Well That’s A Relief!

Australian scientists have shown that the more men masturbate between the ages of 20 and 50, the less likely they are to develop the disease that kills more than half a million men each year. They suspect that frequent ejaculation has a protective effect against the cancer because it prevents dangerous carcinogens from building up in the gland.

Men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer … Prof Giles said previous reports had found an increased risk of prostate cancer among prisoners and Roman Catholic priests. Prof Giles said the study may have implications for prostate cancer patients who grew up at a time when the practice was frowned upon.

The team speculates that ejaculation prevents carcinogens building up in the gland. The prostate, together with the seminal vesicles, secretes the bulk of the fluid in semen, which is rich in substances such as potassium, zinc, fructose and citric acid. Generating the fluid involves concentrating these components from the bloodstream up to 600-fold – and this could be where the trouble starts. Studies in dogs show that carcinogens such as 3-methylcholanthrene, found in cigarette smoke, are also concentrated in prostate fluid. “It’s a prostatic stagnation hypothesis,” says Giles. “The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them.”