Here’s a health tip that might sound pretty good to many guys: Have more sex, or masturbate more, and you might lower your odds of getting prostate cancer . Research suggests that the more often men ejaculate, the less likely they are to have the disease.

What’s the Link?

Over the years, there’s been growing evidence of a link between ejaculation and lower chances of prostate cancer. But the 2016 results of a major study made the strongest case yet. The researchers asked men to answer questions about how often they ejaculated. How didn’t matter -- sex, masturbation, or wet dreams were all included. Then they tracked almost 32,000 of these men for 18 years.

The researchers found that guys who did it the most (at least 21 times a month) had about a 20% lower chance of prostate cancer, compared with those who did it less (4 to 7 times a month). That was true in several age groups.

The exact number of times didn’t matter. Basically, the more men ejaculated in a month, the less likely they were to get prostate cancer.

Why might ejaculation help prostate health? Experts aren’t sure. Some believe that it can flush out harmful chemicals that might build up in semen.