Michelle and Barack Obama

Interestingly, Andréa Demirjian, author of Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about One of Life’s Sweetest Pleasures, believes “a kiss a day really can keep the doctor away.” She ain’t lying! Kissing feels oh-so-good but did you know it’s also healthy for you? According to medical experts, the exchange of saliva can actually cause such welcomed physiological effects as a more youthful appearance, weight loss, and even less stress. A long, hot juicy big one can help lower blood pressure, ease pounding headaches and make you look younger.

Want to learn a smidge more about all of kissing’s benefits? Lean in and open wide…

Kissing relieves tension. Kissing de-stresses the jaw which has a relaxing ripple effect on the body. Kissing also makes you breathe more deeply, and this causes you to release tension throughout the entire body.

Kissing smoothes wrinkles. Since the act of kissing stimulates more than 30 facial muscles at one time, it helps smooth out wrinkles and lines while boosting circulation to the face for a more youthful appearance.

Kissing protects against infection. Saliva contains 80 percent of bacteria that are common, but 20 percent are yours and yours alone. When you exchange saliva, your immune system develops antibodies to foreign bacteria; this is referred to as immunotherapy which helps combat infection.

Kissing helps with allergies. Researchers in Japan discovered that kissing could help reduce hayfever symptoms. A mere 30-minutes of kissing keeps the body from producing histamine, a chemical that brings on allergy symptoms like a runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes.

Kissing helps combat tooth decay. Kissing results in extra saliva and this helps neutralize acids, remineralizes teeth and helps get rid of food particles. Tooth decay occurs when bacteria in plaque on the surface of teeth, mix with food sugar and starches, and as a result, acid forms and tooth enamel is destroyed.

Kissing brings on psychological comfort. When you kiss, the brain releases oxytocin, the very same neurotransmitter and love hormone that is produced during orgasm. The hormone boosts feelings of closeness, relaxation, and trust.

Kissing helps reduce blood pressure. Adding some passion to your kissing revvs up the old ticker which results in dilated blood vessels and blood that is flowing nicely to all vital organs.

Kissing eases headaches. Even though you might not be in the mood, kissing dilates blood vessels which can alleviate those pounding headaches.

Kissing helps with weight loss. A passionate makeout session can actually burn 8 to 16 calories per kiss and if you add lovemaking to the mix, you’ll be swimwear ready in no time!