A HEALTHY sex drive will leave you peaking in more ways than one. People who have a lot of nookie experience health benefits which can leave them in much better physical form than those who don’t. Sex can help fight flab, ward off colds and make you live longer. Jennifer Bass, of sex research centre The Kinsey Institute, says:  here is definitely a correlation between health and sex. If you are healthier, you are going to have more sex. Making love provides a cardiovascular workout and floods the body with feel-good chemicals.� Here JANE SYMONS shows how a little – or even quite a lot – of what you fancy does you good.

Longer life

Sex is associated with good health and a longer life, a survey by the American Association Of Retired Persons reveals.

Almost half of over-50s — 44 per cent — who described their health as excellent or very good had intercourse at least once a week.

But just 20 per cent of those with only fair or poor health made love this often.

It could be due to dehydroepiandrosterone — DHEA — which floods the body during sex and surges on orgasm.

Bloodstream levels of this hormone are five times higher than normal when sexual pleasure peaks. DHEA has been shown to be beneficial in fighting reduced insulin response and middle-age spread.

Blood pressure

In the heat of the hump, sex increases blood pressure but in the long run it reduces it — cutting the risk of stroke.

A study in Biological Psychology says regular sex lowers diastolic blood pressure — the lower number that shows the reading when your heart is resting.

Satisfying sex also increases output of the chemical transmitter dopamine, which improves relaxation and counteracts stress hormones associated with hypertension.

Low libido can also be an early warning of blood pressure problems. Doctors know that men who have hypertension are likely to have erectile dysfunction.

And Greek researchers recently discovered it has an even greater impact on women.

Sex ... counteracts stress

Corbis

Four out of ten with high blood pressure go off sex, compared to three in ten men.

Combats diabetes

The exercise and calorie burning benefits of sex help reduce Type 2 diabetes risk.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that DHEA, released when we orgasm, improves insulin action. It also combats central obesity.

Carrying weight around the stomach is a known risk factor for diabetes because the flab releases hormones called adipokines that seem to impair the body’s glucose tolerance. Animal studies show DHEA protects against this damage too.

Heart boost

Men who have sex less than once a month are twice as likely to have a fatal heart attack than men who make love at least twice a week.

Sun GP Dr Carol Cooper says: 揝ex is great for the cardiovascular system but how much you get out depends on how much effort you put in.

揑f it’s not getting your heart racing, you’re doing it wrong.

揚atients with heart problems sometimes worry about dying on the job, but that’s very rare. If you can manage two flights of stairs you are probably fit enough for sex.�

Because it boosts circulation, sex increases the supply of oxygen to cells and stimulates the activity of various organs and systems within the body.

Erectile dysfunction can also indicate cardiovascular problems.

Weight control

Sun fitness expert Nicki Waterman says: 揓ust 30 minutes of sex will burn around 200 calories, so if you have sex five days a week, that’s equivalent to two-and-a-half hours in the gym.

揊or best results, women can hop on top because this will help firm their thighs and tone their belly.�

An orgasm can burn 60-100 calories, 30 minutes of snogging will blitz 90 calories.

And orgasms release both enkephalins and dopamine. These feel-good body chemicals help to reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol which is associated with weight gain, particularly around the tummy.

They also flood the body with DHEA, which attacks belly fat, according to researchers at Washington Univeristy School of Medicine. Volunteers were given 50mg of DHEA and a second group took a dummy pill.

Women lost 10.2 per cent of their abdominal fat and men lost 7.4 per cent.

Self-defence

A healthy sex life will help keep colds at bay. Making love raises the levels of immunoglobulin A — or IgA — the frontline of the body’s immune system, according to scientists at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, US.

They tested saliva samples of 112 students and found that those who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of IgA than those who abstained or had sex less than once a week.

Proud performance

Having sex the night before something stressful, such as an exam or having to make a speech, will improve your performance, according to a Scottish study reported in Biological Psychology.

It releases happy body chemicals including dopamine, endorphins and enkephalins.

Some studies suggest it can boost sporting performance, particularly in women.

One theory is that they get a boost from raised levels of the male hormone testosterone.

Endocrinologist Emmanuele Jannini, of the University of L’Aquila in Italy, who has studied the effect of sex on sporting performances, says: 揝ome personalities need more concentration. In this case sex may be a bad idea.

揊or other athletes, a bit of extra aggression could be the difference between winning and losing. In this case I would suggest complete and satisfactory sexual intercourse the evening before the game.�

Banishes headaches

IT might be the most tried-and-tested excuse to avoid having sex, but it seems a headache can disappear after you have a good romp. Orgasms release oxytocin and endorphins, natural chemicals which reduce pain.

A study in the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine found that volunteers who inhaled oxytocin vapour boosted their pain threshold by more than half.

These pain-suppressing chemicals will also provide relief from both PMS and arthritis.

Heal thyself

Oxytocin — known as the bonding chemical — is responsible for that warm glow that comes after good sex. It can also help heal wounds.

Studies show that high levels of oxytocin damp down inflammation-causing chemicals and speed up healing by as much as 25 per cent.

Sleep tight

Once again you have oxytocin to thank. When released by satisfying sex, it acts as nature’s nightcap.

Men are the most susceptible to this hormone — which is why they generally fall asleep within two-to-five minutes after sex and women take 20-to-25 minutes to nod off.