News & Updates

Herbs

Common Ailments

References

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Enlarged Prostate
(Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia / BPH)

Over 50% of men over the age of 50 are expected to suffer from urinary problems from an enlarged prostate. And when they reach the age of 70, over 90% of them will suffer from this. Fortunately, there are many natural remedies that can help.

Introduction

Enlarged prostate is also referred to as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. The prostate gland sits below the urinary bladder and surrounds the urethra, a tube that allows urine to drain from the bladder.

It is about the size of a walnut and it produces seminal fluid. When this gland enlarges, it will put pressure on the urethra, a tube that goes through it, clamping it down and preventing proper urine drainage.

Men over the age of 50 years old starts to experience this health problem. As they reach the age of 70, expert estimate that over 40% will have some form of BPH.

There are prescription drugs that can shrink the prostate gland and prevent it from enlarging. However, before considering using prescription drugs, try natural remedies first. Herbs tend to have less side effects while providing good relief from BPH.

Frequently Asked Questions & Facts on BPH

What causes an enlarged prostate gland?
What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate?
What diet or lifestyle changes can help with this problem?
Can this problem eventually lead to prostate cancer?

Natural Remedies for Treating and Curing an Enlarged Prostate

Natural Remedy	What experts say about them
Saw Palmetto	(What's this?) Saw palmetto is well studies for the treatment of an enlarged prostate gland. Clinical studies show that it is effective for shrinking the gland. Dose: Take 160 mg taken twice daily. For other dosage formulations, see the full review on saw palmetto.
Beta-sitosterol	Clinical evidence support using beta-sitosterol for the treatment of an enlarged prostate. It improved all the symptoms such as urinary flow. Dose: Take 20 mg three times daily. Results may take up to 6 months. Dose as high as 160 mg daily have been used in clinical studies with equally good results.
Pygeum	Pygeum is approved for use in treating BPH in Italy, Germany and France. It can help with mild to moderate BPH by reducing inflammation and inhibiting prostate growth factors. It will improve symptoms such as the frequency of urination, reduce the need to urinate during the night and promotes a more complete emptying of the bladder. Dose: Take 50 to 100 mg twice daily. Use the standardized formulation when possible which contains 13% sterols.
Rye Pollen	Several well-designed studies show that rye pollen was helpful in reducing the symptoms of BPH. When it was compared to pygeum, it seems to be significantly better at reducing symptoms of BPH. Dose: Take as directed, usually 3 tablets twice daily as per the manufacturer directions.
Nettle Root	Nettle seems to increase urine flow, helps to regulate hormones and appears to change the condition of the prostate cells. Dose: Take 120 mg twice daily. Tincture - 2 to 4 mL three times daily.
Pumpkin Seeds	Pumpkin seed oil is shown to help reduce the symptoms of BPH in clinical studies. As pumpkin seed oil is a rich source of sterol, zinc and fatty acids, experts believe that this is the reason why it seems to work. Dose: Take 160 mg three times daily with food.
Zinc	Zinc plays an important role in maintaining prostate health and is also found in seminal secretions. Some small clinical studies show that zinc helped with improving symptoms of BPH. Larger studies will need to be done to confirm this initial finding. Dose: Take 15 to 30 mg daily. Note: Take with 3 mg of copper. It is known that high doses of zinc cause copper deficiency in the body.
Red Clover	Some research seems to show that the isoflavones found in red clover can reduce some symptoms of BPH although it did not shrink the size of the prostate gland. More studies will need to be done to verify this. Dose: Take 40 to 80 mg daily for at least 3 months.
Essential Fatty Acids (Fish Oil)	These include fish oil or flaxseed oil. Essential fatty acids have anti-inflammatory benefits. Experts believe that essential fatty acids can be helpful to shrink the enlarged prostate gland. However, there are limited studies done in humans to verify this claim although pumpkin seed oil (also a rich source of fatty acids) is shown to help. Dose: Take 15 mL of flaxseed oil daily. Or take 3,000 mg (3 grams) of fish oil daily (divide into two or three doses daily if desired. You may take 3 grams as a single daily dose).
Maca	Studies done on rats show that maca was able to shrink the prostate gland.

Frequently Asked Questions & Facts

What causes an enlarged prostate gland?

No one knows exactly what causes the prostate to enlarge but hormonal change is a strong suspect. The hormonal changes cause the prostate cells to grow in response to testosterone.

Some experts believe that a poor diet (high fat and low fiber) as well as deficiencies in nutrition (such as zinc) may also be a cause.

Other uncontrollable factors include age, family history (genetics) and ethnicity (more common in Caucasian than in the Chinese and Asians).

What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate gland?

Signs and symptoms include:

Difficulty in starting or stopping urination
Frequent urination
Urgency in urination
Dribbling
Incomplete emptying of the bladder
Needing to "force" the urine to flow
Blood in urine
Need to urinate at night more often (two or three times nightly)
Urine flow is weak
Frequent bladder infections
Generalized discomfort (aches and pain) in the groin region
Burning sensation during urination (a sign of an bladder infection)
Fever (a sign of a bladder infection)

Most men usually do not seek medical help until one or more of the above symptoms become severe. Always seek medical advice when you experience any of these symptoms to rule out other problems that may be more serious.

The danger with not treating BPH is that by not properly draining the bladder, infections can occur. As well, if urine backs up in the bladder, it may increase pressure to the kidney possibly causing damage (not common) and discomfort. Straining to "force" the urine out may cause damage to delicate blood vessels causing blood to be found in urine.

What diet or lifestyle changes can help with this problem?

Foods to Take More of

Drink 8 glasses of water daily to avoid dehydration.
Add fish, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds and tomato to your diet. Stick with whole grains and fresh vegetables.
Cranberry juice can be considered to reduce the risk of developing bladder infection.
Increase fiber in your diet.

Foods to Avoid

Cut back on saturated fats.
Cut back or eliminate sugary foods such as candies, cakes and soda beverages.
Limit the amount of caffeine and alcohol that you consume daily. They may irritate the prostate gland.

Lifestyle Changes

Regular exercise is shown to help with symptoms of BPH. However, exercise that puts extra pressure on the groin region such as bicycling should be avoided. (Recumbent exercise bikes are not a problem.

Avoid retaining urine when possible and empty your bladder regularly.

Get Advice Before Taking Any Medications

As your pharmacist or doctor before using any over-the-counter (non-prescription) cough and cold remedies. Many of them contain drugs that can worsen prostate symptoms.

Can this problem eventually lead to prostate cancer?

Possibly but not always the case. Have your doctor perform a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. Although not absolute, a high PSA result may indicate BPH, prostate cancer or an inflamed prostate gland (prostatitis).

Back to top
References
Revised: February 4, 2010

Enlarged Prostate (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia / BPH)