Ejaculate your prostate
Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.
More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.Cancer screening can also be fun: those who ejaculate regularly reduce their risk of prostate cancer. An American study has now confirmed that the more often the better.
The prostate provides a few important ingredients for ejaculation: For example, it produces a secretion that keeps the sperm mobile and protects them from the acidic environment of the vagina. There has been evidence for a long time that regular ejaculation promotes prostate health. The best evidence to date is now provided by a study by Jennifer Rider and her colleagues, who do research at Harvard University.
Average rate of ejaculation
The scientists used a very large amount of data to substantiate their thesis. In total, the information from over 31,000 men was included in their investigation. Their health was monitored over a period of 18 years. During this time, 3,839 of the subjects developed prostate cancer and 384 died from it.
In addition, the gentlemen gave information on how often they climaxed in the month, namely between the ages of 20 and 29 and between 40 and 49 years. From this, the scientists calculated an average lifelong ejaculation rate for individual men.
20 percent less prostate cancer
It became interesting when the researchers evaluated the data, because statistically a connection could be made between the ejaculation rate and the risk of developing prostate cancer. Basically, the more often a man had an orgasm with ejaculation, the better he was protected against prostate cancer. Specifically, if you used your prostate 21 times or more per month, your chances of developing the disease were reduced by a fifth - at least compared to men who ejaculated four to seven times a month.
"We shouldn't stick to specific figures, but rather keep an eye on the dose-effect relationship," Rider told the American health portal Medscape. Because an average rate of 21 orgasms per month was achieved by just eight percent of the subjects. Most men between the ages of 40 and 49 were more likely to report eight to twelve ejaculations a month - they still showed a 10 percent lower risk of prostate cancer.
Flush the prostate
It is not yet known exactly what the health-promoting effect of prostate use is based on. The hormones sloshing around the body during orgasm may have a protective effect. But it is also conceivable that the prostate is simply good to be “flushed through” more often and thus possible carcinogenic substances could be transported out of the gland.
There is one small catch, however, because not all prostate cancer is the same. Ejaculating was particularly helpful in protecting against slower growing tumors. In the case of rapidly growing, particularly malignant forms of cancer, there was no preventive effect.
Prostate cancer - common but rarely fatal
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. Compared to other types of cancer, however, it is rarely fatal: According to the Robert Koch Institute, 93 percent of the newly diagnosed men are still alive after five years. Often the tumors grow so slowly that the cancer does not need treatment at all. The prognosis is much worse, however, if the cancer is already well advanced at the time of detection and has already spread metastases. That is why experts recommend men aged 45 and over to have their prostate checked regularly.
Sources: Rider J. et al. : Ejaculation Frequency and Risk of Prostate Cancer: Updated Results with an Additional Decade of Follow-up; Eur Urology 2016; DOI: 10.1016 / y.eururo.2016.03.027
Medscape: Best Evidence Yet !: Ejaculation Reduces Prostate Cancer Risk; http://www.medscape.com (accessed April 20, 2016)
