Dr. C K Jain

Walking 6, 000 steps a day may improve knee arthritis

The benefits of walking are widely known and continually proven. Adding to the vast body of literature touting the benefits of walking, a recent study found that walking 6, 000 steps a day - the equivalent of 1 hour - may help improve knee arthritis and prevent disability.

Sex is good for your heart

Anything that exercises your heart is good for you, including sex. Sexual arousal sends the heart rate higher, and the number of beats per minute reaches its peak during orgasm.  

But, as with most exercise, it depends how vigorously you do it. Some studies show the average peak heart rate at orgasm is the same as during light exercise, such as walking upstairs. That's not enough to keep most people fit and healthy.

Adults should do at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.

Unless you're having 150 minutes of orgasms a week, try cycling, brisk walking or dancing.

Having heart disease doesn't have to hold you back in the bedroom. Experts advise that you can usually have sex as long as you can do the everyday activities that have the same impact on your heart without causing chest pain, such as walking up two flights of stairs.

A hug keeps tension away

Embracing someone special can lower blood pressure, according to researchers.

In one experiment, couples who held each other's hands for 10 minutes followed by a 20-second hug had healthier reactions to subsequent stress, such as public speaking.

Compared with couples who rested quietly without touching, the huggers had: 

• lower heart rate 
• lower blood pressure
• smaller heart rate increases

So give your partner a hug – it may help to keep your blood pressure healthy.

Similar effects have been found for non-sexual stroking, although this appears to only reduce blood pressure in women who are stroked, not men.

Sex can be a stress buster

Sex could help you beat the stresses of 21st century living, according to a small study of 46 men and women.

Participants kept a diary of sexual activity, recording penetrative sex, non-penetrative sex and masturbation.

In stress tests, including public speaking and doing mental arithmetic out loud, the people who had no sex at all had the highest stress levels.

Weekly sex might help fend off illness

There's a link between how often you have sex and how strong your immune system is, researchers say.

A study in Pennsylvania found students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of an important illness-fighting substance in their bodies.

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) was 30% higher in those who had sex once or twice a week than in those who had no sex at all. The lowest levels were in people who had sex more than twice a week.

But don't devise a sex calendar just yet. More research is needed before it can be proved that weekly sex helps your immune system.