It's finally happened. Scientists have found proof that masturbation is good for you. Recent studies suggest that men can reduce their risk of prostate cancer by masturbating regularly.

Here's a few excerpts from a BBC article about the subject:

"They say cancer-causing chemicals could build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly."

"And they say sexual intercourse may not have the same protective effect because of the possibility of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, which could increase men's cancer risk."

"They found those who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to develop the cancer."

"The protective effect was greatest while the men were in their 20s."

"Men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life."

Here's the gist of the story. Your prostate, as you probably know, is a gland that stores up fluids which are part of what is ejected during ejaculation. The thing is, as the prostate collects these fluids, other chemicals can gather there as well, including things like carcinogens, or cancer-causing chemicals.

Regular ejaculation flushes out the prostate, getting rid of those chemicals along with the normal fluids, leaving the prostate cleaner and thus potentially less likely to develop cancer in the future.

All things being equal, masturbation and normal intercourse would both be effective in flushing out the prostate, but because intercourse with other people brings certain risks with it—diseases and infections, which can themselves increase the odds of cancer—in this case masturbation is apparently the safest and most effective form of preventative medicine. In other words, you can forget that apple a day, just make sure you masturbate to orgasm five times a week, and you'll be doing yourself a huge favor.

Read the full article.