What Do You Know About Natural Prostate Health?

Natural prostate health is a vital concern for all men - Over half of men over 40 have enlarged prostates, and 80% of eighty-year-olds. Prostate cancer is the commonest type of cancer in men. Enlarged prostate symptoms include problems with urination, bowel movements and sexual function.

Unfortunately, the treatment, whether it is drugs or surgery, can cause similar problems. Luckily there are simple ways to maintain natural prostate health. These preventive measures will also help to cure an existing problem, along with herbs for prostate health, and other natural prostate remedies.

First, the basics. Your prostate is a walnut-sized gland that surrounds your urethra (the tube which drains your bladder). It produces a liquid that helps to prolong the life of sperm. It is because of its position close to both bowel and bladder that it can be such a nuisance when it becomes enlarged.

There are three main reasons why your prostate might become enlarged, known as prostatitis, BPH and prostate cancer. Cancer is the biggest worry - the commonest type of cancer in men, it is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the US (Mosby’s Medical Dictionary). However, it’s the least likely cause of prostate enlargement.

BPH, or Benign Prostate Hyperplasia is the commonest prostate problem. Simply translated, ‘benign’ means it’s not cancerous (breath a sigh of relief!), ‘hyperplasia’ means it’s bigger than normal. The name doesn’t actually tell you much. Clearly there is a blockage of some sort in that part of your body. As with any place where things are blocked and stagnant, there’s a danger of infection or cancer setting in.

Prostatitis means that you have a prostate infection, causing it to become inflamed and swollen. This may have started out as BPH, where the stagnant conditions form the ideal environment for germs to breed. Prostatitis treatment is normally a course of antibiotics. These should clear up the infection, but you have to look at why you got an infection in the first place, otherwise you’ll just have the problem recurring.

For natural prostate health there are three factors to consider – lifestyle, diet and environment.

Lifestyle – regular exercise will improve circulation all through your body, helping to prevent congestion anywhere. In particular, pelvic floor exercises are helpful, ‘massaging’ the prostate internally. These exercises are taught to women in ante-natal classes, to help strengthen bladder control during and after pregnancy. For a good description of pelvic floor exercises, see the website of the National Childbirth Trust.

Walking is also excellent exercise, getting your blood moving without being too strenuous.

Avoid sitting still for too long at a time, especially on cold surfaces.

Diet – in societies where a high fat diet is common, enlarged prostates are also common. So it’s obviously a good idea to avoid too much fatty food. Lots of red meat and dairy produce also increase the likelihood of you getting an enlarged prostate, as well as other health problems. On the other hand, a high fibre diet reduces your risk of ill health.

Environment – high estrogen levels in your environment are linked with increased risk of benign prostate enlargement and prostate cancer. Estrogen and estrogen-like compounds are found in pesticides, soy foods, plastics and hormones in meat and dairy products. (Factory farmed animals are routinely injected with hormones to promote rapid growth.) By eating organically produced fruit, vegetables and meat you will avoid pesticide residues

Soya beans contain estrogen-like chemicals. These are destroyed during the long fermentation process used to make traditional soy products – tofu, miso and soy sauce. Soya in all other forms still contains these chemicals, which disrupt your body’s natural hormone balance. Unfortunately, soy is used a lot in many prepared foods as a cheap source of protein – read the ingredients carefully before you buy!

Plastics also contain estrogen-like substances, which are easily absorbed into hot or fatty food. Avoid cooking or storing food in any sort of plastic. Even plastic drinking bottles can be a source of these chemicals, particularly when they contain fizzy, acidic drinks.

You might also be exposed to estrogen-like substances in your work environment, depending on what your job is.

Paying attention to these factors can help you avoid prostate problems. If you already have an enlarged prostate, there are natural prostate remedies to restore natural prostate health. You can even make your own herbal remedies.

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