Making love twice a week or more often helps reduce risk of heart disease in men, a study published in the American Journal of Cardiology suggests.

The study led by researchers at the New England Research Institute in Massachusetts found an association between frequent intercourse and reduced risk of heart disease.

The researchers followed up 1,000 men aged 40 to 70 who participated in the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, which began in 1987, for 16 years to examine the correlation between sexual activity and heart health.

They found men engaged in regular lovemaking were up to 45 percent less likely to develop life-threatening heart disease compared to those had sex once a month or less.

The association was significant even after other risk factors like age, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels were considered.

This is an association, not necessarily a cause and effect relationship even though there is such a possibility, a health observer cautioned.  Healthier men tend to have stronger desire and manhood to make love more frequently in the first place.

However, lovemaking is a type of physical activity which can nurture a couple’s supportive relationship which in turn would improve health through stress reduction and social support.

Sexual activity is also related to the diet men use.  To reduce sexual temptation and avoid unquenchable sexual desire, monks do not use meat-based foods, which would otherwise provide them with more nutrients than plant-based foods that their reproductive systems need.

The findings do not mean that men should jump start making love more frequently than they are able to to prevent heart disease. Instead, they suggest that physicians may assess a man’s heart health based on his sexual activity.

Those who want to have more fun from making love may consider using a good diet to support their nutrition need.  Eating plenty of lean meat and fish is the basic requirement.  Men may experience shooting blanks if they do not have intake of protein and other micro-nutrients.

Foods like vitamin C rich foods, peanut, garlic, fatty fish, strawberries, seafood like crab and shrimps among others help men to boost their performance in bed, according to previous reports.

By David Liu