sincityvixen's blog: "News"

- Study LONDON (Reuters) - Having sex once or twice a week gives a boost to the immune system that could help ward off colds and flu, New Scientist magazine said Wednesday. Moderate sexual activity increases levels of a compound in the body called immunoglobulin A (IgA) that binds to bacteria and triggers the immune system to destroy them. ``IgA is the first line of defense against colds and flu,´´ Carl Charnetski, of Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, told the weekly science magazine. To prove the benefits of healthy but not overactive sex life, Charnetski and his colleague Frank Brennan measured levels of IgA in the saliva of 111 college students and questioned them about how often they had had sex in the previous month. Students who had sex less than once a week had a small increase in the antigen compared to pupils who were celibate. Those who had sex once or twice a week had a 30 percent rise in IgA. Ironically the more sexually active people had lower levels of the compound than students who had not had sex. ``My feeling is that the people in the very-frequent-sex group may be in obsessive or poor relationships that are causing them a lot of anxiety,´´ said Charnetski. ``We know that stress and anxiety make IgA go down.´´