Regular orgasms can reduce the risk of prostate cancer, a study has found.
Men who ejaculate more regularly throughout their lives lower their risk of the disease.
The researchers, from Harvard Medical School, did not explain why orgasms could lower prostate cancer risk.
However it has previously been theorised that regular orgasms may flush out cancer-causing chemicals in the prostate.
Another
theory is that if sperm is regularly cleaned out to allow new cells to
develop, it helps stop the build-up of old cells that might be more
likely to turn cancerous.
The
prostate is a small satsuma-sized gland located between a man's penis
and his bladder, whose main function is to produce a thick white fluid
that is mixed with the sperm produced by the testicles, to create semen.
The new study is the largest to date on the frequency of ejaculation and and prostate cancer. The
researchers found that men in the 40-49 age bracket who ejaculate 21 or
more times a month reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 22 per
cent.
This was compared to men who ejaculate four to seven times a month. While the
researchers said they were unclear as to why ejaculation lowers the
chances of prostate cancer, they called the results ‘particularly
encouraging.’
The study followed almost 32,000 healthy men for 18 years, 3,839 of whom later were diagnosed with prostate cancer. Men
were asked about their average monthly frequency of ejaculation between
the ages of 20 to 29, 40 to 49, and in 1991, the year prior to the
questionnaire.
They
found that the more frequently a man ejaculated throughout his life,
the lower his risk of prostate cancer at all three of these points in
time. This
was the case even when they adjusted their results to take factors such
as diet, lifestyle and a history of prostate cancer screening into
account.
Dr
Jennifer Rider, of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, said the results are ‘particularly encouraging’ but should be
interpreted with caution.
She
said: ‘While these data are the most compelling to date on the
potential benefit of ejaculation on prostate cancer development, they
are observational data and should be interpreted somewhat cautiously.
‘At
the same time, given the lack of modifiable risk factors for prostate
cancer, the results of this study are particularly encouraging.’
She added
more research should be carried out into the specific changes in the
prostate caused by ejaculation, to understand how it reduces the risk of
prostate cancer.
The research was presented at the American Urological Society annual meeting in New Orleans in May. More
than 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer were recorded in 2012,
accounting for around 8 per cent of all new cancer cases and 15 per cent
in men, according to figures from the World Cancer Research Fund
International.
The causes of prostate cancer are largely unknown, but the chances of developing the disease increase as a man gets older.
I'm sure some of you now think you have excuse for your randy habits...anyway you know what they say when you go overboard...
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