According to The Star, drinking more than the safe alcohol limit can have damaging effects on a man’s sexual performance. Drinking more than four units of beer a day will result in lack of libido, ejaculation and fertility, along with impotence. Other factors contributing to erectile dysfunction and drinking are stress and depression.

Also, an article in Canada.com reports that men that run three hours a week decrease their risk of impotence by 30%. Also, male runners possess the sexual performance of those two to five years their junior. It is also stated that this in combination with diet can improve performance up to ten years. This is due to the happy hormones released during vigorous exercise. Other benefits are lower cardiovascular risks and injuries.

Our sexuality doesn’t stay static. The expression of who we are sexually changes depending on culture and the events of our times. To learn more, and to think more, about how sexuality evolves, read a column on the Edge website in which I am quoted.

Various organizations have named Japan as the least sexually active society. It comes to much surprise that this is also a place that craves pornography so much that it has been made into a billion-dollar industry. On top of this, according to TIME, the best selling genre is elder porn. The reason for this craze? One Japanese production company believes that the storylines are more real and relatable, along with the competitiveness of the industry. The article tells about the biggest pornstar of this genre, a 74 year-old man with over 300 films under his belt unbeknownst to his family. And although films featuring young stars sell fast for a few months, films that feature mature adults sell well in the long run for many years.

I’ve written about it before, but here I go again: Smoking is a major cause of erectile dysfunction. I have seen grown men weep in my office because they had no idea that smoking was going to snap shut the arteries that feed blood to the penis.

Too bad Egypt is more progressive than we are about warning citizens about this problem: . In brief, Egypt has put warnings on cigarette packs about the sexual problems men face if they smoke. Is this just one more thing that the tobacco companies don’t want Americans to know about cigarettes?

By now you’ve surely read about the 16 (possibly more) girls in Gloucester, MA who made a pact to become pregnant. This is so strange and so wrong on so many levels. Becoming pregnant to create comraderie isn’t unusual; growing up, I was friends with the sons and daughters of my mother’s friends, because they had been pregnant around the same time.

It’s the age and context that are so troubling. Jamie Lynn Spears just gave birth; how could she not have influenced the girls in their choices? Don’t we hear over and over again how influential the media is?

But do we really heed the message? I don’t recall hearing anyone talking about how Spears’ life would change. We saw how it changed her sister Britney–from rock idol to shattered young mother. Magazine articles make celebrity motherhood sound all too easy, and very unlike reality.

Working actresses have choices that the Gloucester girls most likely do not. They can take time off from work; they can hire help. Whether they marry or not seems to be of little consequence.

Statistics about teen pregnancy tell a very different story. Teen girls tend to have premature and underweight infants. They struggle to finish school or earn a living. Children raised by single mothers are more likely to end up in poverty.

All of these issues have become embroiled in conservative ideas about abstinence. Obviously, these girls didn’t hear that message, making them no different than the scores of other girls who become sexually active, on average around age 15.

It’s all pretty sad, isn’t it?

If you have a teenager, this is a great time to talk about your views on premarital sex and pregnancy. Truthfully, it’s a conversation that should have begun in childhood, but better late than never. And if you can’t bring yourself to do it, enlist the help of a physician, nurse, or even a sex therapist.

A recent article in MSNBC addresses the issue of intimacy for returning veterans. Being injured neurologically and physically can have major impact on adjusting back to civilian life, and one of the areas not spoken about is how those will regain the intimate emotional and physical functioning they had before being deployed. One couple who experienced this first hand has started to speak publicly about this issue since it’s an important topic that veterans may be embarrassed to talk about or their doctors feel bringing it up would cross the line, but whatever the case it’s there and not only effects sex, but also, relationships in general. Due to having to adjust to their changes, the injured encounter new insecurities that may hinder their previous and future relationships, but with the right information and tools this can be helped.

According to DailyMail, pelvic floor exercises are a drug-free alternative that involves contracting of the pelvic muscles and brings the same results as Viagra, but without the side effects. This muscle, known as the pelvic floor, goes from the tailbone all the way to the pelvic bone having an important role when it comes to, not only having sex, but also controlling other daily functions that use that area of the body. According to one urologist, those who can have an erection, but are unable to keep it will be successful at this exercise, which we teach at The Buehler Institute. Check out the article to read about one mans successful experience with this.

Much has changed in the sperm and egg donation industry. According to Newsweek, it is no longer a private matter that a parent hides from a child. Curiosity has led not only the children, but also the donors to search and meet their offspring. To make the search easier top sperm banks are creating a registry system that could help or hinder the industry depending on the donors’ preference of anonymity. Those for this idea agree for reasons such as heredity factors like the sudden knowledge of diseases that run in the family. But some speculators that are against this are looking at rights of the adults, how much information should be put on any sort of tracking system, and the cost of all this.

This is a tough topic, but it’s been on my mind for weeks so I’ve decided to go ahead and tackle it.

It’s the subject of weight. Specifically, overweight. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I am, well, plump. There. Now you know. That being said, I have some endocrine problems chasing my number up the scale.

Last month I started using a medication that is supposed to bring that number down. Twice a day I have been injecting myself with Byetta so that I can be at a healthier weight. It’s pretty radical and I wouldn’t do it unless my metabolism wasn’t so slow. So believe me, I understand weight and have empathy for those who have that struggle.

It is heartbreaking to me when a married or partnered client comes, usually alone, to tell me that the real, secret reason they are no longer sexually attracted to their partner is because of weight gain. Usually, it isn’t just a matter of 10 or 20 lbs; most people seem to understand that as we age, weight may go up a bit.

No, what they complain about is a gain of 50 lbs. or more. They will show me the “pot” that their partner now has, modeling with their hands. And they all say the same thing: I love my partner, but they just got too darn fat. Read the rest of this entry …

Reuters Health released that the FDA has approved the first hormone spray-on. After one spray application, the hormonal formula is absorbed into the skin and dries in sixty seconds. Depending on how severe the menopause symptoms, spray frequency ranges from one to three. Convenient application and successful results may make this new product a treatment of choice for post-menopausal women.

Of course, one of the reasons a company might be in a rush to have a new form of delivering hormones might be to get women thinking that there is something new in the world of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Many women have become confused about hormones since the Women’s Health Initiative study was stopped when one group of women being studied were shown to have health problems attributed to HRT. But, the women in the study were post menopause.

What’s a woman to do? Well, the current recommendation seems to be (and I say “seems” because this is up to debate) to use HRT to manage menopausal symptoms in the lowest possible dose for the shortest amount of time.

More physicians seem to be prescribing topical estrogen to ease the vaginal dryness that comes with menopause, as well as other problems.

Of course, you should always talk with your physician about your own particular body and its needs.

One of the things that changes with menopause is sexuality. And if that’s something that interests you, then by all means come in for a discussion.

Also, I have used hypnosis with some good success for helping women to manage symptoms such as hot flashes and insomnia.

Bottom line: Use thoughtful judgment when it comes to taking any medication.