Semen Fights Depression, Actual Scientists Claim
Not feeling very spunky? A study from the State University of New York suggests that semen may be a great natural antidepressant—and not just for the one producing it.
Playgirl reported on a study from some years back which indicates that the "mood-altering chemicals" in semen, rather than the energetic sex acts leading up to its release, are responsible for reduced depression.
Some 300 women were interviewed about their sexual behavior—including frequency of sexual intercourse, the number of days since their last sexual encounter and whether or not they used condoms—and then completed the widely used Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The results indicated that "females who engaged in sexual intercourse but never used condoms exhibited significantly lower BDI" than those who used condoms most or all of the time.
“Semen may antagonize depressive symptoms,” the study's authors wrote, “and evidence... shows that the vagina absorbs a number of components of semen that can be detected in the bloodstream within a few hours of administration.”
Interestingly, participants who described themselves as "promiscuous" and did not "ingest" (through either oral or unprotected penetrative sex) semen were just as likely to be depressed as those participants who were celibate. (Not that we're encouraging unsafe sex, of course.)
So what's the magical ingredient that makes man batter better than Paxil? "Semen, it turns out, contains mood-elevating estrone and oxytocin, as well as cortisol, melatonin, anti-depressant prolactin, thyrotropin releasing hormones, and serotonin." It also contains zinc, calcium, potassium, fructose and proteins.
Man, they should sell this stuff at GNC.