No Sex is mostly seen as a pleasurable act, even though medical experts
have said repeatedly that it is medicinal and a form of exercise.
Regardless, sexual intercourse is deemed to be one of the most enjoyable
acts for both men and women.
However, reaching orgasm, which is a climax of sexual excitement,
characterised by feelings of pleasure centered in the genitals, has been
found to reduce the likelihood of men having prostate cancer.
In fact, apart from the health benefits of sex, it has been proven that
reaching orgasm could improve one’s health. Despite boosting
testosterone levels, it helps men and women to sleep better and reduce
insomnia, while relieving them of stress, because the oxytocin hormone
released in the process relieves tension and stimulates feelings of
warmth and relaxation.
Also, previous studies have shown that apart from enhancing people’s
sense of smell, the oxytocin hormone released during orgasm helps
people’s social feel, enhance their trust and bonding with others.
Notably, men’s orgasm is complemented by ejaculation.
But, interestingly,
a study has shown that apart from reaching the peak of sexual
enjoyment, an orgasm a day can lower a man’s risk of prostate cancer,
which is one of the most common types of cancer in men and it is
common in men who are about 40 years and above and its diagnosis
increases with age.
A 2012 study by the World Cancer Research Fund International had
shown that more than 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer are recorded in
a year, which reflects the prevalence of the disease.
But according to the study, men who have more sex and ejaculate more
frequently lower their risk of the disease. In fact, the study pointed out
that those who ejaculate 21 times in a month significantly cut their risk of
prostate cancer by 22 per cent.
Prostate on its own is a small walnut-shaped gland that produces the
seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperm.
The researchers from Harvard Medical School in the United States
explained that orgasm flushes out cancer-causing chemicals from the
system, giving room for a replacement by new ones.
Thus, the more the orgasm a man has the more his body would have
been ridden of such chemicals.
In the study, the researchers followed about 32,000 healthy men aged
between 40 and 49 for 18 years.
They were asked to calculate their
average monthly frequency of ejaculation during the period and the
previous year when they were aged between 20 to 29, 40 to 49 and in the
year 1991.
The researchers also took into account factors such as diet, lifestyle and
whether the participants have a history of the cancer.
The study found that when compared to those who had orgasm for four
to seven times, out of whom 3,839 of the participants were diagnosed
with prostate cancer, participants who had orgasms for about 21 times a
month reduced their risk of having the cancer.
The researchers added that orgasm, apart from flushing out old cells, also
stops the build-up of old cells that may turn cancerous.
“Another theory is that if sperm is regularly cleaned out to allow new
cells to develop, it helps to flush out old cells and stop the build-up of old
ones that could turn cancerous,” the
researchers told Mail Online.
One of the participants, Dr. Jennifer Rider, said the results were
particularly encouraging but should be interpreted with caution.
Rider said, “While these data are the most compelling to date on the
potential benefit of ejaculation on prostate cancer development, they are
observational data and should be interpreted somewhat cautiously.
“At the same time, given the lack of modifiable risk factors for prostate
cancer, the results of this study are particularly encouraging.”
He noted further that orgasm itself has protective benefits as the
hormones oxytocin and dehydroepiandrosterone are released during
orgasm, adding that oxytocin has the power to lower blood pressure in
women, reducing their risk for cardiovascular disease at the same time.
It could also lower risk for breast and cervical cancer.
Some Greek researchers had also found that men who had fewer than six
orgasms per month are more likely to develop breast cancer, and that the
increased levels of DHEA could improve memory, boost brain function and
lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.
This implies that orgasms has a lot of role to play in people’s overall
health.
Meanwhile, a study by University of Montreal in Canada, found that men
who have multiple sexual partners are less likely to develop the disease,
even though some critics described the study as immoral, as they said it
would encourage extra marital affairs.
The study had argued that men who have slept with more than 20 female
partners in their lifetime were 28 per cent less likely to develop the
disease, and 29 per cent less likely to develop an aggressive type of
cancer compared to those who have only one female sexual partner.
Interestingly, the same study found that the benefit does not apply to
men who are gay. In fact, it was found that gays who have more than 20
male partners double their risk of the cancer and five times more likely to
have an aggressive cancer.
Lead researcher, Prof. Marie-Elise Parent, said the reason why men with
male partners would not feel same way was that anal intercourse
produces a physical trauma to the prostrate.
Lending a voice to the previous study, Parent noted that, “It is possible
that having many female sexual partners results in a higher frequency of
ejaculations, whose protective effect against prostate cancer has been
previously observed in cohort studies.
“Large numbers of ejaculations may reduce the concentration of cancer-
causing substances in prostatic fluid, a constituent of semen, and they
may also lead to fewer crystal-like structures in the prostate that have
been associated with prostate cancer.”
A medical expert, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, said it is true that orgasm helps
to rid the system of old cells that have the tendency of being cancerous,
and that the more the orgasm the more the old cells and the fluid in the
prostate gland are replaced, making it less likely for prostate cancer to
happen.
He said, “When there is orgasm, the man will ejaculate, thereby releasing
the sperm that is being stored, and the more the sperm is being stored,
the more the possibility of it being cancerous. But when the person is not
ejaculating, those fluid will remain there and it is a possibility for
something like that to happen, because even the prostate gland will not
be able to release its fluid.
“But if it’s being released periodically and being replaced by old cells and
new fluids, it is less likely that prostate cancer will happen.”
He cautioned that men do not need to have multiple sex partners to
ejaculate as much as they want, noting that the risks, including HIV, STIs
and STDs outweigh any such benefit.
“The risk and disadvantages of having multiple sexual partners are more
than the benefits. Not even condom can guarantee safety because it is
not 100 per cent protective. We also have prostatis, which is the
inflammation of the prostate gland and a man sleeping with about 20
women tend to have some guilt feeling.
“In addition, when people have sex, it is not only the genitals that are
involved, people kiss and do other things, which could be a source for
other risks. So, there is no need to have extramarital affairs because of
that. Frequent ejaculation between partners is good enough,” he added.
