Hard to swallow

It's the news men everywhere have been waiting for - far from making you go blind, masturbation is potentially good for you. According to Australian scientists, frequent masturbation between the ages of 20 and 50 may protect a man against prostate cancer. Scientists at the Cancer Council of Victoria, based in Melbourne, have found that men who ejaculate on a daily basis are less likely to develop prostate cancer, prompting speculation that masturbating may protect the prostate. Scientists believe ejaculation may flush cancer-triggering chemicals out of the prostate gland. Alternatively, it might induce prostate cells to mature fully, making them less susceptible to carcinogens.

The Australian researchers discovered the link after questioning 1,079 men with prostate cancer about their sexual habits. Their responses were compared with those of 1,259 healthy men of the same age. Results showed that men who ejaculate more than five times a week during their 20s reduce the risk of prostate cancer by a third.

Professor Graham Giles, who led the research team, said: ' We hypothesise that if you're not ejaculating often enough, some of that seminal fluid remains in the ducts of the prostate for a longer time than it needs to, and that biochemical changes occur in that fluid in the ducts that might be carcinogenic.

'Also, the prostate, in the course of making seminal fluid, concentrates some powerful biological molecules to a very high degree to form that seminal fluid, which we think may be carcinogenic too.'

The findings reflect studies which show the risk of breast cancer can be reduced by breast feeding because potentially dangerous chemicals are flushed out of the body. Anthony Smith, of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University in Melbourne, said: 'Masturbation is part of people's sexual repertoire. If these findings hold up, then it's perfectly reasonable that men should be encouraged to masturbate.'

A case of giving your health a helping hand.