The Secrets for Lifelong

Healthy loving lengthens your life span; it's nature's fountain of youth. Intimacy raises your levels of endorphins, DHEA, and growth hormone, which increase longevity. Simultaneously, lovemaking lowers levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol which decrease your life span.

While healthy loving adds years to your life, it also takes years off your face, making you actually look younger. Studies show that people who are highly satisfied with the quality and quantity of their sex lives looked 4 to 7 years younger than their peers. This no doubt results from reduced stress, greater happiness and contentment, and better sleep — in addition to the hormonal and chemical changes that satisfying sex can bring.

An active love life is good for both your health and your relationship. In fact, people who enjoy regular intimacy live longer. To boost your libido naturally,

here are 7 foods and herbs that heat up passion:

1. Oats promote libido lift

Besides its reputation for lowering cholesterol the common oat plant, Avena sativa, has long been considered a sexual tonic. Oats contain a nutrient called avenacoside, a substance that supports healthy testosterone levels by freeing bound-up, inaccessible testosterone and making it available to your system. The percentage of testosterone that is inaccessible rises with age. A healthy level of testosterone lifts the libido of women as well as men, and increases muscle strength, endurance, and mental capacity.

2. Flax to fix your sex life
Flaxseed, also called linseed, contains a rich supply of lingams in its hull. Lingams are phytoestogens that improve levels of good estrogens such as estradilo, which protects women from heart disease, bone loss, and vaginal dryness. It is also helpful in maintaining a healthy ratio of testosterone to its bound cousin, DHT. Optimal testosterone levels are crucial to a raised sex drive for women and men. Studies have found other benefits from lignans, including the ability to prevent hair loss and acne, keep cholesterol and blood sugar in balance, and act as potent antioxidants. Flax oil contains small amounts of lignan, so your best bet is to grind your own flaxseed, hulls and all, and take one tablespoon daily. Sprinkle over your breakfast cereal or mix into a smoothie.

3. Nuts and seeds for a sexual boost

Traditional Chinese herbal therapy prescribes nuts like walnuts, almonds, and chestnuts along with sesame and hemp seed as tonics for sexual vigor. Even recent studies show that nuts and seeds are rich in the amino acid arginine, which appears to restore declining levels of growth hormone to a range typical of the prime years, thereby boosting sexual and mental functions. To give a boost to your sex life, you can take 6 to 10 grams of arginine daily in supplement form — or just snack on a handful of mixed nuts and seeds every day. Other arginine-rich foods include eggs and meat.

4. Histidine increases arousal

Abundant in poultry, saltwater fish, meat, eggs, and soy, histidine is a semi-essential amino acid that can help increase sexual arousal. Women who take histidine an hour before sexual activity experienced enhanced arousal and intensified feeling. The same amino acid may benefit older men's sexual performance as well. As a supplement, typical dosage is around 500 mg a day, but it is best to get histidine from food sources.

5. Spice up your love life emotional disorders

Pungent, spicy foods — garlic, onions, chives, cinnamon, ginger, peppers, coriander — can activate arousal centers and increase blood flow to the lower body. Cardamom, in particular, is a spice with libido-perking properties. A stimulant with a positive effect on overall well-being, cardamom is used as both as a tonic for the body and as an antidepressant for emotional disorders. And orchid bees are drawn to cardamom, using it to synthesize pheromones. Thanks to this combination of properties, it is often prescribed by Chinese doctors, in doses up to 5 grams daily, to revitalize sexual desire.

6. Smells for sexual excitement

Studies have found that certain smells can excite a man sexually and increase blood flow to the penis. These include pumpkin pie, black licorice, and vanilla. Use that mm-mmm cooking smell to perk up your sex life!

7. Horny goat weed

Thousands of years ago, Chinese shepherds noticed that goats, after eating a certain weed, would become sexually energized and active. The same weed was used as a traditional remedy for disorders of the kidneyl, joints, adrenal glands, and liver. The patients got well, but that wasn't all! Soon Chinese doctors began prescribing it to increase libido and sexual function. It is now believed to promote blood flow to the reproductive organs and mimic the effects of sex hormones. Considered a longevity herb, horny goat weed stimulates the sensory nerves and increases sexual desire in both men and women by supporting essential neurotransmitters that play a role in sexual arousal. For successful results, it must be taken daily. The herb is available in health food stores, online, and from Asian pharmacies and acupuncturists, often times in a formula with other natural libido-boosters.

Other herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine for lifting libido and improving sexual energy are cnidium (or snake's nest seed), schisandra fruit, and morinda. You can find a formula with all of these and more to improve your sex life. Look into Feminine Desire for women and Male Dragon for men.

I hope this article helps you enjoy all the benefits of sexual intimacy! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you stay healthy, live long, and live happy!

Top 5 Habits to Increase Longevity

Is it really possible for anyone to live happily to 100? The good news is that your body was designed to be 100 - you just have to get out of the way.

Getting out of the way means taking an honest look at the habits and lifestyle you are living with today. Most of us have developed habits that limit our true health potential.

But don't let these bad habits of the past discourage you - it is never too late to make new choices. What you did in the past can be changed, and your body will respond in kind. What matters is what you do from this moment forward.

Top 5 Daily Habits for Your Longevity

It takes 14 to 21 days of repetitive behavior to form a new pattern in your brain. Once the pattern is formed, it becomes an automatic behavioral response.

As you develop new healthy habits, they will begin to replace bad habits. These healthy lifelong habits are adapted straight from the time-tested traditions practiced by centenarians all around the world, and I can say with certainty that they will transform and rejuvenate you!

Eat five small meals a day.
In the Western culture, meals are taken three times a day, but it is much better to eat five smaller meals. When you eat smaller portions five times a day, you deliver a steady stream of nutrients, blood sugar, and energy to your body throughout the day.

Additionally, eating this way is less taxing on the digestive and metabolic systems and also reduces your risk of heart disease.

Climb the stairs instead of using elevators.

The health benefits of a daily exercise program cannot be stressed enough. Regular exercise can help promote physiological well-being, strengthen the immune system, maintain joint mobility, increase energy - and the list goes on.

Look for opportunities all through your day to work in physical activity. Power-walk, run, or ride your bike instead of driving. Begin a daily tai chi practice. Join a gym and actually go! Practice safely and watch your health results pile up.

Laugh it up!

We know from research that laughter and joy boost immune functions, especially the production of the natural killer cells that help protect the body from illness and cancer. Laughter also increases the release of endorphins, compounds that give you a sense of well-being, in your brain. Without a doubt, joyful people live longer and healthier lives.

Drink 8 glasses of water every day.

Water is essential for all healthy body functions. Centenarians from around the globe cite their native water as the source of their health and longevity - and the scientists agree with them. What they all have in common is pure water sources located far from any city, free from chemicals and toxins.

Choose filtered water; the best filtration processes are the ones that use activated charcoal, which removes the impurities but leaves the water-soluble minerals. Also, do not store water in plastic containers because the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can leach into the water.

Unwind with meditation.

Stress is the root cause of most of the diseases that shorten our life span. In our modern society stress will continue to increase - unless you find techniques to manage it. Meditation is the best way to release tension and revitalize your being. It teaches you to breath properly, which is critical for eliminating up to 70% of your body's toxins and wastes. It also quiets your mind, lowers your stress hormones, and teaches self-discipline, which is a necessary attribute to achieving your health and longevity goals.

Try this beginning meditation:

Sit comfortably on a chair or the floor. Breathe naturally and close your eyes. Each time a thought appears, put it inside a balloon and let it fly up into the sky and disappear. Do this until the thoughts are exhausted. After a bit, your body will feel very light, and your mind will become still. The first few times it may take a while, but it will get easier and faster with practice.

I hope you use these healthy habits for years to come! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!