Xah Lee, 2010-03-18
Reading Wikipedia article on Semen. I've read recently from news channels about how women who retain semen in their body have some healh effects, which i'm rather doubtful... Because, first of all, news reports of science findings are usually out of context or not reliable. Readers cannot get a sense of the science's relative merit. Secondly, even if such research is well done, and suppose semen is indeed beneficial if women absorb it into their body (anal, virginal, oral, or rub into skin), i doubt such health benefits is of any significance that warrant knowing by the consumers, especially when compared to other health beneficial practices. (It'd be very silly if you compare it to, for example, regular exercise, eating balanced diet, avoid sugar drinks, smoking, etc. You can compare it to lesser things such as getting sufficient sleep, take a break every 2 hours if you sits in office, take a daily nap, get a life style without much stress, etc.)
Anyhow, here's few interesting notes from Wikipedia, almost funny:
In addition to its central role in reproduction, various scientific findings indicate that semen has certain beneficial effects on human health, both proven benefits and possible benefits:
- Antidepressant: One study suggested that vaginal absorption of semen could act as an antidepressant in women; the study compared two groups of women, one of which used condoms and the other did not.[4]
- Cancer prevention: Studies suggest that seminal plasma both prevents and fights cancer, particularly breast cancer,[5] reducing risk by "not less than 50 percent."[6][7] This effect is attributed to its glycoprotein and selenium content, with apoptosis being induced by TGF-Beta. A related urban legend parodied these findings and claimed that performing fellatio at least three times a week reduced the risk of breast cancer.[8]
- Preeclampsia prevention: It has been hypothesized that substances in semen condition a mother's immune system to accept the "foreign" proteins found in sperm as well as the resulting fetus and placenta, keeping blood pressure low and thereby reducing the risk of preeclampsia. Regular exposure to the baby's father's semen, especially orally, may help make a woman's pregnancy safer and more successful, because she is absorbing her partner's antigens.[9]
Other parts of that article is also interesting. The article is largely reliable, but many parts somewhat trivial, such as the health benefits above, as to make imbalanced impression.
Also of interest, that Wikipedia has these articles now:
Full fledged with references and citations. These articles used to be removed and placed back, on and off, in the past 3 or so years.