10 Sex Positions 

Probably the last thing you feel like doing when you're nursing a cold or the flu is getting hot and bothered. But here's a reason to reconsider: People who have sex one to two times a week actually produce more of the antibody that prevents illnesses, which boosts your immune system. Sex, one could argue, might actually help you get over your illness.

If you are up for bumping and grinding, you don't want to get your partner sick—otherwise you’ll end up passing your germs back and forth endlessly.

 Colds and the flu are viral infections, so “they’re transmitted via saliva and breath,” Felice Gersh, MD, an ob-gyn and the founder and director of the Integrative Medical Practice of Irvine in California, tells Health. “Anything you can do in bed to lower contact between your mouths would prevent transmitting illness,” she says.

While certain face-to-face positions are off the table (sorry, missionary) and kissing is out of the question, there are plenty of pleasure-producing moves you can still enjoy. Next time you’re sniffly but horny, try one of these sex positions.

Side-by-side solo 

Sure it sounds tame, but lying near your partner on a bed and playing with just yourselves has some sweet benefits. “You aren’t actually touching or exchanging fluids, so there’s little risk of spreading a cold,” August McLaughlin, author of Girl Boner: The Good Girl’s Guide to Sexual Empowerment, tells Health.

 “It can also be extremely hot to watch a partner play with their sexy parts while taking you in with their eyes. Plus, many people experience orgasm faster during solo play, which can be helpful when you’re turned on but lack energy.”

Spooning

Getting it on back to front is one of the easiest ways to avoid the face-to-face connection. “The ‘little spoon’ has their face turned away from their partner completely,” Kayla Lords, a sex expert at online sex toy shop Jack and Jill, tells Health. 

“This position also allows for vaginal penetration, anal penetration, or stimulation with hands or sex toys, so there’s no shortage of pleasure.”

Seated missionary

The problem with missionary is that it positions your face too close to your partner’s. This variation switches things up a bit. “One of you needs to sit up while your partner is lying flat on their back,” Laurel House, a sex expert with sex toy company My First Blush, tells Health.

 “If you’re the one seated, press your pelvises together, bend your knees, and sit on your calves and feet so your torsos are perpendicular.” You’ll get the same clitoral g-spot stimulation as with regular missionary without the risky mouth-breathing.

Doggy style

Because you can’t see (or breathe into) each other’s faces, doggy style is a no-brainer when you’re under the weather. “You can do it in a variety of positions: on all fours with your head up so you don’t have to deal with a runny nose, on your knees with your head on the bed or pillow if you’re just totally wiped, or somewhere in between,” suggests Lords.

Clitoris maximus

This is similar to missionary, but the partner on top should evenly distribute their weight on the bottom partner while resting their head over that person’s shoulder, advises McLaughlin.

 “The top person slides up and down while keeping as much body contact as possible, which is great for clitoral stimulation,” she adds. It’s a win-win: lots of direct stimulation without being directly in each other’s faces, which would make spreading nasty germs more likely.

The scissors

This one’s a bit more complicated logistically, so if your cold is making you fuzzy-headed, you might want to save it for later. “Both of you will have your legs scissored open, intertwining them so that you push together at the pelvis," says House. 

"With your heads on opposite sides of the bed, reach out to hold hands in the middle, helping with pumping and grinding.” The major plus here: Your faces will be completely away from each other, putting the brakes on any germ swapping.

Reverse chair

In this position, one partner sits in a chair while the other sits on top of them, facing away. “While this may be most common for vaginal penetration, it can be used for anal sex and digital penetration, as well,” says Lords. It’s also the perfect position for letting the person on top control the speed and intensity. “If you're feeling up for it, you can move vigorously, or you can go slower if your cold still has you down,” she says.

Planking on pillows

If doggy style is just too much for your beleaguered body, add some support. "One partner lies on their stomach on top of one or two pillows, with their weight resting gently on their forearms and their head poised up,” explains McLaughlin. “The other partner enters vaginally or anally from behind.” Since both your heads are up, it’s less likely runny noses will kill your sex drive, and since you’re facing away from each other, there’s less chance of microbes spreading.

Lotus love

If you’re craving more of a face-to-face connection, sit in a cross-legged hug, with one person on the other’s lap. “You basically wrap your arms and legs around each other in a seated hug,” says McLaughlin. “But you aren’t poised mouth-to-mouth, which helps prevent cold germs from spreading.” It’s also a comfortable position that’s easy to maintain when you’re drained and fatigued.

Oral action

While swapping saliva can pass your infection to your partner, saliva on your private parts poses no risk. If you’re the one who is sick, you’re probably not going to want to go down on your partner. “That doesn’t mean you can’t receive some good oral love,” says House. “Plus, if you’re on the receiving end, you can comfortably lie back, avoiding any runny nose or cough-inducing issues.”

(Copied)

The 7 Alcohol You Can Actually Drink

 

The Alcohol You Can Actually Drink on the Keto Diet

Yes, most alcoholic beverages are essentially carbohydrate in liquid form. And yes, since your carbs are so limited on the keto diet, you're better off choosing carbs that are bundled with good-for-you nutrients. 

(Think whole grains, fruits, and starchy vegetables—all of which are chock-full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and disease-fighting compounds.) 

But hello, we’re realists: Sometimes you want, deserve, or just need a drink. So what are your best options?

It can be tricky to figure out how many carbs alcoholic beverages contain because they aren't required to come labeled with nutrition facts. Below we've founded up a few of the most keto-friendly drinks, plus a few you should definitely skip (sorry, sake fans). 

First though, we want to clear up some confusion about booze and keto that's been spreading on the Inter webs. You may have read somewhere that your body produces ketones as it breaks down alcohol (which in theory at least, sounds like a good thing). Not so, though. 

“There's nothing magical about alcohol enhancing ketogenesis long-term," says sports nutritionist Chris Mohr, PhD, RD. "The general metabolism of alcohol as a whole falls outside of the ketogenic metabolic pathways."

Don't be fooled by the rumor. If you're going to enjoy a cocktail, do it because it adds a little balance to your day, and diet—everything in moderation, right?

The best (and worst) alcohol for the keto diet

No matter what proof (80 through 100), gin, rum, vodka, and whiskey all have 0 grams of carbohydrate in a jigger (or 1.5 ounces). Have your drink neat, on the rocks, or with a splash of plain soda water. And it's best to pour your own rather than cracking open one of those pre-made spiked seltzers; one can deliver anywhere from 1 to 5 grams carbohydrate.

If you're craving a glass of wine, budget for it, and keep the pour size in mind. A glass of white wine ranges from 3 to 6 grams of carbohydrate per five ounces. (The sweeter whites—think riesling versus chardonnay—typically have more carbohydrates.) At home, you're likely to pour more than five ounces, especially if you have larger wine glasses.

 And a standard restaurant pour is six ounces. Red wine has a tighter range of carbohydrates, at 3 to 4 grams per 5-ounce pour, with little variation between varieties.

Skip beer: It’s essentially bread in a bottle. A can of beer has around 12 grams of carbs. Though if you must have a beer, seek out a light beer, which comes in at around half that carb load per can.

Two other no-nos: mixers (they’re all pretty much sugar-laden) and sake. A 6-ounce pour is fairly common for sake, and it delivers nearly 9 grams of carbohydrate.

An unexpected perk of going keto

In any trendy diet, there are always nuggets of wisdom buried somewhere—and keto is no exception. Because it involves such a tight carb budget, the diet doesn't leave much room for regular alcohol consumption. And when you do imbibe, quantity is limited, so you’re likely to stay within the recommended limit. 

(That's one drink per day for women, and two for men.) Considering that more and more research suggests moderate drinking may be more detrimental to our health than experts previously thought, the keto diet's booze restrictions could be a really good thing in the long run.

The keto diet has made its way to the Jersey Shore. More specifically, to the Jersey Shore Family Vacation in Miami. After five years, our favorite guidos and guidettes have changed—a lot. JWoww and Snooki are moms, “The Situation” is in the throes of a legal battle, and Vinny refuses to eat pizza crust.

Yes, his mom still does his laundry, but the new-and-improved Vinny Guadagnino is extremely disciplined about his diet and exercise regimen. In fact, you can find shirtless selfies and keto-approved meals on his spinoff Instagram account, @ketoguido.

 But when the tequila started flowing, his roommates noticed that he got drunk at warp speed. This led to several comments about how Vinny’s keto diet was to blame.

Curious, we decided to look into the Shore housemates' belief that eating high-fat, low-carb meals bumps up a person's drunk rate. 

Thanks to Health’s contributing nutrition editor Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, we can tell Vinny that imbibing without laying a carb base should really slow down inebriation.

“Actually, proteins and fats provide a better buffer for alcohol than carbs, because they get digested slower,” she says. “So it’s more likely that he drank on an empty stomach or was dehydrated.”