Both men and women want to look young for as long as possible. If we had pots of money we would all bathe in milk, soak our bodies in honey and spend hours in tubs of vitamin E cream.
Every sister I know is on some special diet, detox programme or has taken up some exercise regime all in the hope of retaining supple skin and staving off the ravages of old age.
I try and eat healthily and exercise every morning. I drink water but I just never manage more than four glasses of water a day. I have scrubbed my hands with sugar or salt mixed with olive oil and at some point spent half an hour with my hands dipped in mashed avocado and my face covered in egg yolk and oats. Like many mad women, I have done a lot of insane things recommended by an even crazier person.
But there are age defying acts that do not require you spending money but just need you to be in a relationship. Research is carried out on almost anything now and some researchers have been very busy.
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My favourite magazine; Men’s Health in their October issue published very interesting findings about how lovemaking can knock some years off your looks. Their assumption of course is that everyone above 35 is in some sort of relationship. The reality though is that there is a growing number of women who have a long running relationship with a regular slice of cheesecake, the television and couch, while their male unattached counterparts nurse a beer and watch sport.
Anyway, you might not have someone to shake off the years with but maybe tomorrow will be a better day so store the information for future use. The various studies focused on men but I am assuming if making love can do so many wonders for the brothers it must also benefit the girls.
The National Cancer Institute in America found that men who reported 21 sex climaxes or more a month were less likely to have prostate cancer than those who had fewer sex climaxes.
In Britain, the British Medical Journal found that the death rate was slashed by 50% for men experiencing the highest frequency in climaxes. The trick here is in not just making love but also achieving above average enjoyment.
A study at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania says people who make love once or twice a week have stronger immune systems. At Ohio State University the findings were that wounds inflicted in a study healed nearly two times faster when there was positive interaction between couples.
In Australia a study of 5 000 people concluded that married men who had more amorous trysts with their wives on a regular basis were 135% more likely to be happier than single men.
Making love is rated good cardio vascular exercise. A 75kg man can burn 863 kilojoules during half an hour of vigorous lovemaking.
Couples that have a happy physical relationship normally still find each other attractive, still communicate and still find kissing and touching a natural way of showing each other they care. In some relationships intimacy is history and couples pretty much lead separate lives.
Relationship specialists recommend that you set aside just one minute at the beginning of each day for some skin-on-skin contact to start oxytocin production — this is a hormone that produces a lasting feeling of intimacy and might just save your relationship. All it takes is a kiss in the morning, a hug after work and another kiss before bed. Sounds simple but can be a real battle if you are in a loveless relationship.
All these universities and hospitals doing all these studies must be very worried about the state of relationships worldwide. Are we going to wake up one day and hear our grandchildren discuss the possibility of enrolling for a Masters in the art of kissing or lasting sexual pleasure?
Anyway, whichever way we are headed, I hope those with the wherewithal, will put the research findings to good use. And for those hugging a beer or a slice of cheesecake, do not lose heart — hit the floor and exercise. A good workout will rid you of all that tension of unfulfilled emotions and physical needs and also keep you in good nick.
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