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Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have linked high testosterone levels in men to a poor immune response to an influenza vaccine.
In a study published online Dec. 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the investigators show that men with relatively high amounts of circulating testosterone benefit less, as measured by a boost in protective antibodies after vaccination against influenza, than do men with lower testosterone levels and women.
In the study, women had a generally stronger antibody response to the vaccine than men. But the average response mounted by men with relatively low testosterone levels was more or less equivalent to that of women.
It has long been known that, for reasons that are not clear, men are more susceptible to bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infection than women are, and that men’s immune systems don’t respond as strongly as women’s to vaccinations against influenza, yellow fever, measles, hepatitis and many other diseases. The new study may explain why this is the case.
1. Helps Keep Your Immune System Humming
“Sexually active people take fewer sick days,” says Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD a sexual health expert.
People who have sex have higher levels of what defends your body against germs, viruses, and other intruders. Researchers at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania found that college students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of the a certain antibody compared to students who had sex less often.
Cold and flu season will be here before you know it. Does this mean doctors should be prescribing sex? Well, maybe it does. Here are six surprising ways sex can boost your health, keeping you out of the doctor's office and able to, well, have more health-promoting sex!
1. It can boost your immune system. Cold and flu season is approaching, and yes, you’ve probably heard it a million times: Wash your hands often, cover your mouth when you sneeze. But how about this? Kick your immune system into high gear with biweekly sex sessions. Researchers at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA, found that having sex once or twice a week boosts the immune system. They found a 30 percent increase in immunoglobulin A (IgA) proteins in people who had sex once or twice a week, compared to those who didn’t have sex. IgA proteins act as antibodies, binding to pathogens when they first enter the body and summoning the immune system to destroy them.
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