Sexual health

It’s difficult to identify what is sexual health. Some people refer sexual health to the ability to live successful sexual life, others measure sexual health according to the pleasure they derive from sexual activity. But whatever sexual health means to you it’s a state that totally depends on your physical and emotional condition. Thus stress, lifestyle, diet, fitness – all these usual things influence your sexual life.

Lifestyle
Reproductive health depends greatly on your everyday life. Certain actions and habits may either increase or decrease your reproductive ability. Some actions have long been considered harmful to health in general. But ready to sacrifice one’s health most people are unwilling to sacrifice their sexual life. If so it’s time to change your life and consider the following points:

Quit smoking
Nicotine that is present in cigarette smoke directly influences the amount of sperms. Every third miscarriage happens between partners who smoke.

Forget about drugs
Drugs especially marijuana lower the sperm count and cause sperm mutation.

Try to avoid alcohol
Too much alcohol causes irreversible processes in reproductive system.

Keep a diet
Only balanced nutrition may mean that your body get sufficient nutrient to perform its function. Resort to Vitamin C that is efficient to prevent sperms from gathering into clumps.

Regulate your exercises
Do not overdo!! Find the optimal combination of exercise for you. Don’t burden your body with excessive trainings or the prolonged gathering of the heat around the testicles will decrease their productivity.

Take care about your scrotum
It’s vital to keep it cool for the same reason as above. Don’t wear tight shorts or pants. Avoid hot baths and saunas; try to work in a cool environment.

And interchange periods of sexual activity with abstinence periods. A several day abstinence increase the sperm count while a long term abstinence leads to accumulation of almost non-mobile sperms.

Dieting

Dieting does not mean starving. Diet is a combination of nutrients efficient to your body. These include vitamins, minerals, fruits and others. Take care that the food you eat contains all of the followings substances:

• Vitamin B1 - Beans, peas, lentils, raw nuts, yogurt, brown rice, whole grain flour, pork
• Niacin - Brewer's yeast, peanuts, beetroot, swordfish, salmon, tuna, pork
• Vitamin B6 - Sunflower seeds, lentils, bananas, carrots, avocados, eggs tuna, shrimp
• Folic acid - Chick peas, lentils, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, cheese, tuna, salmon
• Vitamin C - Citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes
• Vitamin E - Raw nuts, seeds, wheat germ, spinach, egg yolks, oils
• Beta carotene - Fruits and vegetables which are yellow and red in color
• Zinc - Beans, peas, lentils, sunflower seeds, spinach, pumpkin, molasses, oysters, turkey, beef, pork
• Selenium - Brewer's yeast, whole grains

These nutrients are vital for the reproductive system.
And one more point: don’t forget to drink enough water! Without water your body can’t absorb nutrients from the food. Then water organizes circulation of nutrients throughout the body and then eliminates the wastes and toxins.

And here’s the list of “foes” of reproductive system and your health in general:

• Excessive alcohol and caffeine (both alcohol and caffeine influence the vascular system and therefore affect the reproductive system)
• Nicotine (decreases sperm formation)
• Certain medications (some medications have a side effect; this must be investigated before undergoing medical treatment)
• Chocolate, candies, doughnuts, pastries – everything that contains a lot of sugar, as well as food additives, preservatives, processed food.

Add to this list any products that are forbidden for you by your doctor.

Fitness

A lot of people are planning to undergo physical activities but postpone it till better times. Every one understands the benefits but very few people have enough courage, determination and persistence to do it.
You can benefit a lot from doing exercises and leading a healthy life. You improve your appearance and become more attractive, you achieve good physical state, fat deposits are removed, muscles are pumped, metabolism is increased, and you are proud of yourself!

Some easy actions will help you to maintain a good condition:

• Eat more vitamins and minerals
• Reduce salt consumption
• Drink more water
• Walk a lot
• Eat breakfast every morning
• Be active! Walk your dog, ride a bicycle, play with children and so on

But what is more important is to believe in yourself, to believe that you can overcome any difficulties!