The word “love” has stumped people for ages. It has made people feel like they’re floating, or become crybabies upon hearing a certain song. It has also made otherwise sensible people do crazy things.
Yet, as mysterious a force love is, there seems to be no surprise that it is capable of many, many things.
The stuff of Valentine’s Day may be good for the heart, in more ways than one. Chocolate and expressions of love could not only make thumpers go pitter-patter in romantic fashion, they could also lead to better heart health.
The chocolate and love can play a role in keeping the blood flowing throughout the body.
The Sweet Stuff
Many people see chocolate as a guilty pleasure. How many dieters have felt they’ve committed a sin upon indulging in the cocoa delight? How many mothers have warned their children against eating too much, lest they get cavities?
There’s no doubt chocolate can contribute to weight gain and tooth decay, but now researchers are finding it can do good things for the body as well.
It seems a component in cocoa flavonoids can be heart healthful. Flavonoids are antioxidants, known to protect against free radicals in the body. Free radicals are suspected of damaging arteries and triggering buildup of plaque (fatty substances) in the wall of blood vessels, which can lead to atherosclerosis.
This antioxidant effect is apparently greater in dark chocolate, because it has more cocoa beans, a natural source of flavonoids.
The flavonoids in dark chocolate may also improve the health of the endothelium (the lining in arteries and veins).
Cupid’s Arrow
The word “love” has stumped people for ages. It has made people feel like they’re floating, or become crybabies upon hearing a certain song. It has also made otherwise sensible people do crazy things.
Yet, as mysterious a force love is, there seems to be no surprise that it is capable of many, many things.
How about improving heart health? As ludicrous as it may sound yes there is proof that it can do that, too, and more.
The evidence is very strong that good relationships have health benefits.
Various investigators have looked into different types of relationships (i.e. marriage, family, and friendship), and have shown that love can:
- Help prevent plaque buildup in the arteries.
- Protect against heart disease.
- Boost levels of antibodies in the body.
- Reduce levels of stress chemicals, which can damage the immune system.
- Lower risk of disease in general.
- Decrease risk of early death.
- Lengthen life.
Love’s protective effect against heart disease has been tested in several settings.
One theory explaining love’s effect on physical health involves human nature. It’s instinctual to have this need for touching and talking. The personal contact turns on a part of the nervous system, which has a calming effect, and allows for a smaller amount stress chemicals in the body.
People who do affirm their love for each other before going to sleep tend to sleep more deeply, in a more relaxed way, and they’ll wake in the morning more refreshed, in a better mood, and, therefore, they’ll get along better.
Real life may not always be as simple, but having less stress is good for the health of the overall body, including the heart.
Gifts From and for the Heart
Offering your sweetie love and chocolate for Valentine’s Day may, indeed, help you score big in the heart department. But romantic and healthy gift giving need not be boring.
Below are some ideas to help get hearts pumping.
- Give a fruit basket. Red fruits such a strawberries and cherries are rich in antioxidants.
- Take a field trip to do something with one another, rather than buying a material object. It’s a chance to create a new experience or re-live an old one together.
- Give a funny book, as humor is good for the heart.
“Whether it’s a small box of chocolates, red roses, or it’s time spent together, the point is to give a gift on Valentine’s Day to somebody you care about,” says Dr Archana Shah, Consultant Gynecologist and fertility specialist at SAL and Rajasthan Hospital, Ahmedabad, reminding that the effort is what usually touches a person’s heart.
As you move into Valentine’s Day why not get creative about intimacy and sexual loving? The creative behavior tends to lead to sexual success!
Below, you’ll find with some ideas that are just a little bit different. Stretch a little and introduce your lover to something brand new!
Seduction
Seduction can involve the use of all the senses in both life and love. You don’t need to be turned off to it because you think it is coercive or manipulative. Telling the truth can be very seductive, if you do it right. You can develop your own unique brand of seduction and, if you think you already have that brand, you can refine it to work for you and your lover even better.
Kindness
Showing kindness, compassion, and interest in what your lover is involved with in life is seductive. Everyone loves true attention. There is great seduction in sharing drink, food, words, music: all the things that romance is built around. The Kama Sutra makes note that young people are, by nature, generous with themselves and their worldly goods. These qualities attract us to each other.
Flirting Techniques
The Kama Sutra is full of subtle techniques to woo a potential lover with. Coyness, sitting by oneself, and glancing furtively at the object of the desire are all natural techniques employed by heartfelt lovers to entice a potential mate to seek them out. Lovers have used actions like accidental/on-purpose brushing up against an arm, a breast, or a foot under a table since the beginning of time.
Wittiness is very seductive. It is a great way to flirt. Knowledge is an excellent way to break the ice when approaching a new person to meet. Being smart shouldn’t equate to being snobby, though. If you are prone to being a know-it-all then try to preface your comments so that they become more like a genuine offering rather than a way to make you look good.
Listening
Be genuinely interested in what the other person has to say. Listen attentively, especially if that person is a woman. Make eye contact a lot and for extended periods of time. Practice it and add a smile. It doesn’t hurt and will actually make you feel better inside even if the person doesn’t respond much.
In the days of the Kama Sutra they used go-betweens to arrange meetings between people. In a way, that happens today, only on a less formal basis. Being bubbly and vivacious draws other people’s attention to you. This has to happen in a natural setting, though, because it is easy to spot a person who is forcing a bubbly personality.
Using Sexy Words
For both men and women, words can be powerful, erotic stimulators. In general, men will prefer lusty, teasing, more explicitly sexual language. Women tend to respond to more indirect language–hints, words of love and desire, compliments. Regardless of what you like, the idea is to start the erotic play before you get to the bedroom. The longer we can be juiced-up, the stronger our reactions will be when we get there.
Don’t hesitate to use words liberally when making love. And make sounds to let your partner know how you are feeling and what you like.
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by
Dr Paras Shah
Chief Consultant Sexologist & Infertility Specialist
SAL Hospital
Rajasthan Hospital
www.s4sq.com
Previous comments:
Shail Raghuvanshi February 14, 2010 at 9:32 am
That was indeed a good piece on love and its chemistry Dr. Paras Shah.
[Reply]
Dr PARAS SHAH Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
TKS SHAIL.
WARM REGARDS
DR PARAS SHAH