disability, especially spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis, in men
often results in significant sexual dysfunction. Under such
circumstances, the last thing one needs is to have these sexual problems
further aggravated by prostate disorders.
just elderly men, prostate disorders are much more common than would be
expected in middle-aged individuals. For example, over half of 40-59
year-old men have enlarged prostates, and, although most will not
develop clinically significant
disease, one fourth of 50-year olds have some cancerous cells in their
Due to the
problem’s magnitude, this article’s purpose is to highlight various
prostate-enhancing nutritional, herbal, or alternative medicine
approaches that may help one avert more serious pharmaceutical and
surgical therapies. Using these preventive approaches should not,
however, lull one into foregoing regular prostate-screening exams.
located below the bladder, is a walnut-size gland that produces seminal
fluid. Because the gland
surrounds the urethra that drains the bladder, prostate disorders often
affect urination. The three most common disorders are 1) an inflammatory
infection called prostatitis; 2) benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a
prevalent non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate; and 3) cancer, the
most frequent male malignancy.
disorders are associated with age-related changes in steroid sex
hormones. After age 40,
testosterone declines, and a testosterone variant called
dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and the female-associated hormone estrogen
increase. DHT stimulates cell growth and, in turn, prostate enlargement.
By inhibiting DHT elimination, estrogen has the same effect.
Food and Nutrient Supplements:
dysfunction has been called a nutritional disease. It is much more
common in developed Western countries that emphasize animal-derived
foods, such as red meat, dairy products, and eggs, all foods that tend
to accumulate environmental toxins. In contrast, fruit- and
vegetable-rich diets exert a protective effect.
studies are challenging some entrenched views on what we have
traditionally considered nutritionally wholesome foods. For example,
growing evidence suggests that milk may be bad for the prostate.
Overall, countries that consume the most milk have the highest incidence
of prostate cancer. The culprit appears to be milk’s calcium.
Excessive calcium intake, regardless of source, apparently suppresses
the synthesis of a form of vitamin D that inhibits prostate cancer.
In contrast, men
who consume tomatoes, tomato-based foods (e.g., ketchup, pasta, etc.),
guavas, watermelon, and pink grapefruit are reportedly less likely to
get prostate cancer. These foods contain a powerful antioxidant agent
called lycopene (see www.lycopene.org)
that gives them their characteristic red color. Available as a
nutritional supplement, lycopene not only prevents prostate cancer but
also may reduce existing tumor size.
prostate-protecting food is fructose, the sugar in fruit that is
used to sweeten many foods. Overall, its consumption is associated with
a reduced prostate-cancer risk. Unlike calcium, fructose stimulates the
production of a vitamin D form that inhibits tumors.
nutrients that are often deficient in our diet also enhance prostate
health. For example, a lack of zinc especially affects the
prostate because this gland uses it much more than any other body part.
By altering steroid hormone metabolism, zinc supplementation can reduce
prostate enlargement. Interestingly, pumpkin seeds, a traditional folk
remedy promoting male reproductive and prostate health, are rich in
is another often-deficient trace nutrient that is essential for prostate
health. Increasing selenium intake, whether through supplements or
selenium-rich foods (e.g., Brazil nuts), has been shown to reduce
nutritional factors that may inhibit prostate cancer include vitamin
D; vitamin E, an antioxidant that inhibits cancer growth; soy-based
foods, which contain the cancer-inhibiting agent genistein; and garlic,
which possess cancer-fighting, sulfur-containing compounds.
herbal remedies are widely used to treat prostate disorders. In America,
however, a regulatory charade makes these remedies available by
pretending that they are merely dietary supplements (insert link).
Because of the extensive scientific base that often supports their use,
they are much more than folk remedies.
these herbs is saw palmetto, isolated from the berries of a small
palm tree common to the U.S.’s southeastern coastal region. A
traditional Native American remedy, saw palmetto reduces prostate
enlargement by inhibiting the synthesis of growth-stimulating DHT and
promoting DHT elimination by lowering estrogen levels.
studies demonstrate saw palmetto’s effectiveness. In fact, the herb
works better in treating prostate enlargement than the frequently
prescribed drug Proscar. Specifically, saw palmetto was shown to be
effective in nearly 90% of patients after 4-6 weeks, while Proscar works
in fewer than a half the patients after a year. And since the drug is
less effective, much more expensive, and its major side effect is
erectile dysfunction, choosing saw palmetto seems self-evident.
administered with saw palmetto, another herbal heavyweight is pygeum.
An indigenous African remedy obtained from tree bark, studies indicate
that pygeum can treat BPH and prostatitis. The herb also contains
chemicals that inhibit DHT-associated prostate enlargement.
A third herbal
remedy is Cernilton, a popular European product prepared from the
extract of mainly rye pollen. Numerous studies document Cernilton’s
ability to treat BPH and prostatitis (see www.cernitinamerica.com).
stinging nettle is a traditional herbal folk remedy for many ailments,
including prostate disorders. Clinical studies indicate that the herb
(marketed as Bazoton in Europe) also can relieve BPH symptoms.
Homeopathy is a
popular alternative healing tradition that offers several
remedies for prostate disorders. Although often confused with herbal and
nutritional therapies that bear similar names, homeopathy is based on
fundamentally different principles. With homeopathy’s like-cures-like
philosophy, substances that cause symptoms of illness in healthy people
can be used in exceedingly low doses to cure similar symptoms from
illness. According to the “Consumer
Guide to Homeopathy” (Dana Ullman, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1995),
homeopathic remedies for prostate disorders include Chimaphilla
umbellata, Pulsatilla, Clematis, Apis, Staphysagria, Selenium, Baryta
carb, Kali bic, and Causticum.
suggests that cancers can be treated with magnetic
fields. As such, it has been suggested
that prostate tumor growth can be inhibited by sitting for several
hours a day on a magnet (e.g., magnetic pad). Because the
north-pole-associated field - the side that attracts the
north-pole-seeking end of a compass needle - slows down biological
growth while the south-pole field stimulates growth, cancers should be
treated with only the magnet’s north-pole field.
One way or
another, economic factors pervasively influence our health. For example,
the dairy industry relentlessly promotes milk’s benefits to adults in
spite of much evidence to the contrary, and ketchup producers now
portray the condiment as a health food. It is hard to know who to listen
to. Physicians, upon whom we rely on for advice, listen mostly to
profit-motivated drug companies when it concerns our medicines and have
had little training in nutritional, herbal, or alternative healing
Even though 1)
safer, less expensive, and more effective options are often available,
2) h a blue-ribbon federal health advisory committee concluded that way
too many prostate surgeries are being performed, and 3) everyone
complains about soaring medical costs, American men still spend billions
of dollars annually on surgical and pharmaceutical treatments, often
possessing serious side effects. Knowledge is power. If we don’t want
economic factors influencing our health, we need to reclaim more
responsibility for it and further educate ourselves on healing options.
You can purchase
most of the supplements and products referenced throughout this article
at nutritional stores, through mail-order catalogs, or on the Internet.
Adapted From article appearing Paraplegia News,
May 2001 (For subscriptions, contact www.pn-magazine.com).