HEALTH: Seven Tips To Get Rid Of Vaginal Odor

Many women are self-conscious about the scent of their vaginas. The vagina, just like the mouth, the skin, and other areas of the body, has a unique fragrance.

Diet, health, and other factors can affect the natural fragrance, which should still not smell foul. It's neither safe nor healthy to attempt to eliminate the vagina's scent. In fact, doing so can lead to infections that cause an unpleasant odor.

In this article, we explore some strategies that can reduce vaginal odor safely and address underlying medical causes.

1. Understand the different types of vaginal odor

Health and diet may affect the natural fragrance of the vagina alongside hormonal shifts.

It is common for women to be self-conscious about their vaginal odor. These negative feelings can affect self-esteem and body image.

HEALTH: Ten Health Benefits Of Sex

Type "sexual health" into a search engine, and it is likely that you will be bombarded with pages of articles covering anything and everything, from sexual norms and advice on relationships, birth control, and pregnancy, to information about STDs and how to avoid them. What is less often discussed, however, is the abundant physical and psychological health benefits of sex. We have put together a list of the top health benefits of sex, as backed up by science.

In exploring just how sex affects the mind and body, the list of potential benefits appears to be endless.

Aside from reproduction, pleasure, and intimacy, sex seems to have a positive impact on many life areas, including work, physical and cognitive performance, marriage, and happiness into our senior years. Sex may also have a positive effect on certain organs and conditions, as well as a preventive effect on some diseases.

For example, a recent study published in the Journal of Management found that maintaining a healthy sex life at home might boost job satisfaction and engagement at work.

Sex may also play a fundamental role in preserving a happy marriage, according to research published in Psychological Science. Partners are suggested to experience a sexual "afterglow" that lasts for up to 48 hours following sexual intercourse. This afterglow is associated with higher levels of long-term relationship satisfaction.

Sex is also considered a significant form of exercise. Sex burns around 85 calories, or 3.6 calories per minute, according to a study published in PLOS One.

HEALTH: How Does Poor Sleep Affect Our Ability To Learn? Study Investigates

Most of us know that a good night's sleep is key for happiness and productivity, and that conversely, a night of poor sleep can have negative effects on our performance during the day. But a new study manages to find precisely the brain area responsible for learning new skills and shows how it can be affected by poor sleep quality.

A team of researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, both in Switzerland, set out to examine the effect of a disturbed deep sleep phase on the brain's ability to learn new things.

More specifically, the new study - published in the journal Nature Communications - looks at the brain's ability to change and adapt in response to the stimuli that it receives from the environment, or neuroplasticity, in the motor cortex and how it is affected by deep sleep.

The motor cortex is the brain area responsible for developing and controlling motor skills, and the deep sleep phase - also called slow-wave sleep - is key for memory formation and processing, as well as for helping the brain to restore itself after a day of activity.

Manipulating the motor cortex during deep sleep

The study involved six women and seven men who were asked to perform motoric tasks during the day following a night of unperturbed sleep, and after a night during which their deep sleep had been disturbed.

HEALTH: Eating More Fruits, Vegetables Boosts Psychological Well-being In Just 2 Weeks

Fruits and vegetables are a pivotal part of a healthful diet, but their benefits are not limited to physical health. New research finds that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption may improve psychological well-being in as little as 2 weeks.

Dr. Tamlin Conner, of the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, and colleagues found that young adults who were given extra fruits and vegetables each day for 14 days ate more of the produce and experienced a boost in motivation and vitality.

The researchers recently reported their findings in the journal PLOS One.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, adults should aim to consume around two cups of fruits and around two to three cups of vegetables daily.

One cup of fruits is the equivalent to half a grapefruit or a large orange, and one cup of vegetables is proportionate to one large red pepper or a large, baked sweet potato.

As part of a healthful diet, fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer.

In recent years, studies have suggested that fruit and vegetable intake may also improve mental health. For their study, Dr. Conner and team set out to investigate this association further.

Increased motivation, vitality with higher intake of fruits and vegetables

The researchers enrolled 171 students aged between 18 and 25 to their study, and they were divided into three groups for 2 weeks.

HEALTH: 5 Reasons to Eat a Protein-Packed Breakfast

Eating breakfast isn't just for kids. Although you've probably stopped growing, your body is constantly renewing itself, replenishing your skin, hair and nails, replacing old tissues with new ones, breaking down and rebuilding bone and generally keeping your body in the best shape possible.  

How does your body do it? With the nutrients food delivers. Breakfast is especially important because after a long night's sleep, the body is low on energy, protein, vitamins and minerals.  

So that's one really good reason to eat breakfast. See below for five more... 

1. Breakfast-skipping is linked with being overweight 

Although a direct effect of skipping breakfast on weight has yet to be determined, studies indicate that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be overweight or obese. One large study found that breakfast skippers were 4.5 times more likely to be heavy than those who ate breakfast. Obesity was also related to how many meals were eaten out, so when you get the chance, make your breakfast (and pack your lunch) at home!  

2. Breakfast helps you balance out your protein

Americans get plenty of protein, but we tend to eat most of it at the dinner meal. Protein is essential for developing and maintaining lean muscle, but if we're not getting enough protein throughout the day, muscle maintenance is not at the maximal level. And when we finally get some protein at dinner, it's largely wasted because the body can only use so much at one time. Use breakfast to pump up your protein. Include eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese and lean meats in your morning meal.