The average number of times per month women are having sex has decreased from 6.3 to 4.8 times in 20 years. Plus, women are twice as likely to have gone without sex for a whole year compared with men (they say we’re picky, we say have you seen the slim pickings on Tinder lately?).

This joyous news comes courtesy of a new survey of sexual attitudes in the journal The Lancet, which suggests a mounting (sorry) dissatisfaction with our sex lives compared with the male of the species (although 15% of them also reported a drop in libido).

According to sexual health lecturer Dr Cath Mercer, “Stress is to blame. As is technology. People are taking their tablets and cellphones into the bedroom at night and some people are using porn as a sex substitute.”

But, as Angelina Jolie’s good rep proves, everything is reversible. Read on for three solutions to guide you back to project O.

Read more: 5 low libido causes that have nothing to do with hormones

The problem: Stress

The experts say: Your boss is the reason you associate the word “climax” with the end of a really long AGM rather than a saucy quickie up against the fridge. The humble foot massage will sort you out (bear with us here). Studies conducted by the National Institute of Health in the US have proven that reflexology instantly decreases blood pressure and lowers anxiety.

What’s more, says acupuncturist Sandra Bird, a foot massage provides access to one of the most heightened sexual release points on the body – the “yongquan” or “gushing spring” point located on the sole, about a third from the base of the second toe and two thirds from the heel edge. Basically, that midpoint where his massaging thumbs fit perfectly.

In other podiatry-related sex news, pushing on the bit between your big toe and second toe is apparently another major stress-release point. Time for a toe wax!

Read more: The top 10 reasons for low libido

The problem: Devices

The experts say: Emailing, scrolling through News24 comments and playing Candy Crush are detracting from the actual button pressing you want in the bedroom. A recent study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that when women ignore common distractions (phones, TVs, laptops), they can start to become aroused in as little as 30 seconds. Yet an eye-watering 81% of adults always take their cellphone or tablet to the bedroom at night.

Here’s how to kick the habit: Set your alarm before you even enter the bedroom and don’t touch your phone once you’re in bed, suggests Dr Elna Rudolph, WH sex expert and head of MySexualHealth.co.za. Or, on the flip side, you could make your smartphone part of the action (no, not like that, there aren’t enough screen wipes in the world for that game).

Read more: 4 best foods to give your libido a boost

The problem: Porn

The experts say: Women make up one in three viewers. What’s more, a recent survey found that both sexes aged 16 to 44 say watching it is often more exciting than the real thing. If you’re busy getting more on-screen action than off, be careful. “Exposure to explicit content gives you an addictive chemical rush and neuronal firing in your brain – much like cocaine,” says Dr Rudolph. “Compared to porn, normal sex will most likely be far less intense.”

Solo viewing can put an intimacy wedge between you and your partner, so convert porn-viewing to a joint activity instead. “Use it for inspiration for sex moves or to open up dialogue about what you like or don’t like,” says Dr Rudolph. “But, if you need it to get into the mood every time, there’s something else going on.”

For something genuinely educational, try DreamsOfSpanking.com, which weaves tips on technique into the entertainment. And no, sadly, Magic Mike Uncut is not on there.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za}

^{Image credit: iStock} 

Time: 3 minutes

Equipment: Yoga mat

Good for: Digestion

Instructions: Flow from one pose to the next, repeating on both sides where noted. Complete the yoga flow as many times as you’d like. You can also hold each pose for more than one breath, to make the flow a bit longer.

Wide-stance forward fold

How to: Bring your feet in a wide stance, about three to four feet apart. Raise your arms out to the sides and slowly bend forward, placing both hands on your mat. Hold for a breath, then continue to the next move.

Read more: This yoga flow is actually a crazy-good cardio workout

Wide-stance forward fold with twist

How to: From a wide-angle forward fold, place your right hand on the mat, equidistant between your feet. Raise your left arm out to the side and up, twisting your body, and turn your gaze up to your fingers. Lower your left arm and place it where your right hand is. Repeat on the other side, then continue to the next move.

High lunge

How to: From a low lunge, root your feet foot firmly into the ground and rise up, lifting both arms overhead, keeping your shoulders down. Lift your torso, and square your hips to face forward. Hold for a breath, then continue to the next move.

Read more: This 2-minute yoga flow will get your core fired up ASAP

Revolved side angle

How to: From high lunge, make sure your right knee is directly above your right ankle. Turn your torso to the right and then lean forward, either with your hands in prayer position or with your left arm extended down to the inside of your right foot. Repeat high lunge and revolved side angle on the other side.

Hindu squat

How to: Stand with your knees slightly wider than your hips. Bend your knees and sit down as deeply as you can, reaching your arms forward, if needed, to keep your balance. If possible, place your arms between your knees in prayer position. Hold for a couple of breaths then continue to the next pose.

Wind-relieving pose

How to: Lie on your back. Bring your knees into your chest and wrap your arms around them. You can also twist your knees to one side, then the other, keeping your upper back flat on the ground, for a nice lower back stretch. Continue to the next pose.

Savasana

How to: Lie on your mat with your legs extended. Rest your arms at your sides. 

Complete the entire flow as many times as you’d like.

^{This article was originally published on www.womenshealthmag.com} 

^{Image credit: iStock} 

Kristine Thomason

Whether to breastfeed or not is a personal choice for a mom. Breastfeeding is, however, in accordance with national and international optimal infant and young child feeding recommendations.

If you have decided to breastfeed your little one, here are a few things you should know, according to Catherine Pereira, Association for Dietetics in South Africa spokesperson, registered dietitian and lecturer at the University of the Western Cape.

Pereira says that the nutritional requirements for breastfeeding mothers are a little bit higher than for non-breastfeeding women.

“Vitamin and mineral requirements are higher and energy requirements are approximately 500kCal per day more than for a non-breastfeeding woman. In South Africa, we encourage everyone to follow the South African food-based dietary guidelines, which were compiled by nutrition experts in conjunction with the Department of Health and international organisations.”

South African food-based dietary guidelines

• Enjoy a variety of foods.
• Be active!
• Make starchy foods part of most meals.
• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit every day.
• Eat dry beans, split peas, lentils and soya regularly.
• Have milk, maas or yoghurt every day.
• Fish, chicken, lean meat or eggs can be eaten daily.
• Drink lots of clean, safe water.
• Use fats sparingly. Choose vegetable oils rather than hard fats.
• Use sugar and foods and drinks high in sugar sparingly.
• Use salt and food high in salt sparingly. 

Pereira says that breastfeeding women do not require a special or different diet; they just have higher nutrient requirements. “Many women want to lose extra weight that they may have gained during pregnancy after they have given birth and one of the many benefits of breastfeeding to the mother is that it can help her to lose some of that weight,” she says.

How long to breastfeed for

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which are the global health authorities that many countries and health professionals take guidance from, provide the following recommendations for optimal infant and young child feeding: 

• “Early initiation of breastfeeding (this means starting to breastfeed within one hour of birth);
• exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life; and
• introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at six months together with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age or beyond.”

The South African National Department of Health endorses the above recommendations. 

What if breastfeeding is not an option?

Unfortunately not all women are able to breastfeed. However, Pereira says there are strict international basic minimum standards set by Codex Alimentarius that all infant formula has to comply with. There is a specific Codex Standard for Infant Formula that contains guidelines on the minimum nutrient and safety requirements with regards to how infant formulas are manufactured, together with packaging and labelling requirements. Therefore, all infant formula is generally of quite a similar quality. Most mothers should be able to breastfeed (with adequate support).

“However, in the minority of cases where either a mother has passed away or the mother is unable to breastfeed due to illness or other reasons, usually a standard infant formula is sufficient. In the even more rare cases where an infant has a serious medical condition, then a dietitian and/or doctor would need to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the infant and provide specific, individualised advice to the mother or caregiver regarding which formula would be most suitable,” says Pereira.

Most mothers should be able to breastfeed (with adequate support from health facilities, communities and the workplace).

^{Image credit: iStock} 

Compiled by Mandy Freeman

It goes without saying that, as is the case with all of your other body parts, washing your penis should be a part of your daily shower routine. But if you’ve been practicing poor hygiene, or just generally neglecting to thoroughly wash down there, beware: You may have developed smegma.

A common condition that affects guys who don’t clean their junk enough (or don’t clean in the right way), smegma, a.k.a. “penis cheese”, is a white substance that typically collects around the head of the penis. While anyone can get it, guys who are uncircumcised are particularly prone.

Read more: How does circumcision really affect your sex life? Here are the facts

But what is smegma, and how do you prevent it? We asked clinical sexologist Eric Marlowe Garrison and Dr Debby Herbenick, a professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health and director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, for more information.

What is smegma?

Smegma is a combination of secretions from sebaceous oil glands and dead skin cells that collect under the foreskin of your penis. This results in a white, cheese-like substance. (Actually, “smegma” is the Greek word for “soap”, which is both ironic and makes buying toiletries in an Athens hotel gift shop extremely awkward.) When these substances “build up underneath the foreskin, it can provide a host for bacteria”, says Garrison.

Garrison also notes that it’s possible for both uncircumcised and circumcised men to develop smegma. (It’s also common in women, where it’s most likely to appear between the folds of the vagina’s labia or around the clitoral hood.)

Because “no circumcision is perfect” Garrison says, even circumcised men may have a tiny bit of foreskin remaining, creating the opportunity for smegma to build up. They may also develop smegma beneath the corona of the penis (i.e., underneath the head), because “most American families don’t teach young adults how to care for their sex organs”, says Garrison.

Read more: STD symptoms that affect the rest of your body

Is smegma common?

Yes, according to Dr Herbenick. “We all have skin cells and sebaceous glands,” she says. “Together, these create smegma for both males and females.” Indeed, the oils that result in smegma are naturally secreted by the body to lubricate the genitals and keep them from feeling dry. So having smegma doesn’t mean you’re dirty or unclean – it just means you should probably wash and clean your penis a bit more thoroughly.

In itself, smegma is pretty harmless. But if you let it build up, it can result in the smegma hardening and producing a bad smell.

“The combination of dead skin cells and bacteria not only leads to an unsightly (and foul-smelling/tasting) collection of cells, but it can also cause skin irritations and breaks in the skin that could facilitate a sexually transmissible infection,” Garrison cautions.

If you’re uncircumcised, and you let it build up for a really long time, it can also cause your foreskin to stick to the penis, which can necessitate a painful trip to the dermatologist’s office.

How to treat and prevent smegma

Basically, this is all you need to do:

If you wash with soap and water regularly, then any light smegma build-up is nothing to worry about. “It does not need to be treated or gotten rid of, other than being gently wiped away with fingers or a washcloth (kind of like how ear wax is just wiped away),” says Dr Herbenick.

Read more: Guys share the cringeworthy sex injuries that landed them in hospital

That said, if you’re uncircumcised and you’ve been accumulating quite a bit of smegma, Garrison says you may need to be more aggressive about your hygiene practices. Gently pull the foreskin back and use a washcloth, some warm water, and a mild soap to clean underneath the head of the penis.

“A lack of foreskin hygiene, not merely the presence of a foreskin, [may be linked to] an increase in HIV infections among uncircumcised men,” he says. “Anytime that penile skin is compromised, it can become a route for infection, [which can] be a path for a bacterium, virus or fungus to take hold.”

In a small number of cases, smegma build-up and hardening can cause the penis to become irritated and red, which can lead to a condition called balanitis. “If a person has an infection underneath the foreskin as a result of smegma, they should see a dermatologist before it gets worse. Or before they might acquire an STI,” says Garrison.

The best way to prevent smegma is the same method used to treat it: Wash your penis at least twice a week, and if you’re uncircumcised, pull back your foreskin and wash with soap and water. Practicing good hygiene will save you a lot of trouble further on down the road.

^{This article was originally published on www.menshealth.com}

^{Image credit: iStock}  

Since the first airplane took flight over 100 years ago, virtually every aircraft in the sky has flown with the help of moving parts such as propellers, turbine blades, and fans, which are powered by the combustion of fossil fuels or by battery packs that produce a persistent, whining buzz.

When a pathogen enters their colony, ants change their behavior to avoid the outbreak of disease. In this way, they protect the queen, brood and young workers from becoming ill. These results, from a study carried out in collaboration between the groups of Sylvia Cremer at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) and of Laurent Keller at the University of Lausanne, are published today in the journal Science.

New research disputes a long-held view that our earliest tool-bearing ancestors contributed to the demise of large mammals in Africa over the last several million years. Instead, the researchers argue that long-term environmental change drove the extinctions, mainly in the form of grassland expansion likely caused by falling atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels.

During the Triassic period (252-201 million years ago) mammal-like reptiles called therapsids co-existed with ancestors to dinosaurs, crocodiles, mammals, pterosaurs, turtles, frogs, and lizards. One group of therapsids are the dicynodonts. Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden, together with colleagues in Poland, have discovered fossils from a new genus of gigantic dicynodont. The new species Lisowicia bojani is described in the journal Science.

Strictly limiting carbohydrates and eating more fat may help the body burn more calories, a new clinical trial shows.

Researchers found that among 164 adults in a weight-loss study, those placed on a low-carb, high-fat diet burned more daily calories, versus those given high-carb meals. On average, their bodies used up 250 extra calories per day over 20 weeks.

Study refutes conventional thinking

The researchers estimated that over three years, that would translate into an additional 20-pound weight loss for an average-height man.

“This study refutes the conventional thinking that it’s only calorie-cutting that matters,” said senior researcher Dr David Ludwig. He is co-director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Instead, he said, the source of those calories may make the difference in whether your metabolism “works with you or against you”.

According to Ludwig, the findings support a theory called the “carbohydrate-insulin model”. The premise is that diets heavy in processed carbs send insulin levels soaring, which drives the body to use fewer calories, and instead store more of them as fat.

“Our study suggests that you’ll do better if you focus on reducing refined carbohydrates, rather than focusing on reducing calories alone,” Ludwig said.

He and his colleagues reported the findings online in the BMJ.

‘Feeding study’

Many studies over the years have attempted to answer the question of whether low-fat or low-carb is better for weight loss. Often, they’ve concluded there is little difference.

But those studies, Ludwig said, have typically been behavioural studies where people may or may not stick with their diets.

So his team conducted a “feeding study” to carefully control what people ate.

First, 234 overweight and obese adults were recruited for a “run-in” phase, with the goal of losing about 12% of their weight over 10 weeks. Their diets were low-calorie and had moderate amounts of carbs.

Of that group, 164 lost enough weight and moved on to the next phase. They were randomly assigned to either a low-carb, moderate-carb or high-carb diet for 20 weeks.

People on the low-carb diet got 20% of their calories from carbs like vegetables, fruits and beans; a full 60% of their calories came from fat, including sources like meat, whole milk, cheese and nuts. The remaining 20% of calories came from protein.

The situation was flipped for people on the high-carb plan: 60% of calories from carbs and 20% from fat. The moderate plan divided the two nutrients equally, at 40/40.

Effects on calorie burning

After 20 weeks, the low-carb group appeared to be burning more calories – an average of 250 more per day, versus the high-carb group, and 111 more than the moderate-carb group.

The researchers did not look at the effects on any further weight loss. Instead, each person’s calorie intake was calibrated to maintain what they’d already lost. The point, Ludwig explained, was to zero in on the effects of the different diets on calorie burning.

According to Dr Anastassia Amaro, an assistant professor of endocrinology and metabolism at the University of Pennsylvania, “The study design is very clever.”

Amaro, who was not involved in the research, said she already suggests that patients cut back on carbs when they are trying to lose weight.

These findings, she said, will boost her confidence in that advice.

No grains and added sugars

However, Amaro said, the low-carb diet used in this study is not ready for a “direct translation” into the real world. For one, she explained, it’s not clear whether it’s the lack of carbs that was key.

“This is also a high-fat diet,” Amaro pointed out. “Is it the lack of carbs, the fat content, or both?”

What about the nutritional value of such a diet? Ludwig said it’s healthy – allowing fruit, legumes and an “unlimited” amount of vegetables, for instance.

“What it doesn’t have is grains and added sugar,” he said.

Ludwig agreed, however, that more research is needed to show whether the approach is the best way to maintain weight loss. He and his colleagues recently started a new trial that will pit a very low-carb diet against one that is high-carb but low in sugar, and another that is high-carb/high-sugar.

And what about people who currently have a healthy weight? Would a low-carb, high-fat diet cause their bodies to burn more calories?

That’s a “good question,” Amaro said – but this study can’t answer it.

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Having a healthy bladder means that you urinate between four and six times per day and once (or not at all) during the night; your urine is a pale yellow in colour; and you don’t have any accidental leaks.

However, if you suffer from urinary incontinence, you may find that you’re having accidental leaks that are both embarrassing and inconvenient. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent this from happening. Here are five things you can do:

1. Avoid becoming dehydrated

Dehydration can cause constipation and bladder irritation, which can result in incontinence. Make sure you drink plenty of water – taking small sips, instead of downing an entire glass of water in one go, can help spread your fluid intake evenly through the day. Also consume more fluids during hot weather or after strenuous exercise, when you are likely to sweat a lot. Carbonated drinks, alcohol, tea and coffee can cause bladder irritation, while fruit juice, milk or soup are hydrating.

2. Stay active and exercise

Staying active will help you maintain a healthy body weight, which in turn reduces pressure on the pelvic floor – this sling of muscle is responsible for bladder and bowel control. Exercising can be simple – go for a regular 30 minute walk or pick an activity you enjoy (such as dancing, yoga or swimming).

The Better Health Channel recommends keeping your pelvic floor muscles in shape: “Obesity, pregnancy, childbirth, regular heavy lifting, high impact exercise and a chronic cough can weaken the pelvic floor, but you can strengthen these muscles with specific exercises.” 

3. Maintain a healthy weight

If you are overweight, you are at a higher risk of incontinence, says a study published in the Journal of Urology. The researchers explain that carrying extra weight puts additional pressure on your bladder. Women’s Health reports that incontinence caused by weight gain is pretty easy to reverse. They cite another study published in the same journal that reported that women who were able to lose weight (and keep it off), had decreased their leakage by 65% one year later.

4. Treat constipation

If you find yourself regularly constipated, you could be contributing to urinary incontinence, as the constant straining to empty your bowels can weaken your pelvic floor muscles. According to the NHS, you should never delay the urge to empty your bowels. They say that changing your diet and lifestyle by eating more fibre-rich foods and exercising regularly can help prevent constipation and thus urinary incontinence.

5. Train your bladder

According to John Hopkins Medicine, there are two ways to train your bladder. The first involves Kegel exercises that, if done regularly and correctly, tighten muscles in your pelvis, which helps strengthen them and thus prevent accidental leaks. The second exercise is called “The Knack”, and with this method you do a Kegel as you’re about to cough, sneeze or do any other activity that usually tends to trigger a leak.

When to see the doctor

Although you might find incontinence embarrassing, don’t hesitate to talk to your doctor about it. Dr Prenevin Govender, a Cape Town-based urologist and Health24’s Incontinence Expert, previously told Health24, “Incontinence is never ‘normal’ and if you experience it, you should always go to your doctor. In some cases, your doctor may refer you to a urologist.”

Make sure you see your doctor under the following circumstances:

• When you suddenly experience incontinence 
• When incontinence affects your lifestyle
• When you constantly feel as though you have a full bladder

^{Image credit: iStock}

Compiled by Mandy Freeman