Getting your teeth cleaned may give you more than a sparkling white smile — it may give you something to smile about, like your health.

In a large study, people who had their teeth professionally scaled at least once every two years were 24% less likely to have a heart attack, compared with those who skipped the hygienist. Scaling cleans between the gums and the teeth.

And their risk of stroke dropped by 13%, says study researcher Zu-Yin Chen, MD, a cardiology fellow at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.

“Something as simple as having good dental hygiene — brushing, flossing, and having regular cleanings — may be good for your heart and brain health,” says Ralph Sacco, MD, head of neurology at the University of Miami. Sacco, the immediate past president of the American Heart Association (AHA), was not involved with the work.

Although the link between dental health and heart and stroke risk is not entirely clear, inflammation is a common problem in gum disease and heart disease, Sacco tells WebMD.

A number of studies have linked chronic inflammation to hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke, he says.

Cleaning your teeth gets rid of bacteria in the mouth that can lead to chronic infection and inflammation, which can then spread to other parts of the body, Chen says.

The study was presented here at the American Heart Association annual meeting.

Benefits of Frequent Teeth Cleaning

Chen and colleagues reviewed the records of more than 100,000 people in Taiwan’s national health insurance database. About half had received at least one cleaning; the other half had never had a cleaning.

Their average age was 38 years. None had suffered a heart attack or stroke when the study began. They were followed for an average of seven years.

Results showed that people who had more than one cleaning a year had the lowest risk of heart attack and stroke, Chen tells WebMD.

Because the researchers didn’t have information on heart attack and stroke risk factors such as weight, smoking, and race — which could have affected the results — it could be that people with good dental hygiene are more likely to eat right and have other heart-healthy habits, Sacco says.

Less sleep may be linked to lower testosterone among older men, according to a new study.

Men’s testosterone levels typically decline with age, and in some men that drop in male hormones can lead to a lack of energy or libido as well as an increased risk of falls with broken bones.

But researchers say some men in their 80s manage to maintain testosterone levels usually seen in young men. The reasons behind the large variation in testosterone levels aren’t understood, and researchers say their findings suggest sleep may play a role.

“The results of the study raise the possibility that older men who obtain less actual sleep during the night have lower blood testosterone levels in the morning,” says researcher Plamen Penev, MD, PhD of the University of Chicago, in a news release.

Less Sleep, Lower Testosterone

In the study researchers measured morning testosterone levels in 12 healthy men between ages 64 and 74. Their sleep was also monitored over the course of about a week.

The results showed that the amount of sleep the men got was a significantly related to the amount of testosterone in morning blood samples. The more sleep the men got, the higher their testosterone level, and those with less sleep had lower testosterone levels (the range of sleep was four hours to eight hours with an average of six hours).

“Although the findings suggest that how long a person sleeps may be an indicator of age-related changes in important hormone signals in the body, future studies are needed to determine the importance of these relationships for the health of older adults,” says Penev.

Sleep experts recommend that adults get between seven and eight hours of sleep per night to maintain optimum health.

How Can I Prevent Male Sexual Problems?

These suggestions may help you avoid sexual problems:

• Avoid problems with blood flow: Don’t smoke; control your blood pressure, cholesterol level, and medical conditions such as diabetes.
• Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs that can lessen sexual desire or impair your performance.
• Discuss side effects of medications with your doctor or pharmacist in case an alternative with fewer sexual effects is available. Never change your medications without your doctor’s approval and guidance.
• Exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, and get enough sleep.

Relaxed, clear teaching to promote understanding of one’s body and of sexual functioning, emphasizing the importance and normalcy of sexuality, is key to avoiding the guilt and fear that sometimes result in sexual dysfunction.

What Are the Symptoms of Sexual Problems in Men?

The symptoms of male sexual problems include:

• Lack of sexual desire, sexual fantasies, or interest in sexual contact
• Inability to have or maintain any erection
• Inability to have or maintain an erection sufficient for sexual functioning
• Inability to reach an orgasm despite adequate sexual stimulation and signs of arousal
• Ability to achieve orgasm only after an unusually lengthy period of stimulation
• Ability to achieve orgasm only during masturbation or during oral sex
• Ability to achieve orgasm only in situations that are considered bizarre or taboo, such as fetishes
• Difficulty controlling the timing of orgasm and ejaculation, so that it occurs very early in sexual contact, leaving the other partner dissatisfied
• Lack of ejaculation
• Persistent erection, unassociated with sexual desire
• Bloody ejaculation, which can be frightening but is usually not serious

Call Your Doctor immediately or Go to an Emergency Room If:

You have an extended or painful erection, unrelated to sexual desire, lasting more than a few hours.

Call Your Doctor About Sexual Problems If:

• You or your partner are experiencing significant distress due to sexual dysfunction
• Erections or intercourse are painful
• You lack any desire for sexual contact
• You are unable to have or maintain a usable erection
• You are unable to have an orgasm
• You are unable to control the timing of your orgasm, so that you ejaculate extremely early during sexual activity

What Is the Penis?

The penis is the male sexual organ. It contains:

• Two cylinder-shaped chambers called the corpora cavernosa, which run the length of the penis and contain a maze of blood vessels and sinuses (cavities).
• The urethra, the channel in which urine and sperm flow, which runs along the underside of the corpora cavernosa.
• Erectile tissue, which is contained within the corpora cavernosa above the urethra, two main arteries and several veins and nerves.
• The shaft, the longest part of the penis.
• The head (glans), located at the end of the shaft.
• The meatus, the opening at the tip of the head where urine and semen are discharged.

How Does an Erection Occur?

An erection begins in the brain. Physical and/or mental stimulation cause nerves in the brain to send chemical messages to nerves in the penis telling the penile blood vessels to relax so that blood can flow freely into the penis. Once in the penis, high pressure traps the blood within both corpora cavernosa. This causes the penis to expand and sustain an erection.

Erection is reversed when the inflow of blood is stopped and opening outflow channels open, allowing the penis to become soft.

How Does Ejaculation Occur?

Ejaculation, the release of semen at climax, is triggered when the man reaches a critical level of excitement. Sexual stimulation causes nerves in the penis to send chemical messages or impulses to the spinal cord and into the brain where other chemical messages are sent back to the penis — via the spinal cord — causing ejaculation.

Ejaculation has two phases — During the first phase, the vas deferens, which are the tubes which store and transport sperm from the testes, contract to squeeze sperm toward the back of the urethra. The seminal vesicles also release secretions into the back of the urethra. During the second phase, the posterior urethra senses the secretions within it (at the height of sexual excitement) and sends signals to the spinal cord to, in turn, send powerful signals to the muscles at the base of penis to vigorously contract every 0.8 seconds and force the semen out of the penis

No.1 Goji berries

One of the primary culprits of low sperm production is overheating, which is why many doctors recommend goji berries. These bright-red berries contain powerful antioxidants that improve circulation, combat oxidative damage and keep temperature levels in the male reproductive organs at an optimal level. Many doctors and herbalists believe goji berries also improve overall stamina, mood and well-being, all of which are critical for a healthy and happy sex life.

In a fast paced life with an empty belly, fast food seems like quick, cheap, convenient, filling, and delicious choice. Eating out, whether at a fast food or sit-down restaurant is often the cheapest or easiest, but not always the healthiest choice. Eating junk food on a regular basis can lead to a number of health problems, including both physical and psychological ones. Regardless of whether you’re trying to lose weight or trying to make your diet more nutritious, you can eat healthy when dining out. Here are a few tips to help you make your diet healthier and to get rid of some extra body fat.

1. No matter where you’re eating, it is always recommended that you reduce your portions, since restaurants are notorious for piling multiple servings on one plate. You can even take half of the food home for another meal later, or split the meal with your friends.

2. Choose healthier fare. If you’re options are not ideal, make the best selection you can instead of throwing up your hands and giving up.

3. Ask for what you want. You can make your meals healthier by substituting high fat items like french fries for a side salad, veggies or a baked potato. Ask for condiments such as butter, sour cream, salad dressing, ketchup and mayonnaise “on the side,” so you can control what you consume.

4. Read your menu carefully. “Breaded, batter-dipped, and deep fried” descriptors indicate the meal is  heavy in fat as these items are almost always deep fried or sauteed in oil. Look for lower fat indicators, foods that are “grilled, broiled or flame cooked”. Other good key words to look for include poached, roasted, steamed or items baked in their own juices. If there’s nothing but “fried” on the menu, it’s ok to ask if they can prepare it differently for you.

5. Avoid biscuits, croissants, potpies, quiches, and pastries. Eat hard rolls, bread sticks (if not
brushed with butter), french bread and whole wheat buns. Limit to one serving.

Eating on the go can be a challenge, there is no doubt about it. But with these simple tips you can make healthier choices and still lose fat when eating out. Other than eating healthy, if you are trying to lose fat it is also a good idea check into  joining a gym, which can help you look slim, boost your health and  physical abilities like flexibility, strength and stamina.

• Airsoft Automatic Electric Guns or Rifles
• Spring Powered Airsoft Guns
• Gas Powered Airsoft Guns
• Co2 Powered Airsoft Guns

Person who is new to use airsoft, it is easy to get all the information about it as these guns shoot around 6mm round pellets which is made of plastic commonly known as BBs. It travels with the high speed but however when we compare with the real guns its slow only. But when it hits an object or a person it is more painful and there is no loss of soul which is guaranteed but severe injury or loss of blood is possible depends upon the attack. There are many manufacturers available for Airsoft and when it is viewed it is visible replica as a real gun. While playing events with airsoft guns there should be precautions made to avoid very series injuries. There is a mask available (Airsoft Glasses) to protect us which is really recommended by all the manufacturers.

So getting this information about airsoft is an easiest thing but purchasing in a best place is a little tedious task. No worries, Zephyr Airsoft are a leader in retail and online airsoft sales. They carry a complete line of airsoft guns and they even provide us free shipping when our purchase is over $100. There are several airsoft gun types available which includes Co2 Airsoft Guns, Green Gas Guns, AEG Airsoft Guns, Spring Airsoft Guns, Grenade Launchers, Refurbished Guns and more.. When you visit their website you can see more familiar products like Airsoft Package Specials, Airsoft Accessories, Batteries and Chargers, Airsoft BBs, Airsoft Magazines, Airsoft Guns, Airsoft Safety Gear, Airsoft Upgrades, Green Gas and Co2, Optics/Flashlights, Slingshots, Tactical Gear and Clothing. All the top brands are provided by them as plenty of products available. Purchase your dream airsoft products and get more satisfaction in every purchase you made. If you still have any queries just contact their support team which is easier still.

Have you ever wondered why we kiss? It’s actually a strange way to spend your time  lips smooshed together, breath (good or bad) mingling, and let’s not even get into the tongue action. Yet we love it. We cheer when movie characters seal their happily-ever-afters with a smooch. A bodies-pressed-together kiss can make you remember why you adore the man who was annoying you just a minute ago. Why is that? “For some women, kissing is even more intimate than intercourse,” says Redbook contributing editor and ob/gyn Hilda Hutcherson, M.D., who devoted a whole chapter to the importance of kissing in her book What Your Mother Never Told You About S-E-X. “That deep level of connection you get when you lock lips and tongues is important.” Hutcherson isn’t just being a romantic  there’s science behind the power of kissing: It causes our bodies to release endorphins and oxytocin, hormones that help us feel happy and more attached.

So it worries Hutcherson and other experts that kissing is one of the first things to dwindle when couples hit the long-term. In a recent Redbook  poll, 79 percent of readers said they don’t kiss their husbands nearly as much as they’d like; 14 percent said they’re lucky to do it once a day. Alise, a 41-year-old mother of two, admits that for months, “we were down to a peck in the morning, maybe not even that.” It wasn’t until she tried to figure out why the usual zing was missing from her marriage that she realized nothing had changed except that life had gotten in the way of their kissing.

Hutcherson often prescribes smooches to patients like Alise, who are having sexual or relationship problems. “Getting back into the daily habit of kissing can rekindle a couple’s intimate connection,” she says. We rounded up some women to test her theory; Alise’s assignment was to plant a big fat one on her hubby at least once a day. “We’d been off it for so long that I was nervous about how he’d react,” she says. But after a week of making out more than they had since the honeymoon, she reports, “I swear we’re as giggly and as turned on as when we first met.” Read on for five more experiments  and get ready to relearn the power of a kiss.

58 percent of readers

Don’t smooch their husbands as much as they used to

24 percent

Say they only kiss their partner as a lead-up to sex

Experiment No.1

A total kissing switcheroo

“I pride myself on being adventurous and creative in bed, but my kissing routine is, I have to admit, pretty boring,” Malikh, 29, told Redbook. “After four years of the same thing, I wondered if my husband was in the mood for something different.” She followed this advice from William Cane, author of The Art of Kissing, to shake things up. “Slide your mouth to his cheek and then his ear, then back to his mouth,” Cane said. “Also try different things with your hands, like rubbing his back, so it becomes a full-body experience.” Bingo! “My husband immediately went from his just-getting-home-from-work mood to being ready for action. Now I have it in my bag of tricks for when I want to initiate sex without just saying, ‘Hey, want to have sex?’”

Cutting back on sleep, even for a little while, may have a dramatic effect on men’s testosterone levels.

A preliminary new study shows a week of sleep loss lowered testosterone levels by up to 15% in group of healthy young men.

Researchers say low testosterone levels can negatively affect men’s health in a variety of ways, in addition to affecting sexual behavior.

For example, very low testosterone levels or testosterone deficiency is associated with low energy, reduced libido, poor concentration, and fatigue.

Testosterone is also critical to building muscle mass and strength and bone density. Testosterone levels naturally decline in men aged 40 and over by about 1% to 2% per year.

Sleep Affects Testosterone Levels

In the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared testosterone levels in a group of 10 healthy young men after a week of normal sleep and a week of sleep loss.

In the first week, the participants slept eight hours each night at home. Then they had three nights of 10-hour sleep and eight nights of 5-hour sleep in a sleep laboratory.

The results showed that testosterone levels decreased by 10%-15% after the week of sleep loss compared with their rested states. This decrease in testosterone levels was also associated with a loss of vigor among the participants.

Researchers say about 15% of adult workers in the U.S. get five hours or less of sleep per night, and this study suggests this kind of prolonged sleep loss could have a negative consequence on testosterone and men’s well-being.

A sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is one of the top risk factors for heart disease. Fortunately, it’s a risk factor that you can do something about. Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has many benefits. It can:

• Strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system.
• Improve your circulation and help your body use oxygen better.
• Improve your heart failure symptoms.
• Increase energy levels so you can do more activities without becoming tired or short of breath.
• Increase endurance.
• Lower blood pressure.
• Improve muscle tone and strength.
• Improve balance and joint flexibility.
• Strengthen bones.
• Help reduce body fat and help you reach a healthy weight.
• Help reduce stress, tension, anxiety, and depression.
• Boost self-image and self-esteem.
• Improve sleep.
• Make you feel more relaxed and rested.
• Make you look fit and feel healthy.

How Do I Get Started Exercising?

Before starting an exercise program, talk to your doctor about:

• Medication changes. New medications can greatly affect your response to exercise; your doctor can tell you if your normal exercise routine is still safe.
• Heavy lifting. Make sure that lifting or pushing heavy objects and chores such as raking, shoveling, mowing, or scrubbing aren’t off limits. Chores around the house can be tiring for some people; make sure you only do what you are able to do without getting tired.
• Safe exercises. Get the doctor’s approval before you lift weights, use a weight machine, jog, or swim.

What Type of Exercise Is Best?

• Stretching: slow lengthening of the muscles. Stretching the arms and legs before and after exercising helps prepare the muscles for activity and helps prevent injury and muscle strain. Regular stretching also increases your range of motion and flexibility.
• Cardiovascular or aerobic: steady physical activity using large muscle groups. This type of exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and improves the body’s ability to use oxygen. Aerobic exercise has the most benefits for your heart. Over time, aerobic exercise can help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure at rest and improve your breathing.
• Strengthening: repeated muscle contractions (tightening) until the muscle becomes tired. For people with heart failure, many strengthening exercises are not recommended. (See below)

What Are Examples of Aerobic Exercises?

Aerobic exercises include: walking, jogging, jumping rope, bicycling (stationary or outdoor), cross-country skiing, skating, rowing, and low-impact aerobics or water aerobics.

How Often Should I Exercise?

In general, to achieve maximum benefits, you should gradually work up to an aerobic session lasting 20 to 30 minutes, at least three to four times a week. Exercising every day or every other day will help you keep a regular aerobic exercise schedule.

If you’re not convinced about the need to develop an exercise program for your life, you can at least try following some of these tips in your everyday routine. Take advantage of any opportunity for exercise. Try some today.

• Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator at school or the mall. Just start with one flight. Soon, you’ll be ready for two.
• Park your car at the far end of the parking lot. The short walk to and from the store or school helps your heart.
• If you ride a bus or subway, get off a stop before your destination. Walk the rest of the way.
• If you can, spend a few minutes of your lunch break taking a stroll around the campus grounds. It should help you stay awake after lunch.
• Think of housework as an extra chance to exercise. Vacuuming briskly can be a real workout.
• Mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, and raking leaves are chores that can be done yourself as a chance to exercise.
• If you have a dog, think of the dog as an exercise machine with fur. A brisk walk with the dog is good for both of your hearts. Make it a part of your daily routine.
• If you have a family, schedule an after-dinner walk. Make it quality time.

The human heart’s job is to pump nutrient-rich blood throughout your body. If you smoke, take drugs, or drink alcohol excessively, you are giving your heart extra work. How do you feel when you have too much work to do? Your heart cannot handle too much extra work over a long period of time. Over time, the health of your heart will suffer.

Scientists have proven that smoking doubles your risk of having a heart attack and doubles, triples, or quadruples your risk of sudden cardiac death. Each year, over 300,000 Americans die of smoking-related heart disease. So, don’t smoke. If you do, quit. The sooner you quit, the sooner your risk will start to decline. There is hope. Former smokers can completely lower their risk of sudden cardiac death within ten years of quitting.

Because they are foreign substances, any drug can effect your heart. Even prescribed medications can. However, since prescribed medications are legal, doctors are able to control the effect a drug will have on your heart by controlling the dosage. With illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana, amphetamines, etc.), YOU have to control the effect on your heart. Can you do that? Only if you don’t take any. Even a small amount of a drug can be potentially fatal. So, don’t use illegal drugs. If you do, quit.

While drinking alcohol in moderation may not pose a risk, drinking excessively does pose a serious hazard to your heart. While alcohol flows in your blood stream, the nutrient-rich blood is less able to nourish the heart. If the alcohol content is excessive, your heart will be in danger. So, don’t drink alcohol excessively. If you do, quit.

To control the amount and kind of fat, saturated fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol you eat:

• Eat no more than 6 ounces (cooked) per day of lean meat, fish, and skinless poultry.
• Try main dishes featuring pasta, rice, beans, and/or vegetables. Or create “low meat” dishes by mixing these foods with small amounts of lean meat, poultry, or fish.
• The approximately 5 to 8 teaspoon servings of fats and oils per day may be used for cooking and baking, and in salad dressings and spreads.
• Use cooking methods that require little or no fat: boil, broil, bake, roast, poach, steam, saute, stir-fry, or microwave.
• Trim off the fat you can see before cooking meat and poultry. Drain off all fat after browning. Chill soups and stews after cooking so you can remove the hardened fat from the top.
• The 3 to 4 egg yolks per week included in your eating plan may be used alone or in cooking and baking (including store-bought products).
• Limit your use of organ meats such as liver, brains, chitterlings, kidneys, heart, gizzard, sweetbreads, and pork maws.
• Choose skim or 1% fat milk and nonfat or lowfat yogurt and cheeses.

To round out the rest of your eating plan:

• Eat 5 or more servings of fruits or vegetables per day.
• Eat 6 or more servings of breads, cereals, or grains per day.

If you want to have a healthy heart, you have to learn how to eat a healthy heart diet. All of the food you eat effects the health of your heart. Learn which foods are heart smart and try to include them as a regular part of your diet.

Consult your doctor for an eating plan that best suits your dietary needs. If you are of average health, you can probably follow the Food Pyramid eating plan.

No matter which eating plan you follow, the following guidelines are recommended:

• Total fat intake should be less than 30 percent of total calories daily.
• Saturated fatty acid intake should be less than 10 percent of total calories daily.
• Polyunsaturated fatty acid intake should be no more that 10 percent of total calories daily.
• Monounsaturated fatty acids make up the rest of total fat intake, about 10 to 15 percent of total calories daily.
• Cholesterol intake should be no more than 300 milligrams per day.
• Sodium intake should be no more than 3000 milligrams per day.
• Beware of chemicals in your food like caffeine, MSG, and other food additives.

A brain tumor is a mass or growth of abnormal cells that have multiplied out of control. There are many different types of brain tumors. Some are benign, or non-cancerous, while others are classified as malignant, or cancerous. Symptoms you experience and treatment options depend largely on the type of tumor as well as its size and location.

Primary brain tumors are those that originate in the brain or tissues surrounding it. These tumors are much less common than secondary tumors, which occur when cancer from another part of the body metastasizes or spreads to the brain. While any type of cancer may do this, melanoma and cancers of the breast, colon, kidney, and lung are the most common to metastasize to the brain.

Researchers have not been able to determine exactly what causes brain tumors to form. Only a few risk factors have been documented. Exposure to radiation therapy of the head may put you at a higher risk for developing brain tumors. Certain genetic syndromes may increase your risk as well. Typically, there is not a clear indication of what caused the tumor to form. Research continues to determine if cell phones may contribute to the formation of brain tumors. At this time, no clear conclusions have been made linking the two.

There are no reliable screenings that detect brain tumors before symptoms appear. Patients may suffer from a variety of symptoms before visiting their physician for diagnosis. The size, location, and rate of growth of the tumor often determine what symptoms occur. Some of the most common symptoms may include:

• Headaches that occur more often and become more severe over time
• Blurred or double vision
• Hearing loss
• Unexplained nausea and vomiting
• Changes in personality
• Confusion
• Seizures
• Weakness or loss of movement in an arm or leg

If you experience any of these symptoms, visit your physician for a diagnosis. He or she will recommend a variety of tests to determine whether or not a brain tumor is the problem. Checking your vision, hearing, coordination, and reflexes with a neurological exam may indicate which part of brain is affected. An MRI allows the physician to scan your brain and evaluate the situation. A CT scan may be administered to determine if there is cancer in another part of your body that may have spread. If a tumor is found, the patient may undergo a biopsy to diagnose the tumor as benign or malignant.

Benign tumors are less aggressive than malignant ones and do not normally spread to surrounding tissue or other parts of the body. Even though they are not cancerous, benign tumors can still be very serious and possibly life threatening. If they are located in a vital area of the brain, exert pressure on sensitive nerve tissue, or increase pressure in the brain, these tumors may pose a serious risk to the patient. Benign tumors are often successfully treated with surgery, reducing the patient’s risk of disability or death.

There are three standard types of treatment for malignant tumors: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. New treatments are constantly being researched and used in clinical trials throughout the world. For some patients, clinical trials are the best choice of treatment. Your cancer care team will make recommendations for the treatment options that best suit your particular situation.

It is important that those patients who are dealing with a brain tumor not only get the best treatment available, but also find support to cope with their diagnosis. Talk with your physician or oncologist about support options in your area.