Sunday is National Ice Cream Day, and not a moment too soon. In these turbulent times, the simple pleasures of life can offer us sweet relief, and the creamy treat is near the top of most everyone’s list.
In 1984, when President Ronald Reagan declared the third Sunday of July as National Ice Cream Day, he once again proved that the way to our hearts is through our stomachs, winning re-election later that year in a landslide.
While ice cream has gotten a reputation as being bad for you, it also brings some surprising health benefits. For starters, it’s loaded with calcium, which strengthens teeth and bones. It may also enhance the possibility of a woman getting pregnant.
You read that right. According to newhealthadvisor.com, consuming full-fat ice cream improves a woman’s chances of having a baby, and that “women who eat it at least two or more times every week have a lower risk of suffering ovulation-related infertility.”
But wait, there’s more good news. Studies show that men who have frequent sex are benefiting their prostate gland. According to a report in The Telegraph, having one orgasm a day could significantly reduce a man’s chance of developing prostate cancer.
A Harvard Medical School study reveals that those who have sex more than 21 times a month are at a 22 percent lower risk of getting the disease. “The results of this study are particularly encouraging,” Jennifer Rider of Harvard Medical School told The Telegraph. I’ll say!
Sex is also aerobic, and can add years to your life. Or maybe life just seems longer without it?
So my take-away from these studies is, if sex and ice cream are pretty much all you think about, you are admirably health-minded and a role model for us all.
Of course, ice cream is also loaded with fats and sugar, and can help make you obese, increase your cholesterol, give you diabetes and heart disease. And yes, too much sex could bloat a man’s prostate to the size of a cantaloupe. So there’s that.
But both also can do you some good. In moderation. So why not focus on the positive?
Hey, it’s summer!
Playwright Mike Vogel blogs at newyorkgritty.net.
