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Men's Health
Natural Health, April, 1999 by Robert Ivker
STRAIGHT TALK ON YOUR HEALTH AND LIFE.
Nighttime Bathroom Trips
I'm 47 years old and have recently started to get up during the night to urinate, I'm told I have a slightly enlarged prostate. I'm not so bothered about having to wake up, but I worry about this escalating into something more serious. How can I prevent that?
Prostate enlargement is probably the most common physical problem affecting men your age and older. Known medically as benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), prostate enlargement affects nearly 30 percent of 50-year-old men, 50 percent of 60-year-olds, and almost 80 percent of men over 70.
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When the prostate enlarges, it pinches off the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. Thus, the symptoms of BPH involve changes in urinary habits: increased frequency of urination (especially at night), inability to empty the bladder, dribbling, and feeling a need to urinate and then having difficulty doing so.
BPH may be a precursor to more serious prostate problems, including kidney and bladder damage, as well as prostate cancer. Because of the potential for serious complications, you should have your symptoms diagnosed by a physician if they continue.
You might be able to prevent BPH from becoming a more serious problem and also reverse your symptoms by doing the following:
* Take care of your overall health. Eat a balanced diet, including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, get plenty of rest and exercise, and reduce stress.
* Avoid caffeine and tobacco, which irritate the prostate. Greatly reduce your intake of sweet foods, foods high in fat and cholesterol (beef and whole milk), and refined carbohydrates (white bread and white-flour pastas). All these can negate the beneficial effects of zinc and vitamins C and E, which are important to prostate health. Cut back on fat. A high-fat diet is a risk factor in BPH; researchers believe that the low rate of BPH among Asian men is because their diets are lower in fat than the diets of American men. Also avoid beer. It increases prolactin, a hormone that indirectly increases the production of dihydrotestosterone, another hormone that causes prostate cells to multiply excessively. This cell multiplication is thought to be the underlying cause of prostate enlargement.
* Eat fats that have been shown to lessen the risk of BPH, particularly those found in cold-water fish (salmon, sardines, and mackerel). Cold-water fish are rich in omega-3 oils, which are healthy fats for the prostate. You can also get omega-3s by adding flaxseed oil to your diet; add it to salads or vegetables but don't cook with it. (For more information on getting omega-3s, see "A Fish Tale" on page no.) Also, eat raw pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc and omega-3 fatty acids. If your diet is lacking in omega-3 oils or foods rich in zinc, consider taking supplements of each. Take omega-3s in the daily amount recommended on the label of the product, and take 30 mg of zinc picolinate daily. If you take zinc supplements, take 1 mg of copper with a different meal than when you take the zinc, because zinc can deplete copper levels.
* Take a full daily complement of vitamins and minerals, including the following: vitamins C (3,000 to 6,000 mg as ester C or ascorbate), A or beta carotene 10,000 to 25,000 IU), E (400 IU), and [B.sub.6] (50 to 100 mg). Antioxidants have a widespread protective effect against aging, and I would include them in any program to prevent the diseases of aging. Vitamins E and [B.sub.6] specifically reduce prolactin levels. Also take 200 mcg of selenium every day; selenium is proven to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
* Take the herb saw palmetto berry (Serenoa repens), 160 mg a day. It has been shown in multiple studies to prevent the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, and does so more effectively than the pharmaceutical drug Proscar. This effect may be enhanced by combining it with the herb pygeum (Pygeum africanus) at a dose of 10 mg a day.
* Empty the prostate by ejaculating at least three times a week. The evidence on this is mixed; however, I believe that because many diseases are a result of restriction or obstruction of body fluids, this recommendation makes good sense physiologically.
* Massage your prostate daily by doing pubococcygeus (PC) muscle contractions. You do this exercise by contracting your pelvic muscles as you would to stop the flow of urine. Do at least 10 to 15 contractions a day. Hold each for two to four seconds. Regular practice not only improves prostate health, but contracting the PC during lovemaking can prolong and intensify orgasm.
Toughen Up, Man--Eat Beef
Commercials during NFL games promote eating beef, saying that men need it for more protein and iron. They imply that it will give us more power. I work hard at staying fit, but I've come to believe that beef is unhealthy. Have I missed something?
The beef industry continues to prey on men with this misinformation. It is true that beef is an excellent source of protein and iron, but both can be obtained from other sources that do not have the health risks of meat. Most beef cattle are fed grains and injected with the growth hormone stilbestrol. This combination causes them to store stearic acid, a type of fat that contributes to the elevation of LDL cholesterol, one of the leading risk factors for heart disease. A high intake of animal protein has also been linked to high blood pressure, kidney disease (including kidney stones), and osteoporosis (weak bones). The risk of osteoporosis is increased because the acid in beef causes an increase in the excretion of calcium.
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