About 20 years ago a Scottish researcher postulated the reason Goldie Hawn, Joan Collins and Helen Mirren looked so good was because they had very active sex lives. And he didn’t mean promiscuous sex, but loving sex with a regular partner. (Two of the three women were in long-term marriages, while Ms. Collins was between her 4th and 5th husbands.)
Well, assuming they were having fulfilling love lives, research indicates they were also less likely to come down with a cold. That’s because researchers from Wilkes University discovered that college students in steady relationships who had sex two or three times a week (that’s the minimum for college students in steady relationships) had elevated levels of an antibody critical for the health of mucous membranes, immunoglobulin A (IgA). Seems mutually loving whoopee tends to crank up IgA and higher levels of IgA translates to a stronger immune system and a greater ability to fend off infections!
Add in that mutually loving sex lowers blood pressure, triggers the release of body chemicals like phenyl ethylamine (also called the love drug), serotonin (a happy neurotransmitter), oxytocin (the bonding hormone) and stimulates the body’s natural pain killers, endorphins. That’s some pretty powerful medicine.
So if you want to beat colds and other sniffley infections that come with flu season, make sure you eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily (see the Garden Harvest Soup recipe at doctoroz.com), cuddle together under the covers, and turn up the heat! We’ll even write you a prescription.
Medically reviewed in August 2018.
