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Men who have an orgasm a day are lowering their risk of developing prostate cancer.

A study has revealed that those men who ejaculate more often during their lifetime have a 22% lower risk of getting the disease.

The study doesn't give any reasons why the practice of ejaculation may help to stave off prostate cancer, but there are theories which have been made public previously.

It has been thought that ejaculation can rid the prostate of cancer-causing chemicals, while there are also theories that if sperm is 'cleaned out' in this manner it can stop a build-up of old cells that could turn cancerous.

The largest research to date on ejaculation followed almost 32,000 men in good health for 18 years.

Of the number, 3,839 later developed prostate cancer - but the figures showed that in the 40-49 bracket, men who ejaculated more than 21 times a month had a 22% lower risk of developing the disease.

Results were adjusted to take in other possibly contributing factors such as diet and lifestyle.

The prostate is a small gland found only in men. It’s about the size of a walnut and gets a little bigger with age. It surrounds the first part of the tube - or urethra - that carries urine from the bladder along the penis.

The men questioned shared their monthly ejaculation details between the ages of 20 and 29, 40 and 49 and in 1991, the year before the study started.

Dr Jennifer Rider of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told the Daily Mail the results should be interpreted with caution.

She 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."

Prostate cancer's causes are still unknown, but men's chances of diagnosis increase with age.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund International, in 2012, there were more than 1.1 million cases of prostate cancer, making it accountable for 8% of all new cancer cases, and 15% of cancers in men.