"Suprising Health Benefits of Sex"(Web MD -By Kathleen Doheny)

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 lgA,which can protect you from getting colds and infections.Scientists at Wikes University in Wikes-Barre,Pa.,took samples of saliva,which contain lgA,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 lgA 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 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 Cardiovascular 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 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 less sex than once a month.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 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...