The ancient East Asian secret to longevity: sex
Is it the miso, the seaweed, the tofu, or the fish? Theories abound, but one thing is certain: Japan is a nation with a high life expectancy. The average lifespan is 84 years, several years longer than Western nations.
Now a cardiovascular physiologist has cut through the rhetoric to propose that the secret to longevity is actually sex.
As described in an essay for aeon, Denis Noble looks at ancient Chinese poems and scrolls kept at the National Museum in Tokyo. The Ishinho set of 30 scrolls contain remedies that are exclusively herbal, nutritional, or sexual.
Noble begins speculating on the genuine benefits by linking the remedies to modern advances in science.
Does spermidine — a compound containing semen — boost cellular autophagy (the ability to renew and recycle cells)? Does resorbing sperm by arousal but non-ejaculation help male health?
The discussion then moves on to telomeres, “the tips that protect the ends of chromosomes from damage.” Another study apparently showed that sexually intimate couples benefitted from longer telomeres, but no cause could be identified. Perhaps it is due to the synchronization of heart rate, breath, and gaze between lovers (mentioned in the IshinhÅ scrolls)?
In other words, lovemaking for longevity.
The scrolls emphasize exceedingly slow and gentle movements foreplay, working to caress the mysterious “energy meridians” within the body that are a hallmark of historical East Asian ideas of physiology.
But don’t get your hopes up that regular, passionate sex with a lover will lead to a longer life. The scroll text suggests that sex should be fully consummated only three times out of 10, and only to conceive a child. Synchronized breath, gaze, and heart rate between lovers is beneficial, but exhausting bodily fluids like semen may have the opposite effect, and cause the male body to age prematurely!
Whereas a woman and her yin energy were greatly strengthened by reaching climax, this was to be avoided at all costs by the man, whose yang energy would be robbed.
So crucial was this aspect that the physician sages gave detailed instructions on how a man could avoid ejaculation, while still reaching orgasm. Once a man mastered this life-enhancing technique, he would be capable of multiple orgasms just like a woman, and enjoy a long and healthy life.
So there you have it, folks: dry orgasms are the secret to a long life!
