Has sex lowers cholesterol, myth or fact?

Sexual intercourse is not only beneficial for emotional conditions, but also physically. In fact, not a few believe that having sex can make the body feel fit, lose weight, and lower cholesterol.

However, is it true that sexual intercourse has something to do with your cholesterol levels?

Factors that lower cholesterol levels

Before understanding whether having sex can lower cholesterol or not, you certainly need to know at a glance about cholesterol and how to lower it if it's in excess.

Cholesterol is a type of fat-like substance that is naturally present in the cells of your body.

The body needs cholesterol for a variety of functions. However, high cholesterol levels can trigger plaque formation in blood vessels. The impact is an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, and heart attack.

Blood cholesterol will increase with age. In addition, a diet high in saturated fat, obesity, smoking habits, and lack of physical activity are also the triggers.

To lower cholesterol, you must stay away from these factors. You must eat a balanced nutritious diet, stop smoking, maintain an ideal body weight, and of course be diligent in doing physical activity.

So, can sex lower cholesterol?

According to one study, the most ideal physical activity for lowering cholesterol is a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance training.

Aerobic exercise is a type of exercise that increases your heart rate, such as walking, swimming and running.

Meanwhile, resistance sports consist of a series of exercises that aim to increase muscle strength and endurance, such as lifting weights or using dumbbell .

Cholesterol cannot go down with just one or two physical activities. The American Heart Association recommends moderate to vigorous physical activity 3-4 times a week.

Examples of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity include jogging , tennis, gardening and cycling at speeds of 10 kilometers per hour. To make it even more effective, you can include using resistance exercises dumbbell .

Sex does make you feel tired and make your heart rate increase, but this activity is not as effective at lowering cholesterol than exercise.

Sexual activity cannot be classified as moderate to strenuous physical activity because the amount of energy burned is not sufficient.

A study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that men burn 100 calories during sex, while women only burn 69 calories.

This figure is still far below other, more intense physical activities. On average, just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise can burn up to 318 calories.

Even though it doesn't lower cholesterol, sex is still beneficial

Sexual intercourse is not proven to reduce cholesterol effectively, but this activity includes light physical activity that is beneficial to the heart.

Not only that, the benefits of having sex can also make life for you and your partner more enjoyable. For that, there's nothing wrong with doing this one activity to get other health benefits.

x