Prostate health

What is the prostate?

The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that sits below the neck of the bladder, and surrounds the tube known as the urethra (through which urine flows from the bladder to the outside of the body). Its major function is to contribute the nutritive fluid, which makes up the bulk of semen. Tiny at birth and throughout childhood, the prostate enlarges after puberty, stimulated by rising levels of the male hormone testosterone, to a volume of around 20 mls. Despite its small size compared with other organs, the prostate is a significant potential source of disease and disability once a man passes middle age.

Prostate Problems

The most common problem that men encounter, usually in middle-age is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). BPH is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, which constricts the urethra and causes a need to urinate more often. The classic symptoms of BPH is needing to pass urine a couple of times through the course of the night, difficulty in initiating urination, dribbling at the end of urination, an increased likelihood of urinary infections and an increased risk of sexual dysfunction, which includes problems with ejaculation and erections. If you have any of these it is suggestive of BPH, however if you have blood in your urine, difficulty in passing urine or a swelling in your testicles or groin, or you are unsure about what is causing your urinary symptoms, you must see your GP as it could be cancer, although this is much rarer than BPH.

Conventional treatment for BHP

Once the diagnosis of BHP has been made by your GP, they might encourage you to ‘wait and see’ (particularly if your symptoms are mild), have surgery (usually if the symptoms are severe and are significantly affecting the quality of your life) or take medications. The idea of taking medication is to reduce the level of the testosterone derivative Di-Hydrotestosterone (DHT) - the hormone that is responsible for stimulating the prostate cells to proliferate and increase in number. Whilst there is no doubt that these drugs can help, they do have some significant side-effects in some people – these include dizziness, weakness, fainting and sleepiness. Fortunately there are other alternative and natural options available to you! The following is my recommended Healthy Prostate Plan:

Dietary Change

Eat at least 5 servings of tomatoes a week, the lycopene in the tomatoes has been shown to assist in keeping the prostate healthy
A lack of zinc is associated with prostate problems, so eat plenty of foods rich in zinc such as seafood, pumpkin, sunflower and linseeds over your cereal, yoghurts and eggs.
Eat organically-grown food whenever possible, as pesticides can reduce zinc intake and may even increase DHT