by: Dr. Craig A. Maxwell
Have you been struggling with frequent urinary urgency, pain during urination or even erectile dysfunction? Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) could be to blame.
What is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a fancy medical term for enlarged prostate. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland surrounding the neck of the bladder and is responsible for releasing a fluid that protects and enriches sperm during ejaculation.
The prostate grows during puberty and remains much the same size throughout adulthood. It then begins to grow again after a man reaches the age of 50. Though half of these men show no symptoms of this growth, many men find the growth of their prostate to be quite uncomfortable.
Symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
The average male prostate is the size of a plum. When a man has benign prostatic hyperplasia, his prostate can grow to twice this size, causing symptoms such as:
- Frequent urination
- Weak urine stream
- Difficulty emptying the bladder
- Urinary incontinence
- Waking to urinate
- Delay or hesitancy in urine stream
- Erectile dysfunction
In my opinion, all men need a PSA blood test and rectal exam to examine the prostate once a year beginning at age 50. If there is a family history of prostate cancer, or you are experiencing the above symptoms earlier than age 50, then I recommend the evaluations sooner.
Natural Treatments for BPH
- Dietary Changes
One of the easiest things a man can do to improve his prostate health is make some dietary changes. Fast food and processed foods have no nutritional value and only contribute to inflammation of the prostate.
To treat BPH naturally, switch to whole-food nutrition. This means loading up on organic vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes, poultry, wild-caught fish, and healthy fats.
I also advise my patients with enlarged prostate to add more lycopene to their diets. Lycopene is an antioxidant pigment found in tomatoes, watermelon, peppers, papayas, and pink grapefruits that has been scientifically-proven to reduce the progression of BPH.
Cayenne pepper is another natural dietary treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia as it helps fight inflammation and prevents the development of prostate cancer.
- Exercise
Even if you haven’t exercised in a very long time, you can reduce your BPH symptoms by just going for a walk. Studies have indicated men who walk briskly for at least 3 hours each week not only reduce their BPH symptoms but may cut down on the development of prostate cancer.
So grab some headphones and head out for a walk around your neighborhood, local park, or hiking trail. Not only will your prostate feel better, you’ll improve your overall health.
- Kegel Exercises
Studies have shown that men experiencing enlarged prostate may benefit from practicing Kegel exercises regularly. These exercises help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and may reduce urinary symptoms.
Here’s how to do them:
- Empty your bladder completely
- Sit in a comfortable position
- Tighten your pelvic floor muscles by consciously pulling in your anal sphincter as though stopping a bowel movement
- Hold for a count of 10, release, and rest for 10 seconds
- Repeat this process 10 times three times per day
Alternatively, you can perform these exercises while urinating by attempting to control the stop and start of your stream. This encourages better bladder control and may prevent urinary incontinence.
- Supplements
Diamond Nutritional’s Foundation Vitamins
Many men either don’t take a multivitamin supplement or they don’t take the right kind. If you’re taking a store-bought commercial multivitamin, you may want to consider stopping it.
Many of these multivitamins are of low quality and contain an alarming array of chemicals, dyes, additives, and sweeteners that can actually make your prostate problems much worse.
Another problem with store-bought vitamins is where they come from. It may surprise you to know that a large majority of them were created in a lab and not made from whole-food ingredients. This means your body cannot absorb them and you’re only wasting your money.
This is one of the primary reasons I designed my own brand of whole-food, nutritionally-sound supplements. If you have an enlarged prostate, I recommend adding Diamond Nutritional’s Foundation Vitamins to fill in any nutritional gaps in your diet.
Foundation’s fortifying ingredients include:
o Vitamin A – 7,500 IU
o Vitamin C – 500 mg
o Vitamin D3 – 500 IU
o Vitamin E – 100 IU
o Vitamin K – 50 mcg
o Thiamine – 25 mg
o Riboflavin – 25 mg
o Niacin – 25 mg
o Vitamin B6 – 38 mg
o Folic Acid – 400 mcg
o Vitamin B12 – 500 mcg
o Biotin – 200 mcg
o Panthothenic Acid – 150 mg
o Calcium – 100 mg
o Iodine – 113 mcg
o Magnesium – 200 mg
o Zinc – 10 mg
o Selenium – 100 mcg
o Copper – 1 mg
o Manganese – 2.5 mg
o Chromium – 200 mcg
o Molybdenum – 25 mcg
o Potassium – 50 mg
o Choline Bitartrate USP – 50 mg
o Inositol – 50 mg
o Mixed Tocopherols – 50 mg
o Lipoic Acid – 25 mg
o N-Acetyl-Cysteine USP – 25 mg
o Rutin – 25 mg
o Lutein – 3 mg
o Boron – 1.5 mg
o Lycopene – 1 mg
o Vanadyl Sulfate Hydrate – 1 mg
Diamond Nutritional’s Prostate Support Formula
Oftentimes, conventional medicine will advise painful and expensive surgery to treat BPH, depending on the severity of symptoms. For my patients with enlarged prostate, I recommend first trying a much easier alternative.
My Diamond Nutritional’s Prostate Support Formula contains a synergistic blend of antioxidant and inflammation-fighting ingredients to help reduce your symptoms and improve your health.
These ingredients include:
- Zinc
Zinc is a powerful antioxidant mineral that helps shrink enlarged prostate and boost male testosterone levels.
- Selenium
This trace mineral helps prevent excessive oxidation in the prostate. It also cuts down on the symptoms of BPH and reduces the risk of developing prostate cancer.
- Copper
Copper works in conjunction with zinc to heal enlarged prostate.
- Saw Palmetto
This herb helps improve urinary tract function while reducing the inflammation that leads to frequent urination and discomfort.
- Nettles Root Extract
Nettles root act as a powerful anti-inflammatory. It helps maintain a normal rate of cell proliferation within the prostate by acting on the Na+/K+ ATPase enzyme. It also decreases the negative effects of androgens on the prostate, while inhibiting prostate cell growth.
- Pygeum Bark Extract
This herbal remedy has been used successfully for thousands of years to treat inflammation and prostate disease. It helps decrease discomfort and urinary frequency.
If you’re a man with an enlarged prostate, you don’t have to just live with the discomfort and inconvenience. You can do something about it by making some dietary changes, getting some exercise, and adding the right supplements. What are you waiting for? Take charge of your health today!
