Can swimming reduce body weight?

I am a person who gives importance to my health. But now due to work pressure and lack of time I am not able to go to the gym. One of my friends then suggested that swimming is a good exercise which will make you relaxed. I just googled to get more details about it. Then I came across an interesting article that describes benefits of swimming(http://www.soldapools.com/blog/servi...fits-swimming/). The article also says that swimming can reduce the joint pain, cholesterol level and make your body more flexible. But I am not very sure about it. Is it really true? Is swimming really a very good exercise? Can it reduce your body weight and make you relaxed from stress and tension? What are all the exercises that can keep your mind and body healthy?
Waiting for your valuable suggestions.