Sex is a wonderful thing. It connects both men and women deeply across their physical, emotional, and some say spiritual levels. Sex provide your body with several benefits the same ways as exercise, such as boosting your heart's health, immunity and lowering blood pressure. But the key here is to have sex as often as possible.

More sex may mean fewer sick days for you and your partner. There are several studies about comparing couples with frequent sex and those with fewer sexual intercourse. Couples with regular sex (at least once per week) can boost your health and wellbeing.

Sex is a form of exercise, and there are a lot of studies linking exercise with improving your health. According to the American Heart Association, sexual activity is equivalent to moderate physical activities like brisk walking. The movements during sex can help tone abdominal and pelvic muscles and can burn approximately 200 calories every 30 minutes of sex.

Frequent sexual intercourse can have some great effects on a man's semen quality. Semen health was found to be best if it is replenished in less than ten days. Meaning, you better get rid of all that semen in your sac so that fresh new semen can replace it, especially if you’re trying for a baby. Frequent sex can keep sperm fresh by having sex at least once or twice a week, and not only during the time of your partner's ovulation.

The high sexual activity allows your body to release pheromones, the chemicals that enhance your sex appeal. The more sex you have, the stronger your desire will be to have sex with your partner again. Frequent sex and orgasm increase the levels of the hormone oxytocin allowing you to feel more empathically connected to your partner.

Lastly, frequent sexual intercourse can help improve your mood and relieve you of stress. The hormones that are getting released during sex can help alter your body's state, allowing you to feel relaxed, happy and sleepy.

Summer is that time of the year where everybody loves to be at the beach to cool off. Lying on the sand, feeling the breeze and listening to the waves as you doze carefree in the sun is one of the best things you can enjoy summer. Picnics and BBQ’s outside is pretty fun, too. There’s nothing more enjoyable than enjoying good food while you watch the people playing at the beach.

Although sunlight is essential, it also has a dangerous side. The sun can be really harsh to your skin. Too much exposure to the sun can cause sunburn. Ultraviolet rays penetrate the layers of the skin where they can damage or kill the cells. People with light skin are much more likely to have sun damage, but darker-skinned people can be affected too.

The usual protection that we have is to apply sunblock. Sunblocks and sunscreens work by blocking and absorbing the harmful UV rays through a combination of physical and chemical particles. The physical particles reflect UV radiation from the skin while the chemical ingredients react with radiation before it penetrates the skin.

But there are ways you can protect yourself from within, and you will be surprised that you have been ignoring it for some time now. Vitamin C is one of the most common vitamins and you are taking it one way or another by food or part of your multivitamins. But a high-dose vitamin C daily has several benefits as well, such as boosting your resistance from diseases and, yes you guessed it, protect your skin from sun damage.

Vitamin C increases the production of collagen in the skin. It is also the most common antioxidant naturally found in our skin. Constant exposure to UV rays can speed up the ageing process by letting free radicals interfere with collagen production, thus cause wrinkles and discolouration. Vitamin C works as an antioxidant to protect against this damage.

We just got back from Hong Kong just in time before the heat of the summer arrived and in my opinion, the cool months of December - February are the ideal time of the year to visit Hong Kong, at least in my opinion. Hong Kong, during the summer season, is usually hot and dry, and there's a lot of tourists. The low season, which is cooler, is ideal for most Filipinos since we preferred a much cooler climate to escape the temperature in the Philippines.

So, our trip is purely DIY. I have not arranged any tours with any travel agencies and I am the one who booked our flight, hotel accommodations, and Disneyland pass. There are 10 of us who travelled, five adults and five kids. So, the first thing that I did, six months in advance is to book the cheapest plane fare as possible. But finding the right schedule is very difficult. We had to find out if the chosen dates did not coincide with any of our previous commitments. The kid's schedules are easier, we just informed their schools about it and ask for advance study materials.

Then we booked the hotel accommodation via Booking.com. At first, I've looked for the cheapest accommodations, but after reading all the horror stories online and that we have kids and toddlers with us, we settled on the bit pricier BP International Hotel for the first two nights. BP International Hotel is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, and is just within walking distance of Victoria Harbour and Temple Street Night Market, and the Hong Kong Jordan MTR station. For our next night, we booked Disney's Hollywood Hotel so that we can enjoy Hong Kong Disneyland for two straight days!

A month before our flight,  we bought the following discounted vouchers and pass from Klook.com:

1. Hong Kong Airport Express - It brought us from Hong Kong International Airport to Kowloon Station in less than 30 minutes! You can try the bus, but good luck with the traffic. Buy it here: AIRPORT EXPRESS
2. Hong Kong Disneyland Day Pass - Our vouchers were emailed to us right after we booked. Buy it here HONG KONG DISNEYLAND
3. Meal Vouchers for Hong Kong Disneyland - You cannot bring your own meals or snacks inside Disneyland, but there are a lot of restaurants and fast food available around the park. Buy it here: DISNEYLAND FOOD VOUCHERS
4. MTR Tourist Day Pass - We explored Hong Kong with this unlimited 24 hours ride to Hong Kong's very efficient MTR trains. We also used this to ride from Kowloon to Disneyland. Buy it here: MTR TOURIST PASS
5. 4G Internet SIM Card - Unlimited internet for 5 straight days? Hell yeah! Buy it here: 4G INTERNET SIM CARD

There are a lot of activities that you can do in Hong Kong, depending on the time and budget. To save money and at the same time, enjoy the finer things in life, you can always try the DIY way. I suggest that you stay away from packaged tours because it will just eat your time away. It is always better to explore the city by foot, or in our case, unlimited MTR ride via MTR Tourist Day Pass.

Here are the other highly recommend activities you can do in Hong Kong, which are all available at a discounted price from Klook:

1. Ocean Park Hong Kong - Buy from KLOOK
2. Ngong Ping 360 Crystal Cabin - Buy from KLOOK
3. Hong Kong Big Bus Unlimited Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing Tours - Buy from KLOOK
4. Peak Tram Fast-Track Combo - Buy from KLOOK
5. Madame Tussauds Hong Kong - Buy from KLOOK

We stayed for four days in Hong Kong. The kids loved the cool weather while enjoying our walks in Victoria Harbour or the rides at Disneyland. Hong Kong truly is a magnificent city which our family really enjoyed. You and your family too can enjoy Hong Kong. By proper planning and budgeting, you can get a hassle-free holiday that is within your budget.

Ever since I started visiting Boracay, I've seen these yellow-shirted people inviting beach-goers to join them in a pub crawl. I usually ignore them and just proceed to wherever I'm going. But this time, my trip to Boracay was special. It was my wife and I's wedding anniversary and we wanted to do something different. So we joined Boracay Pubcrawl.

We bought our pass via Klook (get your tickets here!), and each pass cost Php 990.00. When you register, you will be given the iconic yellow shirt, which you can alter creatively. You'll also get a baller bracelet, a shot glass and coupons for your 10 free shots. The coupons are colour-coded which means for each colour, you can use it to a specific club. And for pub crawlers, each club offers you promos and discounts so can drink as much as you want.

The group first assembled at the Epic bar where the rules and guides are laid out by the party captains. When you drink, you need to hold somebody's shoulder. This means that you should never, ever drink alone. If you are caught drinking without holding somebody's shoulder, then you will be asked by the group to drink your beer bottoms up!. At Epic Bar, we claimed our free shots and ordered beers to start the beach party.

The bar hopping officially started when the captains asked us to finish all our drinks and move to the beach area for the mandatory group photos. During the course of the evening, we were able to make friends with locals from Cebu, Manila, Davao, Germany, South Africa and South Korea. Everybody is so fun and welcoming, we truly did have the best night. Boracay Pubcrawl really lived up to its catchphrase: turning strangers into friends, and for a short period of time, we felt that we were really having the best night with best friends.

My wife and I are big fans of Boracay ever since we spent our honeymoon there many years ago. And since then, we returned several times, sometimes with our kids and once with our extended families. But most often, it was just us.

But last year, Boracay was closed for a very long time and we decided to just go somewhere else. And then, it was re-opened and we have been hearing great news about it. After six months of rehabilitation, the Department of Tourism has made significant changes, that at first, divided the opinion of the tourists and businesses. One of the changes that the government has implemented is to limit the number of visitors to enter the island by 6,405 tourists each day. They will do that by also making sure that each visitor will have a confirmed booking at accredited hotels before you are allowed to enter. Personally, that is fine by me because we will get to enjoy Boracay with lesser people on the beach. And based on our experience, indeed, lesser people at the beach than the last time we were there!

The Department of Tourism has also banned La Boracay, a well-known summer event party that is usually done at the beach. Structures such as souvenir shops, food stalls, massage beds, and even beach umbrellas are prohibited at the beach area as well. Smoking, eating and drinking alcohol are strictly prohibited. But if you really want to party, there are a lot of bars and clubs along the main road. My wife and I even signed up for Boracay Pub Crawl to bar hop, meet new people from different nationalities and party.

The beach now is less crowded so people can have their own space without getting bothered by vendors and other people at the beach. With lesser people at the beach, you can have plenty of space with your photoshoots, just like my wife and I did.

So, we really did enjoy our stay in Boracay, and indeed, we fell in love with the place the second time around. In fact, we booked another flight this coming first week of May. Can't wait to come back to Boracay again!

My wife and I recently went on a vacation to Boracay. That was our first time to visit since the 6-month closure and we had been hearing some positive feedback. When Boracay has opened again, the number of tourists were significantly reduced and they only allow entry for those tourists with confirmed bookings from accredited hotels. They also removed all the structures near the beach to allow more people to enjoy their time in the sand.

I happen to stumble on Royal Air when I was trying to look for a last-minute deal for our Boracay vacation. I already booked our hotel and as I was checking the flights from Clark to Caticlan, I saw Royal Air, along with Air Asia, Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific. I'm already settled for Air Asia because it's cheaper the than PAL and CEBPAC, but when I tried checking the rates of Royal Air, it was a bit cheaper.

Royal Air is a small commercial airline that started out as a private charter. It has three (3) 97-seater British Aerospace (BAe) AVRO 146 RJ-100 series in its fleet. The aircraft is sometimes called "whisperjet" but in Royal Air's case, I can't even use my headphones to binge-watch my favourite TV series or listen to Spotify because the engine was way too loud!

The cabin has two seats on the left and three seats on the right and appears to be a bit spacious in my opinion, than what Air Asia or Cebu Pacific has to offer. The biggest drawback? The plane needed a lot of scrubbing and the air condition was pitiful! According to the cabin crew, the air will be a lot cooler when the plane was in the air. During the flight, they served us with a chocolate sponge cake and bottled water, which was nice, I guess.

So, will I fly again with Royal Air? Yeah, if all the airlines close or I do not have a choice. Or if the fare is really cheap! After all, I'm a budget traveller. In Royal Air's case, it is the destination, not the journey, that matters.

Everybody takes vitamin C daily because we know that it can potentially ward off diseases and can strengthen our immune system. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient found in various fruits and vegetables. Our body requires ascorbic acid to help form and maintain our bones, blood vessels, and skin. It also promotes healing and to prevent infections.

But there are vitamin C formulations in the market that claims that they are superior to the other. I'm talking about Sodium Ascorbate and Calcium Ascorbate. Are they really better than the good old Ascorbic Acid? Let's find out.

As per Wikipedia, Sodium Ascorbate "is one of a number of mineral salts of ascorbic acid." So it means aside from the two that I mentioned above, there are several other forms. But considering that the Sodium Ascorbate and Calcium Ascorbate are the most popular and available in the market, we'll focus on them. Sodium Ascorbate is a sodium salt of ascorbic acid, it is known as mineral ascorbate. Sodium Ascorbate has not been demonstrated to be more bioavailable than any other form of vitamin C. And there are these findings from Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center:

1,000 mg of sodium ascorbate generally contains 111 mg of sodium. Individuals following low-sodium diets (e.g., for high blood pressure) are generally advised to keep their total dietary sodium intake to less than 2,500 mg/day. Thus, megadoses of vitamin C in the form of sodium ascorbate could significantly increase sodium intake

On the other hand, Calcium Ascorbate is the calcium salt of ascorbic acid and is also a mineral ascorbate, just like Sodium Ascorbate, and it is approximately 10% calcium by mass. We all know that Calcium is also a mineral that can help our body against bone density loss. In the stomach, Calcium lowers the acidity levels. The Micronutrient Information Center also has this to say about Calcium Ascorbate:

Calcium ascorbate generally provides 90-110 mg of calcium (890-910 mg of ascorbic acid) per 1,000 mg of calcium ascorbate. Calcium in this form appears to be reasonably well absorbed. The recommended dietary calcium intake for adults is 1,000 to 1,200 mg/day. Total calcium intake should not exceed the UL, which is 2,500 mg/day for adults aged 19-50 years and 2,000 mg/day for adults older than 50 years

Natural and synthetic vitamin C such as Sodium Ascorbate and Calcium Ascorbate are chemically identical, and there are no known differences in their biological activity. But there are possibilities that the bioavailability of the natural vitamin C differs that of the synthetic ones might differ. Calcium Ascorbate appears reasonably well absorbed and does not contribute to sodium accumulation than that of Sodium Ascorbate. Although both Sodium Ascorbate and Calcium Ascorbate are less likely to contribute gastric irritation, Calcium Ascorbate appears superior than that of Sodium Ascorbate as an alternative to Ascorbic Acid because of the extra benefits it brings.

Sources:

1. Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_C
2. Oregon State University / Linus Pauling Institute - https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-C/supplemental-forms

It is summer already, are you ready to flaunt your bikini-body? Don't be shy! Whatever your size or shape, as long as you are comfortable with your body, then you have the right, just like everybody, to enjoy summer. But it is much better if you treat your body to some detoxing and exercise so that you can feel confident in the outside and healthier inside.

I know, I know. Getting in shape is really hard. Dieting and exercise is hard work. But there are ways to achieve your ideal weight without starving yourself or exerting so much effort. One such way is through detoxification!

To detoxify, you must maintain a healthy diet. You can start by removing foods that make you more toxic, such as fructose, which is commonly found in soft drinks and processed fruit juice drinks. You also should avoid trans fats and damaged fats. These are the fats that are found in processed foods.

So, how to start the detox diet? There are three ways. You can start with a fruit detox. Fruit detox is a great way to cleanse your body without starving yourself. You can also do a liquid fast, where you only consume liquids such as water, tea, fruit juice, vegetable juice, and protein shakes for 2-3 days. You can also eat fruits and vegetables for seven straight days.

Now, let's boost your detoxing efforts further by adding Chlorella to the mix. Chlorella is a type of single-celled algae that grows in fresh water. Chlorella is a good source of various protein, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, chlorophyll, vitamins, and minerals. It also acts as an antioxidant and may help to decrease cholesterol. Chlorella, if added to your existing diet and exercise, can help support your immune system, helps with weight and fat loss, and it can help make you look and feel younger! Perfect for summer!

Note: Chlorella is available in various forms such as powder, tablets, capsules. In the Philippines, I found one sold by GoldLife in capsule form. You may check their facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/GoldLifeOfficial

I received a package of food supplement in the mail from Westfield Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and they asked me if I can give this away to some people around to check their response. Full disclosure, I work as a consultant for the said company and I'm used to being given with various products to try.

The supplement that I got is Zumma, a dietary supplement for men. And it contains several plant extracts that supposedly help achieve an erection without side effects. Categorized as a food supplement, it means that it is not a drug and quite safe to use. Upon inspection of the packaging, it states that it contains L-Arginine, Wild Yam Extract, Lyceum barbarum Extract, Cistanche Deserticola Extract and Epimedium Extract. They also sent this link that contains the science behind each plant extract: http://zummaformen.com/scientific-evidence/

And it hit me. I know who are the perfect people to try Zumma. You see, I'm having my house renovated and I have several construction guys around. I asked them to take Zumma tonight and report back in the morning. The next day, they were all smiling at me and reported that Zumma was awesome and it worked wonders!

So I had to experience it myself. The direction says "take one capsule two hours before the performance, preferably with an empty stomach." And later that night, I felt something. In anticipation of the deed, I find myself erect, the type of erection that is not the usual, and I know it has to be Zumma. And the best thing about it, I experience no headache whatsoever which are typical of other brands. And the next day, I was still stiff! Ha ha!

Zumma is priced at around Php 200 per box of 2 capsules and is only available at the brand's website www.zummaformen.com and via Shopee or Lazada.