Science Knows Exactly How Much Masturbation Can Help Avoid Prostate Cancer

Everyone knows that Harvard University is the best, most smartest (yes, most smartest) university in the whole entire galaxy — it’s filled with egg-headed super geniuses who eat, breathe and dream science 27 hours a day. So when Harvard researchers say that masturbating 21 times a month can help us avoid prostate cancer, we better listen.

A Harvard study of 31,925 men published in the journal European Urology found that men can reduce their risk of contracting prostate cancer by 33% just by ejaculating 21 times per month.

That may sound weirdly specific, but researchers looked at the number of prostate cancer screenings and prostate biopsies (when pathologists examine tissue removed from the prostate) and found a correlation between men who frequently ejaculated and those who had lower levels of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA), bodily toxins that indicate a higher risk for prostate cancer.

When researchers averaged the frequency of ejaculations by men with the lowest levels of PSA, they found that 21 ejaculations a month corresponded with the lowest PSA levels.

But before you start thinking that lube and porn tube sites alone will protect you from prostate cancer, you should know that overall weight, physical activity and diet are the most important risk indicators for prostate cancer. That is, a low-fat and low-dairy diet with fish, fruits and vegetables help men successfully avoid prostate cancer more so than masturbation. Regular exercise also helps, too.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of male cancer (one in eight men get it at some point in their lives) and it’s the second most lethal cancer among men. However, the Prostate Cancer Center says that the cure rate for prostate cancer detected in its early stages is very high: “Nearly 100% of men diagnosed and treated at this stage will be disease-free after five years.”

We should probably all start ejaculating 21 times a month just to be sure though. Harvard commands us!

Are you ejaculating enough to avoid prostate cancer? Ready to step up your game?

This article was originally published on July 5, 2017. It has since been updated.