Blind but Cancer-Free

The BBC reports on a study that suggests that regular masturbation by men might reduce the chances of contracting prostate cancer later in life.

Australian researchers interviewed 2,250 men, 1,250 of whom did not develop the cancer, and asked them about their sexual habits. Those who ejaculated the most between 20 and 50 years of age were the least likely to develop the cancer. Men who ejaculated more than five times a week saw their risk factor fall by a third.

The prostate gland is a storehouse for potassium, zinc, fructose, and citric acid, which I guess can be carcinogenic in high concentrations. The research suggests that regularly "flushing out" these substances can reduce their build-up in the prostate, thereby reducing the cancer risk. This is similar to the connection between breast feeding and the reduction in the risk of getting breast cancer in women.

Men, take note, however: having sexual intercourse to ejaculation did not reduce the risk because of the increased risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, which in turn increased the risk of prostate cancer.

Sorry, guys, it's Rosie and her five sisters who win this time!

And for Woody Allen fans, a dose of Hannah and Her Sisters, where Woody and Mia Farrow discuss his low sperm count as the reason they can't have children. It's about 2:20 into the clip. As Woody says, "Don't knock masturbation; it's sex with someone I love."