Playing sports, eating a balanced diet or avoiding toxins, such as alcohol or tobacco, are common tips for avoiding cancer. In the case of prostate cancer, there is one additional piece of advice that can be given to men: masturbate.
Masturbation May Help Avoid Prostate Cancer
In an article for The Conversation, Dr. Daniel Kelly argues that frequent ejaculation “does no harm” And “what she should do should be part of a man’s healthy lifestyle“.
According to him, various studies have provided evidence that frequent ejaculation is beneficial in preventing prostate cancer. In 2016, a study from Harvard University even quantified this data, estimating that “Men who ejaculated 21 times a month were up to a third less likely to be struck down by the disease, compared to men who only did it between four and seven times a month“, the results being valid for all ejaculations, regardless of whether a man reached an orgasm through masturbation or sexual intercourse.
A mechanism that is not understood by scientists
If the experts advance this conclusion, they are, however, not capable of understanding the mechanisms. According to Dr. Kelly, “Although the mechanisms are not completely understood, these studies are consistent with the idea that ejaculation may reduce prostate cancer by decreasing the concentration of toxins and crystal structures that can accumulate in the prostate and potentially cause tumors..
In addition, “ejaculation can modify the immune response within the
prostatethereby reducing inflammation – a known risk factor for the development of cancer – or increasing immune defenses against tumor cells.
adds the doctor.
Finally, “By reducing psychological tension, ejaculation can decrease nervous system activity, which prevents some prostate cells from dividing too quickly and increases the risk that they will become cancerous“.
Prostate cancer affects nearly 60,000 people each year in France
With nearly 60,000 cases diagnosed in France in 20218, prostate cancer is the most common in men. Rare before the age of 50, its incidence gradually increases thereafter. The average age of detection is 70 years.
“Prostate cancer is a disease that develops from initially normal prostate cells which transform and multiply in an anarchic manner, until forming a mass called a malignant tumor” can we read on the website of the National Cancer Institute.
The majority of cancers are adenocarcinomas (90%) and family history is a risk factor for developing the disease.