Masturbation could lower diabetes risk

New research suggests that masturbation is good for your health and may even help protect against diseases such as diabetes.
Following on from a recent U.S. survey which revealed that the vast majority of men (94%) most women (85%) admit to masturbating, scientists in Australia say they have found evidence that self-pleasuring by touching one’s own genitals can help improve overall health by lowering the risk of diseases like cystitis, type 2 diabertes and prostate cancer.
Writing in The Conversatio, a website where experts can write opinion pieces, researchers Anthony Santella, a public health scientist at the University of Sydney, and senior lecturer Spring Chenoa Cooper explain that masturbation can have numerous benefits for both men and women.
In women, self-pleasuring can protect women from cervical infections and urinary tract infections (UTIs) through a process called ‘tenting,’ which occurs as part of the arousal process. “Tenting stretches the cervix, and thus the cervical mucous. This enables fluid circulation, allowing cervical fluids full of bacteria to be flushed out,” they say.
For men, masturbation can help reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Earlier studies have shown that men who are sexually active are less likely to develop prostate cancer, which may be due to the release of cancer-causing toxins from the prostate gland. According to Santella and Cooper,masturbation achieves this same effect.
They add that masturbating may even cut the risk of type 2 diabetes in both sexes (though this may also be explained by better overall health), reduce insomnia through hormonal and tension release, and help stave off depression and boost the body’s immune system by raising levels of endorphins – the brain’s feel-good chemicals – and the hormone cortisol.
Furthermore, the pair explain that masturbation is also “the most convenient method for maximizing orgasms,” and that regular orgasms help boost self-esteem, reduce stress, blood pressure and pain, and improve pelvic floor strength through the contractions that occur.