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.

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

Here's a new invention that will surely raise an eyebrow... or two. It is called "automated sperm extractor", a portable machine that helps sperm donors who are too embarrassed to masturbate in clinic or hospitals. This machine was invented by the Jiangsu Sanwe Medical Science and Technology Center in China to help male patients extract sperm for donation and medical analysis. This machine is designed as totally automated and hands-free and comes with customizable features such as temperature, amplitude, frequency and speed adjustments.

As a tool for donating sperm, especially for those with disabilities, this would be a great help. But for the use of people without physical disabilities, this would just be a novelty item.


In case you are wondering what is the process of donating sperm, it starts with a consultation with a physician at a sperm bank. A contract will be drafted to specify the duration and frequency of donation. The donor will be advised not to ejaculate for two to three days before providing the sample in order to increase sperm count. The donor will then masturbate and the sperm will be collected through the use of a special sperm collection condom. Sperms are then extracted from the sample, screened and cryogenically stored for future insemination.

The "hands-free sperm extractor" machine is now listed in Alibaba for overseas orders and priced between US $2,000 to $3000 depending on the quantity.

Non-consensual sex takes many forms, and nonconsensual sex has negative consequences for its victims. In hopes of preventing nonconsensual sex, a sex toy company from Argentina created a condom packaging that would require four hands to open.

The video, posted on Tulipán Argentina twitter account, shows a condom pack being opened by two individuals. You'll have to use both of your thumbs and ring fingers on opposite ends, with the index and middle fingers hitting the other side.

Este pack es tan simple de abrir como entender que si no te dice que sí, es no. #PlacerConsentido pic.twitter.com/KHWyoFmg7L

— Tulipán Argentina (@TulipanARG) April 3, 2019

The post caption is translated from Spanish: "This Pack is as simple to open as you understand that if you don't say yes, it's No." The tweet currently has 21,300 views on the social media platform was getting mixed reactions.

Tulipán Argentina so far has been giving away limited-edition condoms packs at bars in Buenos Aires for free and they were met with praise from those who’ve got them. It is still unclear when Tulipán will sell the product to the market.