05 May Understand Prostate Health
Understand Prostate Health With Alternative Support
The unfortunate news of prostate problems is a hefty weight for any man to carry around, burdensome. Today, many men over the age of 65 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. To avoid this alarming statistic, let’s explore how to support your prostate to stay strong, vital, and healthy well past retirement.
What Is The Prostate Gland?
The prostate gland only resides in men. This gland is part of the male reproductive system. This walnut-shaped gland produces seminal fluid.
The prostate gland sits directly below your bladder. The organ carries sperm from your testicles when you ejaculate. This male-only gland plays a role in hormone production and helps regulate urine flow.
Explain BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia)
As a normal part of aging, your prostate gland will slightly enlarge. However, if the gland grows significantly, it can squeeze your urethra, causing trouble during urination. BPH or Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is the name.
Fear not! BPH is not cancer. However, more frequent urination is part of BPH. What happens is that your growing prostate presses on your urethra. As a result, the bladder may start to contract even if it only contains a small amount of urine. Irritatingly, this makes you have the urge to go to the bathroom more often – commonly during bedtime.
Most men hate the dribbling part of BPH. The flow of your urine may be much weaker than it used to be, causing a feeling of not being finished. Because of the pressure on your urethra, your flow may be slight – thus the dribble, dribble, dribble.
Early detection is key to preventing BPH from turning into a more serious issue. Do contact your physician if you notice a slow flow of urine. Early detection can rule out an infection or cancer.
Prostate Cancer
Of all the cancers in men, prostate cancer is one of the most common. Be aware that symptoms of prostate cancer can imitate BPH. The good news is that BPH is more common than prostate cancer.
Symptoms of possible prostate cancer include:
- Difficulty urinating
- Excessive interruption of sleep to urinate
- Not being able to urinate
- Erectile disfunction
- Blood in urine or seamen
- Lower back and pelvic pain
- Stiffness in hips and thighs
- Pressure or pain in the rectum
I need to highlight that age is one of the most significant factors, especially in men over the age of 65. Other factors include lifestyle or genetic background.
Cancer cells grow and divide swiftly. Much more rapidly than your normal cells. These abnormal cells will commonly form a tumor. This unwanted tumor can invade nearby tissue or even metastasize to your other organs and tissues.
- Being a male over the age of 65
- Family history and genetics
- Being an Afro-American
- Obesity
- Lack of exercise
- Poor dietary history
- Low vitamin D3 levels
- Excessive calcium
- Exposure to toxic chemicals
Natural Remedies For Prostate Health
Common ingredients in prostate supplements:
- Pygeum,
- Saw palmetto
- Beta-sitosterol
- Cat’s Claw
- Lycopene
Food Sources:
- Pumpkin seeds,
- Nettle + Green Tea,
- Shitake mushrooms
- Reishi mushrooms
- Cooked tomato
Vitamins:
- E (d-Alpha tocopheryl)
- B6
- Zinc
- Copper
- Chelated Selenium
- Vitamin D3
The supplements listed above and the food sources are anti-inflammatory. This reduced inflammation is directly associated with the urinary tract symptoms of BPH and possibly protect against prostate cancer. All of these ingredients work synergistically together to support the proper function of your prostate.
When you are looking for a supplement, turn the bottle over reading the back of the product label. Note how many of the supportive prostate ingredients are listed. Often, you will be able to find a brand that has many of the supportive nutrients in an all-in-one. Do this so that you do not have to consume numerous supplements, but only one capsule several times daily.
Convincing Studies
An encouraging study on Pubmed concluded in an 8-week trial noted that Saw Palmetto (featured in most prostate health supplements) preparation Prostasan, did lower BPH symptoms. At the end of treatment in 82 men, the International Prostate Symptom Score was reduced from 14.4 ± 4.7 to 6.9 ± 5.2. SDys measured with the brief Sexual Function Inventory improved from 22.4 ± 7.2 to 31.4 ± 9.2 (p < 0.0001), and the Urolife BPH QoL-9 sex total improved from 137.3 ± 47.9 to 195.0 ± 56.3 (p < 0.0001).
In a Randomized Controlled Trial published in Pubmed, Lycopene showed benefit.
“The main outcome of interest was the incidence of prostate cancer. It’s suggested that tomato may play a modest role in the prevention of prostate cancer. Further research would be needed to determine the type and quantity of tomato products regarding their potential in preventing prostate cancer.”
“A British study published in 2008 indicated that 25% of prostate cancer patients used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), with the most frequently reported interventions being low-fat diets, vitamins, and lycopene. The majority of CAM users in this study cited improving quality of life and boosting the immune system as the main reasons they used CAM (complementary and alternative medicine).”
In a Canadian study, CAM use was used among 39% of recently diagnosed prostate cancer patients. Three of the most commonly used forms of CAM were herbals, vitamins, and minerals. Among the most popular were, saw palmetto, vitamin E, and selenium. Popular reasons for choosing CAM were to boost the immune system and to halt recurrence.
Avoid Being Scammed
Do not purchase cheap products when it comes to any supplement you use. To cut cost manufacturers sometimes stuff products with artificial ingredients and fillers.
Seek out products that state that they do not contain artificial emulators, filler ingredients, dangerous chemical agents, and genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). Do not purchase products without these forthright statements on labels.
Look for studies and tests which have not been performed in labs affiliated with the manufacturer. Why? To make a fast buck, affiliated manufactures will always toot-their-own-horn. They might not give you all the facts. To eliminate this obstacle, look for products that have been third party tested and are manufactured in an FDA approved facility.
I recommend that you look for a nutritional professional to purchase your high-grade supplements.
In Conclusion
Here is some good news quoted from The American Cancer Society, “Prostate cancer can be a serious disease, but most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it. More than 3.1 million men in the United States who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point are still alive today.”
Stay ahead of your aging and growing prostate. A balanced lifestyle will help. Include eating an organic nutrient-dense diet, getting at least 30-40 minutes of sunshine daily, hydrating well with filtered water, exercise, avoid sugar, and remove all processed food from your diet.
Include the powerful supplements listed above and eat the added targeted foods regularly. You absolutely can fine-tune your magnificent, walnut-shaped organ, to work powerfully far into your golden years!
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