Looking for a way to lose weight, unveil your six-pack abs and/or reduce your abdominal-waist size? Here’s a breakfast tip. Instead of adding fruit to your cereal, add cereal to your fruit. This is a healthy great tasting way to reduce the consumption of processed carbohydrates and sugars contained in many cereals and replacing them with natural carbohydrates and sugars that are contained in fruit.  Most fruit contains water and fiber, which assist with satiety (a feeling of fullness). Fruit also has a natural checks and balances system. The sugar contained in fruit is balanced by its water and fiber content. This natural balance reduces the risk of spikes in insulin.

Here’s how you add cereal to your fruit. Fill your bowl with a variety of fruit such as:

• Fresh berries- blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries are also a great source of free-radical fighting antioxidants.

• Bananas- are also a good source of potassium for muscle growth and repair.

Here are a few additional foods you can include before adding cereal:

• Dried berries and tart cherries- dried cranberries, wild blueberries and tart cherries are good sources of fatigue-fighting iron. Tart cherries also contain anti-inflammatory agents. However, use ½ handful (or less) to limit sugar intake. Consume the organic or all-natural version to avoid artificial colors and flavors.

• Raw nuts- a handful of pistachios, almonds and/or walnuts is a good source of stomach-filling fiber and heart-healthy unsaturated fats and Omega3.

• Ground flaxseed meal- a good source of heart-healthy Omega3 and lignans, a plant-based antioxidant. Flaxseed meal is also a good source of fiber, which assist with satiety.

Once your bowl is full with the foods listed, sprinkle about ½ cup (or less) of cereal. Add 1% low-fat milk. Almond milk is a healthy alternative.

For nutrition, exercise and sleep tips, go to SLOANLUCKIE.COM

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About Sloan Luckie.

Sloan Luckie, a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Public Accountant, is the author of the optimal health workbook, Body Under Construction. Body Under Construction shows how to use nutrition, exercise and sleep to build the body of your dreams, reduce your risk to chronic illness and look and feel your absolute best.

His unique philosophy on building and maintaining optimal health has garnered significant media attention. Sloan has appeared on NBC’s “The Talk” with Marion Brooks, NY1 News with Cheryl Wills, 102.3 FM Radio, graced the pages of Syd Jerome magazine, and conducted nutrition and fitness demonstrations for corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and various other groups throughout the United States.

Sloan is 47 years old and lives in Flossmoor, IL with his wife Sherree. They have three children, Chanel 21, Sloan II 10, and Sterling 7 and a granddaughter, Peyton.

During a presentation at a corporate health awareness event, I was asked, “ How did you get a six-pack? You probably do a gazillion crunches, right?” “No”, I answered, “Abs are made in the kitchen.” Developing six-pack abs (or reducing your abdominal/waist circumference) has more to do with nutrition and total body weight loss.

To reduce excess fat covering your six-pack (yes, you too have a six-pack) mostly requires change in diet supplemented by sleep and exercise. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Nutrition

Carb Cycling- healthy carbs, like whole wheat and quinoa, can help you feel full and be a great source of energy. However, if your body doesn’t use carbs as energy, the storage of carbs in the body can contribute to covering your abs behind a curtain of fat. Use carbs to your advantage through carb cycling. On days you plan to workout, increase your carb consumption. Your body will use the carbs as energy during exercise. On days you don’t workout, reduce your consumption of carbs. For example, on days that I workout, my lunch may include a sandwich consisting of two slices of whole wheat bread, turkey, spinach, peppers and other healthy toppings. On days I don’t workout, I make a sandwich by cutting one slice of bread in half and adding turkey and the toppings previously mentioned.

Replace soda with water- soda is a major contributor to concealing your six-pack abs and widening the circumference of your abdominal/waist area. Fill up on water. Drink at least 64 ounces of water per day. Consume 16 ounces just before dinner. This will trick your body into feeling full to avoid overeating.

Load up on vegetables and fruit- this will assist in filling you up without consuming excess calories.

Eat slowly- to assist with satiety and reduce your risk of overeating, slow down the pace at which you consume meals.

Sleep

Getting 7-8 hours of high quality sleep is critical to attaining a six-pack. According to a New York City Obesity Research study, those who get less than 7-8 hours of sleep consume almost 300 calories more per day than those who sleep 7-8 hours per night. That can add approximately 35 pounds of excess weight per year. A separate study in the journal Sleep disclosed that those who slept 7-8 hours per night had less visceral fat than those who slept less than 7-8 hours. Visceral fat (excess fat surrounding organs in the abdominal area) has been associated with many chronic illnesses. For high quality sleep:

Keep your room completely dark- Turn-off your TVs, cellphones and other electronic devices that glow. The light from these devices can disrupt melatonin, which regulates sleep.

Keep your room cool- your room temperature should be 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit. This will assist in lowering your core body temperature and promote high quality sleep.

Exercise

Interval Cardio Training- involves consistently changing speed during your cardio exercise (i.e. slow, fast, slow, fast, etc.). The change in speed will assist in uncovering your six-pack by reducing total body weight. Interval training can be used with most cardio exercises including running, biking and jumping rope.

Combination exercises- these involve the execution of different exercises with little to no rest between. For example, you may perform pushups followed by crunches with a 30-60 second active rest between exercises. That is one set. Combination exercises can assist in burning calories, reducing total body weight and unveiling your six-pack.

Planks- this is a great abs (and core) exercise that requires no movement. Get into a push-up position. But instead of resting on your hands, rest on your forearms and keep your abs (and glutes) contracted.  Hold the position for at least 30 seconds per set.

Don’t be fooled by gimmicks that promise six-pack abs in  “3 easy steps”. Infomercials that claim you can have “steel abs” in a matter of days by using Ab rollers, electric shock pads and other medieval-like contraptions.  Save your money. Uncovering your six-pack abs  (or reducing your abdominal/waist circumference) primarily requires a change in diet supplemented by sleep and exercise.

Avoid the “UN-LUCKIE” 7 and start building your body edifice today!

For nutrition, exercise and sleep tips, go to SLOANLUCKIE.COM

~

About Sloan Luckie.

Sloan Luckie, a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Public Accountant, is the author of the optimal health workbook, Body Under Construction. Body Under Construction shows how to use nutrition, exercise and sleep to build the body of your dreams, reduce your risk to chronic illness and look and feel your absolute best.

His unique philosophy on building and maintaining optimal health has garnered significant media attention. Sloan has appeared on NBC’s “The Talk” with Marion Brooks, NY1 News with Cheryl Wills, 102.3 FM Radio, graced the pages of Syd Jerome magazine, and conducted nutrition and fitness demonstrations for corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and various other groups throughout the United States.

Sloan is 47 years old and lives in Flossmoor, IL with his wife Sherree. They have three children, Chanel 21, Sloan II 10, and Sterling 7 and a granddaughter, Peyton.

LOS ANGELES, CA – March 29, 2013 – Save A Stranger has plans to develop the worlds leading personal safety mobile application. With over 1 billion smartphones in use around the world, the SAS App promises to deliver the best all around “safety” utility on the market.

The SAS App offers safety solutions for those with and without smartphones. For those of you who own smartphones, by simply accessing the SAS App, text messages and emails are automatically sent to your pre-selected emergency contacts notifying them of your GPS location and that you are in need of help along with a list of all other emergency contacts so that all parties can work together to help you. The SAS App also offers other easy solutions that allow friends, families and co-workers to stay informed about each other’s safety.

Now for those of you without, or even with, any sort of mobile device, Save A Stranger sells what they call “Personal Emergency QR Code” stickers that each consist of a unique bar code that is linked to vital medical and emergency information about you that you have previously chosen to share. These QR Code stickers can be scanned by any generic QR Code reader, allowing for quick easy access for vital information when it’s needed the most.

The company’s story began when a friend of one of the co-founders passed away while she was the passenger in a horrible car accident. Upon impact she was badly injured, but what paramedics did not know was that the girls already fragile body was highly allergic to latex materials commonly found in medical equipment. “The thought of her possibly being alive today motivated me to look into safety solutions in the mobile world,” Says co-founder Ellie Sedighi, “It became my mission to devise, construct and develop a safety system that would reach the masses by using the world’s fastest growing technology platform: mobile devices,” she continues.

As with any start-up, the company has had their fair share of setbacks when their safety app was scheduled to be released in late 2012 but wasn’t ready due to internal troubles with the development company they had hired. They then tried to resolve the issues only to learn about further disappointing news. It turns out their mobile app was being developed on a platform that wouldn’t support all of the safety features Save A Stranger planned on releasing to the market.

Having spent the majority of their bootstrapped funding on a faulty product, the company is moving forward by trying to raise money through a crowd funding platform called IndieGogo.com; a website that hosts thousands of projects that are seeking capital to finance an finished product.

Save A Stranger is currently running a campaign on this site appropriately titled “Stay Safe & Save Lives!” They are asking for your help in making the safety app come to life by offering it to you for FREE for an entire year, and in return ask for a meager pledge of only $5.00 or more. The co-founders Eddie & Ellie will also personally keep you up to date on the development and release of the app. “If we can help save just one life, that will make this all worth it for us,” states co-founder Eddie Bardi. “When crowd funding, every dollar makes a big difference,” he says.

By receiving enough contributions, Save A Stranger can complete their heartfelt safety application and aid in the personal safety of millions of people. Visit their campaign page to watch a quick video of the co-founders and to see how much money their campaign has raised! Simply copy and paste, or click, the following link into your web browsers address bar:

http://igg.me/at/sas

Spending a few bucks on a project that will help people stay safe is a rewarding choice.

###

Contact: Ellie Sedighi
Tel. (866) 691-4245 Ext. 700
Email: ellie.sedighi@saveastranger.com
www.saveastranger.com
www.facebook.com/SaveAStranger

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About Ellie Sedighi & Eddie Bardi
Eddie and Ellie met through mutual friends back in 2009. There was never a romance but throughout their friendship they both realized that they are both hard-working, driven individuals. It seemed like only a matter of time when the two would venture into a business together and that time has come.

Eddie’s background is in small business entrepreneurship where he successfully created a local business from the ground up. He has since sought out to fulfill a much more rewarding career in helping people stay safe. Through his association with Ellie he has learned that there is a gap in the safety industry and has also found an endearing way to do good in his life.

Ellie has a university background majoring in marketing and business development. Since graduating with honors she has held 3 positions as a marketing and operations manager prior to venturing into entrepreneurship.

I was recently asked at a Body Under Construction book signing, “Since everyone knows that we should eat right and exercise in order to live longer, healthier lives, why don’t we do it?” Here were the “UN-LUCKIE” 7 reasons I gave her.

1. Expectations- we set our expectations too high and establish unattainable weight and health goals. When these unattainable goals are not reached, most give up on attaining and maintaining optimal health before giving the process time to work.
2. Instant Results- many expect instant results. They view themselves in the mirror and weigh themselves daily expecting an immediate transformation. When instant results fail to appear, many give up. Ironically, when we became overweight, the weight gained did not occur instantly. It was an insidious process that took place over a period of time. Attaining and maintaining optimal health requires patience as a person reverses the unhealthy habits which took years to develop.
3. Procrastination- we find multiple reasons to start tomorrow. Many won’t start until they are required to by a doctor who warns if you don’t develop healthier eating and fitness habits, you are at risk for cancer, heart disease, type2 diabetes or other chronic illness. Start today so you can have many healthy tomorrows.
4. Time- many claim they don’t have enough time. We make time for so many things in life. We make time to watch our favorite TV show. We make time to clean our cars. TV shows eventually get cancelled and are replaced.  Today’s car models are replaced within a year. But our magnificent bodies are irreplaceable. We only get one. Many need to make time to attain and maintain optimal health.
5. Priority- health is not a priority. It only becomes a priority when a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, heart disease or other chronic illness. It’s best (and less stressful) to adopt healthier habits as a means of prevention.
6. Discipline- establishing healthier eating, fitness and sleep habits requires discipline. Developing a more disciplined lifestyle is difficult at the start. Overtime, however, your disciplined health-based lifestyle will become second nature.
7. Fear of failure- many men and women have a genuine desire to lose weight and attain optimal health.  Unfortunately, their true desires are taken advantage of through weight loss gimmicks, commercial promises to lose weight instantly or get the six-pack they always wanted in “3 easy steps”. When these gimmicks, weight loss gadgets, and “belly fat blasting” promises fail them, they give up and rarely give attaining optimal health another chance. They feel as if they’ve failed. What they don’t realize is that they didn’t fail. The gimmicks, gadgets, and unrealistic infomercial promises failed. The only failure in attaining and maintaining optimal health is a failure to get started.

Avoid the “UN-LUCKIE” 7 and start building your body edifice today!

For nutrition, exercise and sleep tips, go to SLOANLUCKIE.COM

~

About Sloan Luckie.

Sloan Luckie, a Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Public Accountant, is the author of the optimal health workbook, Body Under Construction. Body Under Construction shows how to use nutrition, exercise and sleep to build the body of your dreams, reduce your risk to chronic illness and look and feel your absolute best.

His unique philosophy on building and maintaining optimal health has garnered significant media attention. Sloan has appeared on NBC’s “The Talk” with Marion Brooks, NY1 News with Cheryl Wills, 102.3 FM Radio, graced the pages of Syd Jerome magazine, and conducted nutrition and fitness demonstrations for corporations, not-for-profit organizations, and various other groups throughout the United States.

Sloan is 47 years old and lives in Flossmoor, IL with his wife Sherree. They have three children, Chanel 21, Sloan II 10, and Sterling 7 and a granddaughter, Peyton.

The good news is that, according to nutritionists, it’s perfectly safe to take the easy route and add that bag of frozen broccoli or can of cut leaf spinach to your grocery cart.

What Constitutes Freshness in Fruits and Vegetables?

Although they may look inviting, the fruits and vegetables in your grocer’s produce department aren’t always at the peak of freshness. It’s a safe bet that they were picked days ago while they were still unripe, just so they wouldn’t ripen too quickly and spoil during delivery. While there’s nothing substantially wrong with this method, fresh fruits and vegetables start to lose their nutrients as soon as they’re harvested.

Traveling long journeys on a refrigerated truck doesn’t help fruits and vegetables retain their quality, but rather the reverse, because plant starches and sugars break down quickly into water, carbon dioxide and other substances. As valuable nutrients are lost during this breakdown, the fruits and vegetables begin to deteriorate and spoil.

The only way you can guarantee peak-of-freshness quality in your fruits and vegetables is if you grow them yourself, pick them at a self-harvest farm or purchase them at a farmer’s market after they’ve just been picked.

How Fresh are Frozen Fruits and Vegetables?

To get an idea of the fresh factor in frozen produce, it’s important to understand how the flash freezing process works. Vegetables and fruits harvested for freezing are first washed and peeled, then blanched. Although produce can lose some nutrients during these steps, any loss is minimal. After prepping, the vegetables and fruits are immediately frozen at their peak of ripeness and quality, at temperatures low enough to retain all of their quality, flavor and nutritional value. Frozen produce will usually keep fresh in the freezer for up to a year, with no loss of nutrients, quality or flavor.

How Fresh are Canned Fruits and Vegetables?

Canned produce is processed in an entirely different way than frozen produce. Fruits and vegetables destined for canning are harvested at the peak of freshness and immediately cleaned and blanched. During the canning process, however, sodium additives, salts, sugars or syrups are sometimes added to retain freshness and flavor.

Because of increased awareness of sodium levels in food, however, a number of companies are now canning vegetables with no added salt, or reduced salt. By reading the label, you can identify the sodium content of the canned vegetable you’re buying, and in many cases you can even opt for a sodium-free product. Additionally, fruits are now being packed with no sugar/syrup additives. When you’re buying canned fruit, always read the labels and try to select fruits canned in their own juice.

Other than convenience, another reason consumers buy canned fruits and vegetables is that they will keep longer than fresh or frozen. On average, you can keep canned produce for two years in your pantry without any loss of flavor, quality or nutrients.

In the end, you can buy frozen or canned fruits and vegetables and rest assured that you’re getting a quality product with very little, if any, loss of nutrients. They’re not only cheaper and require less prep time; they also can taste just as good, when cooked, as their counterparts in the produce aisle.

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Sources

American Council of Exercise: How Much Difference is There in Nutritional Value Between Fresh and Frozen Fruits and Vegetables?

http://www.acefitness.org/blog/859/how-much-difference-is-there-in-nutritional-value

Mayo Clinic: Nutrition and Healthy Eating

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dash-diet/HI00020

National Institute of Health: Fresh vs. Frozen or Canned

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002095.htm

Columbia University: Nutritional differences between canned, frozen, and fresh veggies?

http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/nutritional-differences-between-canned-frozen-and-fresh-veggie

Dr. Veronica interviews Dr. Eric Ding about the health benefits of cocoa. This is a chocolate lover’s dream land-8 chocolate bars a day will do the trick. Also hear from Richard Ruhling, MD, MPH who teaches total health seminars and says “What I’ve discovered is that medicine can make you sick, disable and even kill you.” Dr. Ruhling is the author of “Why You Shouldn’t Ask Your Doctor! Choices That Can Save Your Life”

Over half of mental disorders are caused by imbalances in the body that cause the brain and emotions to go array with life stressor. Discussion with Mary Ann O’Block a physician who is able to diagnose and treat major depressive disorder minus pharmaceuticals, Dr. Veronica Collings, a non force chiropractor who diagnosis underlying inflammatory problems leading to depression, Emily Glaser-acupuncturist, Megan Roosevelt, nutritionist, Cammi Balleck, PhD who talks about the hormonal issues leading to depression and the treatments.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Someone who gets colds or the flu often may have a Vitamin D deficiency. People with low Vitamin D levels are more prone to catching the flu or colds because the body’s T cells rely on the Vitamin D receptor gene to work properly. Increasing your Vitamin D intake is an easy way to increase your body’s immune system. Exposure to the sun is a great way to increase Vitamin D. Just 6 or 7 casual exposures to the sun in a week’s time can make up for a period of up to 49 days without sun. Dairy products and other foods, such as fish and mushrooms, are all great ways to increase your Vitamin D intake.

Insufficient Sleep

Not getting enough sleep leaves your body drained, and your immune system at risk. Your body needs sleep to recharge. Getting the proper amount of sleep will boost your immune system, and help you fight off bacteria and infections that are part of everyday life. Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night to help fight off infections. Children, senior citizens and those with weak immune systems may need nine to ten hours of sleep to properly charge their immune system. Less than the recommended amount of sleep leaves your body weak and prone to contracting illnesses like a cold or the flu.

Insufficient Exercise

Regular exercise promotes the circulation of immune cells through a person’s body. This type of circulation makes your body more likely to fight off infections. In fact, people who exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week are much less likely to get sick with a cold or the flu than people who do not exercise at all. The type of exercise a person takes part in is not important when it comes to building your immune system because any type of exercise will naturally increase the body’s production of T cells. A high T cell level is important in creating a strong immune system. This means whether you like to jog or take leisurely walks, you can decrease your chances of getting sick by doing any type of exercise you choose.

Emotional Stressors

Have you ever noticed that you get sick when you are extremely stressed out? This is not a coincidence. Emotional stress has a significant impact on the body’s immune system. For example, when someone is stressed out, they most likely are not sleeping well, and not eating right. A good way to make your body less susceptible to getting sick is to decrease the amount of stress in your life. People handle stress and stressful situations differently. Great stress reduction techniques are taking deep breaths, exercising, meditation, and learning problem-solving skills.

Being aware of the aspects of your life that make you susceptible to getting sick will allow you to make healthy changes that can build a healthier immune system. With a healthier immune system, you can be exposed to others or objects infected with the cold or the flu, and still stay healthy.

Hygiene

Last but not least, do not invite the cold and flu viruses you’re your body in the first place. Make it a habit to wash your hands, and don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth.

Sex is for the men.  Women exist as objectifications of a man’s desire, and are shamed for being “sluts” if they want to “act like a man” and embrace their sexuality; their desires.

Religion, modern day Christianity in particular, has a long history of slut shaming.

Mary Magdalene, whom for all intents and purposes was likely the wife and spiritual partner of Jesus, is best known as a prostitute.  It was Pope Gregory the Great who gave credence to this idea in 591 AD, when he issued Homily 33.

Yet Jesus held this “prostitute” in high esteem—he kissed her on the mouth, he “loved her best,” he appeared to her first after his death, and she even ministered unto his apostles.

Some of his apostles however, including those who founded the churches, had other ideas about women.

Simon Peter is quoted in The Gospel of Thomas as saying, “Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life.”

Paul also seemed to be a misogynist, writing to the Corinthians: “Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak.”

More recent scholarship has established that Junius, whom Paul calls “distinguished among the apostles,” was actually Junia, a woman, whose name was later made masculine.

The church has sought to keep women submissive, despite that fact that the synoptic Gospels all agree that Mary Magdalene was the first to be placed in charge with delivering the message of Christ.

They’ve also fought to maintain the image of Jesus as a white man, who was celibate; the idea of sexually liberated Jesus is violently rejected, instead of celebrated- Hey, Jesus was like us; he had sex!

Yet should we really be surprised that an institution that blames Eve for the downfall of mankind doesn’t celebrate sex and the divine feminine?

What if this is because the idea of sex as a sacred rite would empower women—wombman, and require man to honor her and her place in the home?

It seems that the divine design of the human body suggests sex—and woman— should be celebrated:  We are wired to seek pleasure, sex is pleasurable for both parties, and the clitoris is the only body part that exists solely for the function of pleasure.

Shouldn’t it be then, that when we have sex, we should enjoy it and celebrate it, as we are celebrating our grand design, and honoring the Most High, who made this pleasure possible?

The Most High, in designing woman, entrusted her with a vital task:  It is her womb that brings forth life.  It is her womb that is the shelter for developing life for 9 months.  It is here that divine miracles take place—creation.

This deserves celebration, and a joyful noise unto the Lord; perhaps the throes of ecstasy during orgasm.

Indeed, sex is perhaps the greatest form of alchemy.  Sex, or “sacred energy exchange,” as I like to refer to it, in a sacred relationship, has transformational powers for both parties.

Many Eastern practices explore the divine nature of sex; tantra being a well known one, although tantric philosophy is not explicitly about sex.

Shiva and Shakti, deities in the Hindu culture as well as the tantric, are the ultimate power couple; they are the forces of the universe responsible for creation, one deity representing the masculine aspect (Shiva), and the other the feminine (Shakti).

Both are necessary for the universe to exist; both create and co-exist as equals.

In Christianity, the divine feminine is largely ignored, despite texts discovered in the Gnostic gospels that discuss forces similar to Shiva and Shakti.  This force is Pistis Sophia, the female aspect of logos.

In Kundalini Rising: Exploring The Energy of Awakening, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa writes about Adi Shakti, saying:

A woman’s pure vibration can bring healing to any person or situation on earth. When she lives in her divine heritage, she becomes more than God. She actually becomes the Adi Shakti, the creative consciousness of God, and she can beam her projection of radiance and healing toward anyone. That’s why a woman in a home sets the tone for all who live there. When she loves, breaths, and walks in her highest graceful power, all around her are transformed. A woman living in this state of mind and consciousness can uplift and manifest anything. A woman’s sacred touch can turn all adversity into prosperity.

This must scare the hell out of Republicans, the Pope, and men like Rush Limbaugh.

Eve was bold—she wanted knowledge.  Mary Magdalene was certainly bold, confident, and courageous.

We women need this wisdom; this boldness; this courageousness and self- confidence that these women before us had.

We need to get radically honest about what it is we want and we need to be unapologetic about it.

Our families need it from us.  Our men need it from us.  The world needs it from us.

As a nation, we need the strength to embrace our sexuality.

Be bold; be brave; have sex as a spiritual practice.

Treat your body—your temple—with respect.  Honor it.

Explore with your partner.  Explore and enjoy the spaces between breaths that is the edge of life and death. Have more sex with your partner, enjoy it, and be unashamed of it!

It is the divine union.

April Dawn Ricchuito, D.D. & MSW is a writer, speaker, and integrative practitioner who brings a unique voice to the field of health and wellness by combining traditional evidence-based techniques with ancient practices such as yoga and newer findings in contemplative sciences. She has been recognized as a part of “Generation Inspiration” and is also named as one of 20 Young Champions for Women by the White Ribbon Alliance and WIE Symposium, presented by Donna Karan and Arianna Huffington. You can follow April on Facebook or Twitter. Visit www.beingandwellness.com to learn about services she offers, including Reiki & coaching, or Verbal Vandalism to check out her latest written works.

Unleash Happy Hormones- When you have sex or physical contact, your body releases hormones such as dopamine and norepinephrine. Endorphins produce a general sense of well-being, including feeling soothed, peaceful, pain free, and secure. Engaging in sexual activity with a loved one will not only give you a release of endorphins after orgasm, but it gives you a natural high. The endorphins released during sexual intercourse and orgasms are naturally calming and not only ease depression but will prevent it. In your brain, serotonin and dopamine levels increase in response to positive social interactions. In women, positive social interactions cause oxytocin levels to rise, and, in men, vasopressin levels rise. Oxytocin and vasopressin are the chemicals that drive people toward feeling connected and happy. People with strong, supportive partners live healthier, happier lives. Endorphins are also what our body releases for pain relief. Sex can lower levels of any pain, especially headache pain, yes I said headache pain! Hormones that are released during sexual excitement and orgasm can elevate pain thresholds.

Reduce Stress- A big health benefit of sex is lower blood pressure and overall stress reduction. Sex will help you reduce stress, calm your nerves, and feel happier. Letting your mind go and relaxing is a natural part of sex. When you relax, your body is naturally happier. When you reduce stress in any way you will naturally have an “all is well” feeling. Stress happens, it’s an ongoing problem and you can’t expect to solve it in a day. But by relaxing and enjoying one another, you’ll find your stress levels declining.

Sleep better- Sex is also a great way to help you sleep and when you get enough sleep you will be happy. And getting enough sleep has been linked with a host of other good things, such as maintaining a healthy weight and blood pressure. Getting enough sleep is a great way to keep your body happy. Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep every day. When you are sleeping you body is able to repair itself and get ready for tomorrow.

Glow- The glow of good sex is a real thing. Women who have more sex have higher levels of estrogen, which is essential to having shiny, clear, and healthy skin. Knowing your skin looks good is a confidence booster. When we feel good about ourselves we are naturally happier.

Its Exercise- Sexual activity is a form of physical exercise! Making love three times a week burns around 7,500 calories in a year, that’s the equivalent of jogging 75 miles!
A night of love can raise the amount of oxygen in cells, helping to keep organs and tissue cells functioning at their peak. Any kind of physical exercise is going to increase testosterone. Testosterone is believed to help keep our bones and muscles strong. Any exercise has a number of mood-enhancing physiological effects. Exercise releases endorphins that make us feel happy. Also, a good workout helps detoxify the body from the inside out via the lymphatic system, making all body systems function more effectively.

 Lowered Cholesterol -Making love regularly can lower levels of the body’s total cholesterol slightly, while positively changing the ratio of good-to-bad cholesterol. The movement is also great for your circulatory system.

DHEA – Is a popular supplemental hormone that is released naturally during lovemaking. This hormone is important because it balances all other hormones. Just before orgasm, DHEA spikes to levels three to five times higher than usual. DHEA is used for slowing or reversing aging, improving thinking skills in older people, and slowing the progress of Alzheimer’s disease. Athletes and other people use DHEA to increase muscle mass, strength, and energy. DHEA is also used by men for erectile dysfunction, and by women who have low levels of certain hormones to improve well-being and sexuality.

So as you can see, a little love making is great for your health and happiness. This should put a smile on your face. The basic fact is that a good sex life also means in the bigger picture, a good relationship with one’s partner, happiness, less stress, and by virtue of all that, physically healthier.