Quitting smoking (forever); are aphrodisiacs real?
Q: I've tried twice in the past six weeks to quit smoking. The first time, I went for a week before I blew it. Then I went for four weeks. I thought, "Well I'm over that," but I had one cigarette and was immediately hooked again. Help! - Rodney G., Oakland, California
A: You and millions of other Americans made New Year's resolutions to quit smoking. And like you, many of them found that one slip-up put them back on the tobacco train. But there are currently 50 million EX-smokers in the U.S. - more than the number of folks who currently smoke - and you can join their ranks! (It usually takes using stop-smoking aids for more than three months and substituting another habit, like swimming or knitting, for this one.)
The Challenge: Tobacco companies go to great lengths to make it hard for you to quit! Remember the 1999 movie "The Insider"? Based on a 1996 expose about the tobacco industry published in Vanity Fair, Russell Crowe plays a former "big tobacco" exec who spills the beans to a TV producer, played by Al Pacino, about how cigarettes are designed to get people addicted and keep them hooked.
As for your experience of falling back into the habit with just one cig? A study in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that at least 61 percent of people who try just one cigarette become regular smokers.
With that one cigarette, you inhale 4,000 additives and chemicals. Many of them are actually transformed once they burn so that they go deeper into your lungs! More than 60 are known to cause cancer.
So, Rodney, watch "The Insider" - it will make you mad, and anger is good fuel to help you quit. And check out the Cleveland Clinic website (Dr. Mike has helped over 3,500 folks quit for good) for effective support to kick your tobacco habit.
Q: Sometimes my husband says, "Let's go eat some oysters and then come back home for a roll in the hay." I know he thinks oysters are an aphrodisiac, but really? I love oysters, but I've never felt a romantic boost from them. Is there such a thing as an aphrodisiac? - Kirsten G., Delray Beach, Florida
A: Yes, no and yes, sort of.
Yes: The only aphrodisiac to stand the test of time is a glass of inhibition-blasting wine. Some say the ancient Persians believed honey wine promoted fertility and desire, so newlyweds were encouraged to drink honey wine daily for the first month of marriage ... hence, "honeymoon." But let's not forget the oft-quoted line from "Macbeth": "It provokes the desire, but it taketh away the performance."
But by far the best aphrodisiac is enthusiasm about shared intimacy with your partner. And if your husband becomes more enthusiastic after eating oysters, who cares if it is simply an act of unconscious self-stimulation or for a scientific reason? (Oysters do contain specific amino acids and serotonin, which are essential for the brain's pleasure response, but not enough to really matter.)
No: Lots of substances are sold as sexual stimulants (yohimbine, Spanish fly, mad honey and Bufo toad), but according to a 2015 study, their dubious benefits are overshadowed by their risks. And if you or your partner has arousal problems, studies show that there is no evidence that "natural" foods, herbs or supplements will do the trick in a major way that benefits a loving encounter.
Yes, sort of: Remember, placebos (sugar pills - or anything else you believe in that's without actual medical effects) work about 30 percent of the time. So believing can be enough to rev you up. But why are oysters considered a sexual stimulant in many cultures? Most probably because of their resemblance to female genitalia. Our suggestion: The Aztec word for "avocado" is "ahuacatl," which also means "testicle," so have an avocado salad with your wine and oysters, and you two will be off to a good start.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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