake as recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines is a good foundation for meal planning. In general, eating a well-balanced diet with enough calories to support exercise is the prescription, according to the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) position paper on nutrition and athletic performance.

The ADA and ACSM recommend getting enough calories including adequate fat and protein, with an emphasis on five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables, plenty of whole grains, cereals, beans, legumes, and enough fluid for optimal hydration.

Muscle and Food

Fueling your workouts takes a combination of healthy carbs and protein. Protein is important to build and repair muscles. Carbs provide the energy to fuel fitness.

You can’t eat protein and expect it turn to muscle. “Pull protein into muscles with exercise,” says Christine Rosenbloom, PhD, RD and editor of ADA’s Sports Nutrition Manual, due out later this year.

Experts recommend these muscle-friendly foods, source of WebMD:

* Fruit and vegetables – are the foundation of all healthy diets, providing fiber, vitamins, minerals, and fluids. Vegetables contain small amounts of protein.
* Low-fat dairy – provides high-quality protein, carbs, and essential vitamins such as vitamin D, potassium, and calcium. Rosenbloom and Clark recommend chocolate milk as a good workout recovery beverage. If you are lactose intolerant, you may tolerate yogurt with active cultures.
* Lean meat – This is a great source of protein, iron for oxygen transport to muscles, and amino acids including leucine, which Rosenbloom says is thought to be a trigger for muscle growth.
* Dark-meat chicken – Boneless skinless chicken is good, but go dark and increase iron by 25% and three times the zinc for a healthy immune system.
* Eggs – The 2010 Dietary Guidelines says an egg a day is OK but don’t throw out the yolk. “Eggs contain all of the essential amino acids and half the protein is in the yolk with other import nutrients like lutein for eye health,” Rosenbloom says.
* Nuts – Unsalted raw or roasted are a good source of protein that also contain vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and healthy fats.
* Beans and whole grains – These quality carbs contain small amounts of protein for energy and muscle repair, along with fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.

Timing Is Everything

Timing is critical in muscle development because you need carbs and protein to perform strength training and protein and carbs for muscle recovery. The best plan is to eat a diet containing both nutrients and small amounts of healthy fats throughout the day.

“Consuming a protein beverage like chocolate milk within an hour after exercise will give muscles the building blocks it needs when it is most receptive for repair” says Rosenbloom, Georgia State University nutrition professor emerita.

If you will be eating a meal within 1-2 hours after a strenuous workout, Rosenbloom says you don’t need a snack and can wait for the meal to provide the recovery nutrition.

How Much?

More than half your calories should come from healthy carbs, says sports nutritionist Nancy Clark, MS, RD. “Carbs supply fuel for energy and prevent protein from being broken down and used as an energy source so always fuel up before working out.”

But be careful: It is a delicate balance of eating enough calories to build muscle but not too many calories, which can lead to gaining body fat.

Protein has a role to build and repair muscle tissue in addition to other functions, like producing hormones and immunity factors. The ADA suggests male endurance athletes get 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, whereas male body builders may need 1.6-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

“Two cups of milk contain about 20 grams of protein, which is the amount recommended to stimulate muscle protein synthesis,” Rosenbloom says.

But most people don’t eat by the numbers. So Clark, author of Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, recommends meal suggestions. “The foundation of each meal is based on healthy carbs, with additional protein like oatmeal with nuts and yogurt; turkey and cheese sandwich with veggies or spaghetti with meat sauce, and a salad. These are all great for body building,” Clark says.

She advises her athletes to divide their food into four equally sized meals and choose three out of these four options: fruit or vegetable, grains, healthy fats, and calcium-rich or lean protein at each meal.

For a food plan designed just for you, consult a registered dietitian.

Get Muscle-Building Results by Fatiguing Muscles

The only way to build bigger, more defined muscles is with progressive resistance training – gradually increasing weights and endurance. Use a weight heavy enough to cause muscle fatigue after 9-12 repetitions. If you can easily do 13 repetitions with good form, you need to increase the weight.

“It is the act of pushing the muscles past the comfort zone that promotes muscle growth and see more definition,” Clark says.

Strength training results show up quicker than aerobic exercise. “It’s encouraging to start seeing enhanced definition fairly soon after working out at least twice a week for 30-45 minutes,” Rosenbloom says.

The exact length of time it takes to start seeing enhanced definition in your muscles also depends on your percentage of body fat. An extra fat layer around your muscles will not let the newly toned muscle show through without weight loss. Clark says gaining 2 pounds of muscle per month is a reasonable expectation.

Strength training is vital to building muscles but it is also an important part of any fitness program and should be done 2-3 times per week for 20-30 minutes. “It is a great investment in your future well-being because you need to use your muscles or you will lose them,” Clark says.

As we age, strength training helps maintain muscle strength, prevent osteoporosis, and decrease muscle and joint injuries.

Rosenbloom recommends going to a gym where you can work with a trainer to understand how to properly perform muscle building exercises to challenge but not injure your muscles.

When you’re in the mood, it’s a sure bet that the last thing on your mind is boosting your immune system or maintaining a healthy weight. Yet good sex offers those health benefits and more.

That’s a surprise to many people, says Joy Davidson, PhD, a New York psychologist and sex therapist. “Of course, sex is everywhere in the media,” she says. “But the idea that we are vital, sexual creatures is still looked at in some cases with disgust or in other cases a bit of embarrassment. So to really take a look at how our sexuality adds to our life and enhances our life and our health, both physical and psychological, is eye-opening for many people.”

Sex does a body good in a number of ways, according to Davidson and other experts. The benefits aren’t just anecdotal or hearsay — each of these 10 health benefits of sex is backed by scientific scrutiny.

Among the benefits of healthy loving in a relationship:

“Sex Relieves Stress”

A big health benefit of sex is lower blood pressure and overall stress reduction, according to researchers from Scotland who reported their findings in the journal Biological Psychology. They studied 24 women and 22 men who kept records of their sexual activity. Then the researchers subjected them to stressful situations — such as speaking in public and doing verbal arithmetic — and noted their blood pressure response to stress.

Those who had intercourse had better responses to stress than those who engaged in other sexual behaviors or abstained.

Another study published in the same journal found that frequent intercourse was associated with lower diastolic blood pressure in cohabiting participants. Yet other research found a link between partner hugs and lower blood pressure in women.

“Sex Boosts Immunity”

Good sexual health may mean better physical health. Having sex once or twice a week has been linked with higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A or IgA, which can protect you from getting colds and other infections. Scientists at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., took samples of saliva, which contain IgA, from 112 college students who reported the frequency of sex they had.

Those in the “frequent” group — once or twice a week — had higher levels of IgA than those in the other three groups — who reported being abstinent, having sex less than once a week, or having it very often, three or more times weekly.

“Sex Burns Calories”

Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more. It may not sound like much, but it adds up: 42 half-hour sessions will burn 3,570 calories, more than enough to lose a pound. Doubling up, you could drop that pound in 21 hour-long sessions.

“Sex is a great mode of exercise,” says Patti Britton, PhD, a Los Angeles sexologist and president of the American Association of Sexuality Educators and Therapists. It takes work, from both a physical and psychological perspective, to do it well, she says.

“Sex Improves Heart Health”

While some older folks may worry that the efforts expended during sex could cause a stroke, that’s not so, according to researchers from England. In a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, scientists found frequency of sex was not associated with stroke in the 914 men they followed for 20 years.

And the heart health benefits of sex don’t end there. The researchers also found that having sex twice or more a week reduced the risk of fatal heart attack by half for the men, compared with those who had sex less than once a month.

“Sex Boosts Self-Esteem”

Boosting self-esteem was one of 237 reasons people have sex, collected by University of Texas researchers and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

That finding makes sense to Gina Ogden, PhD, a sex therapist and marriage and family therapist in Cambridge, Mass., although she finds that those who already have self-esteem say they sometimes have sex to feel even better. “One of the reasons people say they have sex is to feel good about themselves,” she tells WebMD. “Great sex begins with self-esteem, and it raises it. If the sex is loving, connected, and what you want, it raises it.”

“Sex Improves Intimacy”

Having sex and orgasms increases levels of the hormone oxytocin, the so-called love hormone, which helps us bond and build trust. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of North Carolina evaluated 59 premenopausal women before and after warm contact with their husbands and partners ending with hugs. They found that the more contact, the higher the oxytocin levels.

“Oxytocin allows us to feel the urge to nurture and to bond,” Britton says.

Higher oxytocin has also been linked with a feeling of generosity. So if you’re feeling suddenly more generous toward your partner than usual, credit the love hormone.

“Sex Reduces Pain”

As the hormone oxytocin surges, endorphins increase, and pain declines. So if your headache, arthritis pain, or PMS symptoms seem to improve after sex, you can thank those higher oxytocin levels.

In a study published in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 48 volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapor and then had their fingers pricked lowered their pain threshold by more than half.

“Sex Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk”

Frequent ejaculations, especially in 20-something men, may reduce the risk of prostate cancer later in life, Australian researchers reported in the British Journal of Urology International. When they followed men diagnosed with prostate cancer and those without, they found no association of prostate cancer with the number of sexual partners as the men reached their 30s, 40s, and 50s.

But they found men who had five or more ejaculations weekly while in their 20s reduced their risk of getting prostate cancer later by a third.

Another study, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that frequent ejaculations, 21 or more a month, were linked to lower prostate cancer risk in older men, as well, compared with less frequent ejaculations of four to seven monthly.

“Sex Strengthens Pelvic Floor Muscles”

For women, doing a few pelvic floor muscle exercises known as Kegels during sex offers a couple of benefits. You will enjoy more pleasure, and you’ll also strengthen the area and help to minimize the risk of incontinence later in life.

To do a basic Kegel exercise, tighten the muscles of your pelvic floor, as if you’re trying to stop the flow of urine. Count to three, then release.

“Sex Helps You Sleep Better”

The oxytocin released during orgasm also promotes sleep, according to research.

And getting enough sleep has been linked with a host of other good things, such as maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure. Something to think about, especially if you’ve been wondering why your guy can be active one minute and snoring the next.

Source: WebMD

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat. For some, AFib never causes a problem. For others, it can lead to strokes and heart attacks or heart failure. Symptoms of AFib include dizziness, fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, and chest pain, especially in people with underlying heart disease. If you feel your heart “skipping a beat” often, or you have other AFib symptoms that concern you, see your doctor and do not ignore these warning signs!

Next, tips for living with “Atrial Fibrillation”.

Control Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

After being diagnosed with AFib, your doctor may prescribe several medications, including blood thinners to reduce your risk of stroke. These anticoagulant drugs can interact with some foods, supplements, or even other medications. Be sure to ask your doctor what you can eat — and what foods to avoid — while taking your medications.

A glass of wine at dinner is probably OK for someone with atrial fibrillation. But moderate to heavy drinking and binge drinking are linked to heart rhythm disturbances, even in people with healthy hearts. This is something you want to avoid with AFib. Stimulants — like decongestants with pseudoephedrine — can also aggravate your condition.

Some doctors tell people with atrial fibrillation never to drink coffee. In recent studies, however, caffeine doesn’t appear to be linked to AFib episodes. Still, drinking too much caffeine can raise your blood pressure, which you want to avoid. Keep your caffeine intake moderate to help keep your heart rhythm on an even keel.

Regular physical activity can help you manage heart disease. But very vigorous exercise can aggravate your AFib arrhythmia. Talk with your doctor about what kind of exercise program is best for you. Be sure to start slowly. Brisk walking at least half an hour every day is always a good place to begin.

Studies show that people who get regular flu and pneumonia vaccines have a lower risk of heart attack. When you’re living with atrial fibrillation, it’s wise to do whatever you can to stay healthy. Get your shots before flu season arrives.

Cut Down on Stress

Acute stress can reduce blood flow to the heart, which may trigger episodes of arrhythmia when you have AFib. And chronic stress often leads to unhealthy habits, such as smoking and heavy drinking — both bad for your heart. Instead, try yoga to relax. At least one study has found that it can reduce the frequency of AFib episodes.

Source: WebMD