Those notches on your bedpost, or belt, or whatever you use to tally your sexual escapades will do more than earn you a high five from your guy friends and eye rolls from the ladies. Men who have slept with more than 20 women reduce their risk of prostate cancer by 28 percent, and their risk of growing aggressive tumors by 19 percent, according to research published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.
The bottom line, or the silver lining (depending on how you look at it) is the number of female partners you take to bed. The matter at hand is such that you can’t just hole up in your room feverishly masturbating in an effort to ward off cancer. A high frequency of sex with one partner won’t do the trick, either.
Researchers believe that regular, frequent intercourse flushes out cancer-causing chemicals—the bulk of which is found in semen—from the prostate. A high number of sexual partners also results in a higher frequency of ejaculations, which reduce calcifications in the prostate.
What are you waiting for? Get busy.