New Ways to Prevent and Treat AIDS

AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a disease that makes it difficult for the body to fight off infectious diseases. The human immunodeficiency virus known as HIV causes AIDS by infecting and damaging part of the body's defenses against infection — lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell in the body's immune (infection-fighting) system that is supposed to fight off invading germs.

HIV can be transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluid of someone who is infected with the virus. That contact usually comes from sharing needles or by having unprotected sex with an infected person. An infant could get HIV from a mother who is infected.

Though there are treatments for HIV and AIDS, there are no vaccines or cures for them. But there are things you can do to prevent you and your child from getting the disease.

What Does HIV Do to the Body?

The virus attacks specific lymphocytes called T helper cells (also known as T-cells), takes them over, and multiplies. This destroys more T-cells, which damages the body's ability to fight off invading germs and disease.

When the number of T-cells falls to a very low level, people with HIV become more susceptible to other infections and they may get certain types of cancer that a healthy body would normally be able to fight off. This weakened immunity (or immune deficiency) is known as AIDS and can result in severe life-threatening infections, some forms of cancer, and the deterioration of the nervous system. Although AIDS is always the result of an HIV infection, not everyone with HIV has AIDS. In fact, adults who become infected with HIV may appear healthy for years before they get sick with AIDS.

How Common Are HIV and AIDS?

The first case of AIDS was reported in 1981, but the disease may have existed unrecognized for many years before that. HIV infection leading to AIDS has been a major cause of illness and death among children, teens, and young adults worldwide. AIDS has been the sixth leading cause of death in the United States among 15- to 24-year-olds since 1991.



In recent years, AIDS infection rates have been increasing rapidly among teens and young adults. Half of all new HIV infections in the United States occur in people who are under 25 years old; thousands of teens acquire new HIV infections each year. Most new HIV cases in younger people are transmitted through unprotected sex; one third of these cases are from injection drug usage via the sharing of dirty, blood-contaminated needles.

Among children, most cases of AIDS — and almost all new HIV infections — resulted from transmission of the HIV virus from the mother to her child during pregnancy, birth, or through breastfeeding.

Fortunately, medicines currently given to HIV-positive pregnant women have reduced mother-to-child HIV transmission tremendously in the United States. These drugs (discussed in detail in the Drug Treatments section of this article) are also used to slow or reduce some of the effects of the disease in people who are already infected. Unfortunately, these medicines have not been readily available worldwide, particularly in the poorer nations hardest hit by the epidemic. Providing access to these life-saving treatments has become an issue of global importance.

How Is HIV Transmitted?

HIV is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or body fluid of someone who is infected with the virus.

The three main ways HIV is passed to a very young child are:

1. while the baby develops in the mother's uterus (intrauterine)
2. at the time of birth
3. during breastfeeding
Among teens, the virus is most commonly spread through high-risk behaviors, including:

.unprotected sexual intercourse (oral, vaginal, or anal sex)
.sharing needles used to inject drugs or other substances (including contaminated needles used for injecting steroids and tattooing and body art)
In very rare cases, HIV has also been transmitted by direct contact with an open wound of an infected person (the virus may be introduced through a small cut or tear on the body of the healthy person) and through blood transfusions. Since 1985, the U.S. blood supply has been carefully screened for HIV.

Signs and Symptoms of HIV

Although there may be no immediate physical signs of HIV infection at birth, signs of the infection might appear within 2 to 3 months after a child is born. Kids who are born with HIV can develop opportunistic infections, which are illnesses that can develop in weakened immune systems, such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). A child with HIV may also get more severe bouts of other common childhood infections, such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, which generally causes mild illness in most kids. In developing countries, tuberculosis has been a particularly common problem and often the cause of death of children and adults.

A baby born with HIV infection most likely will appear healthy. But sometimes, within 2 to 3 months after birth, an infected baby may begin to appear sick, with poor weight gain, repeated fungal mouth infections (thrush), enlarged lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen, neurological problems, and multiple bacterial infections, including pneumonia.

Teens and young adults who contract HIV usually show no symptoms at the time of infection. In fact, it may take up to 10 years or more for symptoms to show. During this time, they can pass on the virus without even knowing they have it themselves. Once the symptoms of AIDS appear, they can include rapid weight loss, intense fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, persistent diarrhea, night sweats, or pneumonia. They, too, will be susceptible to life-threatening opportunistic infections.

Diagnosing HIV Infections and AIDS

Every pregnant woman should be tested for HIV to have a better chance of preventing transmission to her unborn child.

If a woman knows she is HIV-infected and already has children, it is recommended that all of her children be tested for HIV. Even if she has older children and they seem healthy, they could still have an HIV infection if she was HIV-positive at the time they were born. A blood test is needed to know for sure.

However, when a new baby is born to an HIV-infected mother, there is no immediate way to know whether the baby is infected with the virus. This is because if the mother is infected, an ELISA test (which checks for HIV antibodies in the blood) will almost always be positive, too. Babies will have their HIV-infected mother's antibodies (which are passed to the baby through the placenta) even if they are not truly infected with HIV. These babies may remain HIV-antibody positive for up to 18 months after birth, even if they are not actually infected.

Infants who are not actually infected with the virus (but are born to HIV-positive mothers) will not make their own antibodies; the HIV antibodies that came from their mothers will gradually disappear from their blood before they reach 2 years of age. Any blood tests performed after this point will likely be HIV-negative. Infants who are infected with HIV from their mothers will begin to make their own HIV antibodies and will generally remain HIV-positive after 18 months of age.

The most accurate diagnosis of HIV infection in early infancy comes from tests that show the presence of the virus itself (not HIV antibodies) in the body. These tests include an HIV viral culture and PCR (polymerase chain reaction), a blood test that looks for the DNA of the virus.

Older children, teens, and adults are tested for HIV infection by an ELISA test to detect the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood. Antibodies are specific proteins that the body produces to fight infections; HIV-specific antibodies are produced in response to infection with HIV. Someone with antibodies against HIV is said to be HIV-positive. If the ELISA test is positive, it is always confirmed by another test called a Western blot. If both of these tests are positive, the patient is almost certainly infected with HIV.

Can Young Children Spread HIV?

Across the United States, there have been only a handful of reported cases where HIV infection was contagious from a child to another person. All of those cases involved direct blood contact within a household. The typical baby secretions (urine, drool, spit up, vomit, feces, etc.) do not seem to transmit the virus, so routine care of babies with HIV is considered safe.

Despite widespread concerns, there are no reported transmissions of HIV within a school or child-care setting. Because the danger in transmitting HIV involves direct contact with blood, personnel at schools and child-care programs should routinely use gloves when any child has a cut, scrape, or is bleeding.

Transmission of HIV Among Teens

Among teens, HIV is spread mostly through unprotected sex with an infected person or sharing intravenous drug needles. Education of children and teens is vitally important to help prevent sexual transmission of HIV, as well as other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, hepatitis B, syphilis, and genital warts. Many STDs cause irritation, sores, or ulcers of the skin and mucous membranes that the virus can pass through. Having an STD, such as genital herpes, for example, has been proven to increase a person's risk of getting HIV if he or she has unprotected sex with someone who is HIV-positive.

HIV is not spread through:

.casual contact, such as hugs or handshakes
.drinking glasses
.sneezes
.coughs
.mosquitoes or other insects
.towels
.toilet seats
.doorknobs

Opportunistic Infections

Opportunistic infections (infections that take advantage of a person's weakened immune system) are the most common complication of HIV/AIDS. Sometimes adults with HIV/AIDS can get an infection from germs that do not normally cause illness in a healthy person (like cryptococcus). People with AIDS (especially children) can get a severe version of a more common infection, such as salmonella (a type of diarrhea-causing bacteria) and chickenpox.

In kids with HIV, the following opportunistic infections and conditions can frequently occur:

viral infections like a form of chronic walking pneumonia called lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP), herpes simplex virus, shingles, and the cytomegalovirus infection
parasitic infections such as PCP, a pneumonia caused by Pneumocystis carinii, a microscopic parasite that can't be fought off due to a weakened immune system, and toxoplasmosis
serious bacterial infections such as bacterial meningitis, tuberculosis, and salmonellosis
fungal infections such as esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus), and candidiasis or thrush (yeast infection)

Other Complications

Children with HIV are also at higher risk for some forms of cancer because of their weakened immune systems. Lymphomas associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection are more common in older kids with HIV.

The most difficult conditions to treat in kids who have HIV or AIDS are the wasting syndrome (the inability to maintain body weight due to long-term poor appetite and other infections related to HIV disease) and HIV encephalopathy (due to HIV infection of the brain that causes swelling and then damage to the brain's tissues over time). HIV encephalopathy results in AIDS dementia, especially in adults. Wasting syndrome can sometimes be helped with nutritional counseling and daily high-calorie supplements, but preventing HIV encephalopathy remains extremely difficult.

Treating AIDS and HIV

Two major advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS have occurred over the last 20 years. One is the development of drugs that inhibit the virus's growth, preventing or delaying the onset of AIDS and allowing people living with HIV to remain free of symptoms longer. The other is the development of medications that have proven very important in reducing the transmission of the virus from an HIV-infected mother to her child.

Drug Treatments

As medical understanding about how the virus invades the body and multiplies within cells has increased, drugs to inhibit its growth and slow its spread have been developed. Drug treatment for HIV/AIDS is complicated and expensive, but highly effective in slowing the replication (reproduction) of the virus and preventing or reducing some effects of the disease.

Drugs to treat HIV/AIDS use at least three strategies:

1.interfering with HIV's reproduction of its genetic material (these drugs are classified as nucleoside or nucleotide anti-retrovirals)
2.interfering with the enzymes HIV needs to take over certain body cells (these are called protease inhibitors)
3.interfering with HIV's ability to pack its genetic material into viral code — that is, the genetic "script" HIV needs to be able to reproduce itself (these are called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NNRTIs])

Because these drugs work in different ways, doctors generally prescribe a "combination cocktail" of these drugs that are taken every day. This regimen is known as HAART treatment (HAART stands for highly active antiretroviral therapy). Doctors may also prescribe drugs to prevent certain opportunistic infections — for example, some antibiotics can help prevent PCP, especially in kids.

Although a number of medicines are available to treat HIV infection and slow the onset of AIDS, unless they are taken and administered properly on a round-the-clock schedule, the virus can quickly become resistant to that particular mix of medications. HIV is very adaptable and finds ways to outsmart medical treatments that are not followed properly. This means that if prescribed medicines are not taken at the correct times every day, they will soon fail to keep HIV from reproducing and taking over the body. When that happens, a new regimen will need to be established with different drugs. And if this new mix of medicines is not taken correctly, the virus will likely become resistant to it as well and eventually the person will run out of treatment options.

Aside from the difficulty of getting young children to take their medication on a timed schedule, the medications present other problems. Some have unpleasant side effects, such as a bad flavor, whereas others are only available in pill form, which may be difficult for kids to swallow. Parents who need to give their child these medications should ask the doctor or pharmacist for suggestions on making them easier to take. Many pharmacies now offer flavoring that can be added to bad-tasting medicines, or your doctor may recommend mixing pills with applesauce or pudding.

Because the number of drugs described above is still limited, doctors are concerned that if children fail to take their medicines as prescribed (even missing just a few doses), the virus could eventually develop resistance to existing HIV drugs — making treatment difficult or impossible. It is then doubly important that kids take their medications as directed. One of the most important home treatment messages for any parent or caregiver that the child should take all medications consistently, at the time the prescription indicates. This can be difficult — but many HIV/AIDS family support groups and experienced medical providers can help families with practical suggestions to help them be successful with the many day-to-day challenges they face.

Many of the new medications that fight HIV infection are expensive. One of the major challenges facing individuals, families, communities, and nations is how to make these medications easily available to all that need them.

Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

When a pregnant HIV-infected woman receives good medical care early and takes antiviral medications regularly during her pregnancy, the chance that she will pass HIV to her unborn baby is dramatically reduced.

It is important that any pregnant woman who knows she is HIV-positive start prenatal care as soon as possible to take full advantage of such treatments. The sooner a mother receives treatment, the greater the likelihood her baby will not get HIV.

An HIV-infected mother can receive medical treatment:

before the birth of her baby: antiviral treatments given to the mother in the third trimester can help prevent HIV transmission to the baby
at the time of birth: antiviral medications can be given to both the mother and the newborn child to lower the risk of HIV transmission that can occur during the birth process (which exposes the newborn to the mother's blood and fluids); in addition, the mother will be encouraged to formula-feed rather than breastfeed because HIV can be transmitted to her baby through breast milk
during breastfeeding: because breastfeeding is discouraged among HIV-infected mothers, this type of transmission is rare in the United States. However, in places in the world where formula is not readily available, both the mother and child can be treated with medication to lower the risk of the HIV infection to the breastfeeding child.
In the past, before antiviral medicines were routinely given, almost 25% of children born to HIV-infected mothers developed the disease and died by 24 months of age. Recent studies have shown that mothers with HIV or AIDS who get good prenatal care and regularly take antiviral drugs during their pregnancy now have less than a 5% chance of passing HIV to their babies. If these babies do get the HIV virus, they tend to be born with a lower viral load (less HIV virus is present in their bodies) and have a better chance of long-term, disease-free survival.

Long-Term Care of Kids With HIV/AIDS

Cases of HIV infection and AIDS in children are complicated and should be managed by experienced health care professionals. Kids will need to have their treatment schedules closely monitored and adjusted regularly. Any infections that could become life threatening must be quickly recognized and treated.

Medicines are adjusted in relation to the child's viral load. The child's health is also monitored by frequent measurement of T-cell levels because these are the cells that the HIV virus destroys. A good T-cell count is a positive sign that medical treatments are working to keep the disease under control.

Children will need to visit their health care providers often for blood work, physical examinations, and discussions about how they and their families are coping socially with any stress from their disease. Some immunizations during routine visits may be slightly different for infants or children with HIV/AIDS. A child whose immune system is severely compromised will not receive live virus vaccines including measles-mumps-rubella and varicella (chickenpox). All other routine immunizations are given as usual, and a yearly influenza vaccine (flu shot) is recommended as well.

If a family seeks health care in a hospital emergency department, parents should be sure to tell the nurse who registers the child that the child has HIV. This will alert medical caregivers to look closely for any signs of diseases from opportunistic infections and provide the best possible treatment.

Outlook for HIV and AIDS

There is no known cure for HIV or AIDS. Children who acquire HIV at birth develop AIDS sooner and tend to have more serious complications than adults with the virus.

Although all children, teens, and adults with HIV will eventually become sick, recent medical advances have significantly improved their chance for survival. Drug treatments can allow people living with HIV to remain free of symptoms for longer and can improve quality of life for people living with AIDS.

Preventing HIV and AIDS

Prevention of HIV remains of worldwide importance. Despite much research, there is no vaccine that will prevent HIV infection. Only the avoidance of risky behaviors can prevent HIV infection. Among U.S. teens and adults, HIV transmission is almost always the result of sexual contact with an infected person or sharing contaminated needles. Infection can be prevented by never sharing needles, and abstaining, or not having oral, vaginal, or anal sex.


Risk can be substantially reduced by always using latex condoms for all types of sexual intercourse, and avoiding contact with the blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk of an infected person.

Avoidance of alcohol and drugs is also key in preventing the spread of HIV — not because a person can get HIV directly from drinking and doing drugs, but because drinking and drug use often leads to risky behaviors that are associated with an increased risk of infection (such as having unprotected sex and sharing needles).

The most important means of preventing HIV/AIDS in infancy is to test all pregnant women for the virus. If the result is positive, treatment can immediately begin before the baby is born to prevent HIV transmission.

Talking With Kids About HIV and AIDS

Talking about HIV and AIDS means talking about sexual behaviors — and it's not always easy for parents to talk about sexual feelings and behavior with their kids. Similarly, it's not always easy for teens to open up or to believe that issues like HIV and AIDS can affect them.

Doctors and counselors suggest that parents become knowledgeable and comfortable discussing sex and other difficult issues early on, even before the teen years. After all, the issues involved — understanding the body and sexuality, adopting healthy behaviors, respecting others, and dealing with feelings — are topics that have meaning at all ages (though how parents talk with their children will vary according to the child's age and ability to understand). Open communication and good listening skills are vital for parents and kids.

Schools can help. Every state requires schools to provide age-appropriate information about HIV/AIDS that has been designed to educate kids about the disease. Studies show that such education makes a tremendous difference in stopping risk-taking behavior by young people.

Parents who are well informed about how to prevent HIV and who talk with their children regularly about healthy behaviors, feelings, and sexuality play an important part in HIV/AIDS prevention

WAYS TO LOSS WEIGHT

1. Drink water
No, you don’t have to fill up like a tub, but ensure that you drink 8 to 10 glasses of water every day. Don’t substitute for juice. Your body should always be hydrated. Your kidneys will thank you as it can easily flush out the waste. With adequate water intake your body will be able to metabolize fat more effectively. Did you know that you can lose 62 calories by drinking ice cold water?

2. Eat 5 times a day
Start with breakfast. Don’t skip this meal as you’ll end up devouring everything in sight for the rest of the day. You don’t need to gobble up 5 large meals. Eat sensibly so your body doesn’t crave for food. If you treat your body right it won’t demand for more attention!

3. Use weights
Needless to say, exercise is crucial to weight loss. You can’t expect to sit on the couch all day, sip water and lose weight. Join a good gym that lets you work with weights. It will help you build muscle and your metabolism rate will increase. You’ll soon see the fat come off and in its place muscle will develop.

4. Smaller plates
The hotel industry has changed the way we look at food. Today a regular burger can feed an elephant. Well, almost! Check your portions the next time you dine out. You don’t need to finish every morsel. Pack the rest and eat it the next day. Or just use a smaller plate so you’ll know there’s too much when it begins to fall off!

5. Read between the lines
Food and drink products are all out to get you. They scream ‘Buy me! Buy me!’. It could be ‘fat free’ but it could still have a lot of calories. You need to analyse the nutrition label on the cover. Find out what’s good for you and what isn’t. Knowing in advance can help you stay away from products that are calorie-enriched.

6. Keep a journal
It helps to document what you eat. This way you can keep track and evaluate your eating habits at the end of each week. Ask your dietician to look at your journal and suggest improvement points.

7. Don’t punish yourself
Go easy on yourself at least one day in a week. If you begin to dislike your diet then there’s something wrong. Find a diet that suits your body type and your lifestyle.

You will definitely see results with these 7 fastest ways to lose weight. If you’re motivated enough to stick to the regime, you’ll get there faster than ever! All the best and stay committed!

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If you're ready to start losing weight, but you don't want to follow a diet, I have good news. You can make a few "painless" changes to your everyday diet that will help you eat less, eat smarter, and lose weight!
Don't drink your calories. Beverages are bottomless these days -- you can't order a soft drink or iced tea at a restaurant without being provided quick, free refills, or having the freedom to get them yourself. To keep from drinking a day's worth of calories, choose herbal tea, unsweetened iced tea with Splenda (or another artificial, no-cal sweetener), diet flavored-water, bottled or tap water with a spritz of lemon or lime, or diet soda. If none of those better choices suits you, allow yourself one glass of the "real thing" and drink only water thereafter. (Tip: Ask for extra ice in that first glass of soda and you will drink less.) By stopping at one glass, you will save yourself hundreds -- or even thousands -- of calories.

Always eat breakfast. Taking the time to eat could prevent costly mistakes as the day progresses; skipping this important morning meal can lead to an out of control afternoon appetite, oversized portions, poor food choices, and overeating, even later on into the night. Plus, going too long without eating may cause your metabolism to slow down. If you can't eat first thing in the morning, a healthful, mid-morning snack is a good idea. If you are not hungry in the morning, it could be a sign that you are eating too close to bedtime. Set a cut-off time for evening eating (such as 7 p.m.) and you will probably feel more like eating in the a.m.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated. You hear it all the time, but you really do need to work in those recommended six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. Thirst can easily be mistaken for hunger, so you could be reaching for food when you are actually thirsty. Eating water-rich foods like fruit will help you stay well-hydrated, too. Don't wait until you are thirsty to drink; try sipping water throughout the day and you may be surprised to find that your appetite seems much tamer.

Add at least one more serving of produce to as many meals as possible. Veggies and fruit are all nutrient-rich, low-cal and filling -- just be careful of creamy dips or dressings, butter, cheese sauce, and fried vegetables. Salsa, soups, and pasta sauce are easy ways to work in even more vegetable servings. Keep the skin on fresh produce, such as apples, whenever possible as it contains more fiber. Remember, fiber takes a while to digest so you feel fuller longer after eating it, which will help you eat less in the long run.

Make a salad your starter. Having a salad before your meal will almost certainly prevent you from overeating. Load up all the veggies you like, but just be careful about adding high-fat extras such as pasta salads, shredded cheese or cream-based dressings. (Tip: Spray dressings are excellent for cutting calories as most only have about 10 calories per spritz). Prepackaged, washed salads make it easy to add a salad to any meal without extra effort. Most fast food restaurants offer a reasonably-priced side salad, or some menus offer the option to substitute salad for another side item when purchasing a "combo" or "value" meal.

Be a better baker. Start baking immediately following a meal so you will be less likely to sample. Chew flavorful gum like peppermint or spearmint so your mouth will be otherwise occupied. Healthier baking ingredient substitutions help cut fat and calories.

Go for grains. Whole grains will help you feel full longer than refined carbohydrates. In the morning, fiber-rich cereal like Kellog's All-Bran, is a good choice, as is oatmeal. Brown rice, whole grain bread, and whole wheat crackers, are all good ways to include grains in your day: A slice of whole wheat bread goes well with a salad; microwavable, single-serving brown rice is easy to add to lunch at the office; keep wheat crackers stored in your desk drawer for when the afternoon munchies strike.

Always keep healthy frozen meals on hand. They will be a backup plan for nights when you don't have time to prepare and cook a healthy meal. Try to choose meals with around 300 to 350 calories. (Tip: Even some of the healthier frozen meal choices are skimpy on veggies, so be sure to add a packaged salad or a microwavable, single-serving frozen vegetable to your "instant meal" to better round it out.

Choose foods that will help you feel satisfied longer. While both protein and fat help you feel sated longer than simple carbohydrates, protein naturally contains fewer calories per ounce than fat. Eggs, lean meats, skinless poultry, and reduced-fat dairy products are ideal protein sources. A snack like yogurt, a boiled egg, string cheese or turkey slices will give you an energy boost and quell hunger pangs. Whole grains also contain protein, so you may find combining an animal or dairy protein with a complex carb such as whole wheat crackers or whole grain bread to be even more effective at keeping your energy up and hunger down. If you don't eat meat or dairy, there are also several other sources of protein, such as beans, legumes, and nuts.

Catch some "Zs." Did you know getting enough rest can have a direct impact on your ability to lose weight? Not getting enough sleep can cause you to eat more often or make poor choices (In an effort to compensate for feeling groggy, we tend to naturally reach for higher-calorie, high-fat foods.). Getting enough sleep also ensures that you feel energized enough to exercise and that you work out to your fullest capacity when you do. Even if you can't add additional sleeping hours, take some time to simply do nothing, practice deep breathing, read, or listen to some calming music every day. Making a point to relax more can keep emotional eating -- particularly stress-eating -- at bay.

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex

10 Surprising Health Benefits of Sex
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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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 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.

5. 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."

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.