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Give cancer the jerk off
By David Harding, Metro Last updated at 00:00am on 17.07.03
Men should be encouraged to 'flush out the ducts'
It is news men everywhere have been waiting for - masturbating is officially good for you.
Far from making you go blind or your palms go hairy, self-abuse can protect against prostate cancer, scientists claim.
In fact, the more you do it, the better it is for you. Men who pleasure themselves regularly between the ages of 20 and 50 have a far lower chance of developing the disease, a study found.
The theory is that regular ejaculation helps prevent the build-up of carcinogens in the prostate, the gland responsible for the bulk of the fluid in semen.
The accumulation of carcinogens can lead to prostate cancer, which is on the rise in Britain, affecting 25,000 men each year.
Up to 10,000 of them will die, making it the second-biggest cancer killer.
'The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them,' said scientist Graham Giles.
His team, based in Melbourne, Australia, studied the sexual habits of more than 2,000 men - half with the cancer and half healthy.
The protective effect of masturbating was at its most noticeable in men in their 20s, Mr Giles told New Scientist magazine.
Those who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop serious prostate cancer in later life.
If the findings are confirmed, the team believes future health advice from doctors could encourage men to masturbate more - some would argue a waste of breath.
