Prostate Disorders
The prostate is a gland about the size of a walnut that is only present in men. It is located just below the bladder and surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine flows from the bladder and out through the penis. One of the main functions of the prostate gland is to produce prostatic fluid, one of the components of semen.  It's estimated that by the age of 80, one in four men will have had treatment for symptoms related to BPO. Although it is not prostate cancer, the symptoms of BPO can be similar to those of prostate cancer so you should see your doctor if you start to experience problems passing urine. For more information, please see separate BUPA health factsheet, Prostate cancer.

Symptoms
You should seek medical advice if you notice:
the need to pass urine urgently
the need for frequent trips to the toilet, including having to get up several times in the night
hesitancy, or difficulty in starting to pass urine
a weak or intermittent stream
a feeling that your bladder isn't empty after urination

Herbs

The use of herbs is a time-honored approach to strengthening the body and treating disease. Herbs, however, contain active substances that can trigger side effects and interact with other herbs, supplements, or medications. For these reasons, herbs should be taken with care and only under the supervision of a practitioner knowledgeable in the field of herbal medicine.

Reports claim that as many as 80% of European men with BPH are given the option of herbal remedies for their symptoms, including saw palmetto and stinging nettle roots, rather than medication or surgery. According to research, these herbs may be comparable to finasteride (see Medications) for relieving symptoms of BPH. However, unlike this prescription drug, these herbs do not shrink the prostate gland.

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens)—Some men have had success taking extracts of saw palmetto berries, an herb that has been used to ease prostate symptoms. Look for fat-soluble saw palmetto extract that has been standardized to contain 85% to 95% fatty acids and sterols.

Stinging nettle root (Urtica dioica) — Studies suggest that the root of the stinging nettle, in combination with saw palmetto, may be an effective treatment for BPH, relieving urinary symptoms such as reduced urinary flow, incomplete emptying of the bladder, post urination dripping, and the constant urge to urinate.

Pumpkin seed extract (Curcurbita pepo)– especially in combination with saw palmetto extract may improve urinary flow and decrease frequency of urination.

African plum extract (Pygeum africanum)– may help diminish nighttime urination; more research is needed.

Red clover (Trifolium pretense)– reduces enlargement of non-cancerous prostate cells in mice. Research in people is needed.

Prognosis and Complications

There is no doubt whatsoever that diet has a major role in allowing - or stopping - prostate cancer. A Harvard University School of Public Health study indicates that you are 250% more likely to suffer advanced prostate cancer if you eat red meat every day than if you eat red meat only once a week. The message is clear and generally ignored: move your diet in the direction of vegetarianism, and start today (USA Weekend, December 3-5, 1993, p 14).

If there were a mineral that could be as important for the prostate as vitamin C is, it would be zinc. Infection or other stress results in lower blood serum zinc levels in general and lower prostate levels in particular. In prostatitis, zinc levels are only ONE-TENTH of those in a normal prostate. (Fair and Heston,1977; Pfeiffer, 1978) One time-tested prostate remedy is eating pumpkin seeds. It is no surprise that pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc, as are shellfish (especially oysters, which would account for still more folklore) and nutritional yeast. A daily zinc supplement totaling 50 to 100 milligrams is frequently recommended in the natural healing literature, and that amount cannot be faulted by medical literature.

Several studies have linked diets high in tomatoes with lower risks of certain cancers.A Harvard study in the mid-1990s found that men who consumed at least 10 servings of tomato products per week had a 34 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than other men.

Pomegranate Juice 'can slow prostate cancer'
Drinking a daily eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice can significantly slow the progress of prostate cancer, a study suggests. Researchers say the effect may be so large that it may help older men outlive the disease. Pomegranates contain a cocktail of chemicals which minimise cell damage, and potentially kill off cancer cells. The study, by the University of California in Los Angeles, appears in the journal Clinical .

Prostate Health
NUTRITION AND THE PROSTATE
We will briefly consider three all too common problems with the male prostate: infection, enlargement and malignancy.
PROSTATITIS Bacterial infection of the prostate may be acute or chronic. A nonbacterial prostatitis is actually more common. (Merck Manual, 14th ed., pp 1566-1567) Saturation doses of vitamin C are at least as effective as antibiotics in any of these conditions. We know this through the work of Frederick R. Klenner, M.D., Robert Cathcart, M.D. and other physicians who have used very large doses of vitamin C to cure infections for decades. Vitamin C is admittedly nonspecific, but no more so than the pharmaceutical antibiotics that are given for infection no matter where in the body it may be. Vitamin C has the advantages of being cheaper and considerably safer than drugs. Saturation of vitamin C is indicated by diarrhea, so one takes just less than the amount that would produce loose bowels. It will be a lot, measured in grams and not milligrams. The need for vitamin C will diminish as the infection subsides. A maintenance dose effectively helps to prevent a recurrence.

Fruit compound fights prostate cancer in lab
A compound found fruits like olives, mangoes, strawberries and grapes fights cancer in human and animal cells, shows recent research.University of Wisconsin researchers reported this summer that lupeol, a triterpene present in the oils and resin of many plants, caused cells from human pancreas tumours to die when tested in the laboratory.
The same team, led by Professor Hasan Mukhtar, has now found that the compound also kills prostate cancer cells from humans injected into mice. Writing in the 1 December issue of Cancer Research (vol 65, issue 23, pp11203-13), the researchers reported that mice fed with lupeol showed significantly slower growth of cancer tumours and increased death of prostate cancer cells.

Protect Your Prostate Naturally
Posted: 5/18/2006 11:09:00 AM
A diet rich in cruciferous vegetables and foods rich in lycopene may help protect your prostate. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts. One study found just five servings a week reduced the risk of prostate cancer by twenty percent. Lycopene rich foods include tomatoes and tomato products, pink grapefruit and watermelon. It appears that processed and cooked tomato products offer more protection, possibly by making lycopene more available to the body. In a 2002 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers found that eating at least 2 servings of tomato sauce a week can reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by about a third.

Vitamin E, beta-carotene may protect smokers from prostate cancer
15/02/2006 - Daily supplements of vitamin E and beta-carotene may reduce the risk of prostate cancer in smokers, but not non-smokers, reports a new study, adding more contradictory results to an already confused field.A diet rich in antioxidants like vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene has been reported to protect certain sub-populations, particularly smokers, against prostate cancer, a disease that is becoming more common, with incidence rates haven risen by almost two per cent over 15 years.“Vitamin E supplementation in smokers and beta-carotene supplementation in men with low dietary beta-carotene were associated with reduced risks of this disease,” wrote lead author Victoria Kirsh from US National Cancer Institute.
The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (Vol. 98, pp. 245-254), surveyed the diet and supplement use of 29,361 men with an average age of 63, and with an average follow-up time of 4.2 years.

Onion compounds may cut prostate cancer risk
09/01/2004 - Onions and solar radiation exposure could help prevent prostate cancer, while meat and dairy products could be risk factors, finds a recent 32 country study.Environmental factors such as diet and smoking are generally thought to account for 60–70 per cent of cancer incidence and mortality. Since smoking is not a risk factor for prostate cancer the role of diet is likely to be quite high, writes independent US researcher William Grant, who carried out the study. Prostate cancer mortality (PrCM) rates in northern Europe are approximately five times higher than in Hong Kong, Iran, Japan and Turkey.Taking his lead from this notion, Grant set out to identify and determine the relative importance of dietary and environmental risk and risk reduction factors for prostate cancer mortality.

What causes prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer occurs when malignant cells form and spread through the prostate gland. The malignant cells develop when changes occur in DNA, the genetic material containing the "instructions" for all types of cells. When DNA is altered, cells can begin growing out of control and crowd out normal cells, resulting in cancer. Exactly how DNA is altered in prostate cancer remains unclear. However, a number of factors have been implicated in the development of the disease, including advancing age, family history and race (African-American men are more likely than white men to get the disease and Asian men are the least likely). Other contributing factors may be a high-fat diet and eating fewer fruits and vegetables.

Protect Your Prostate Naturally
Posted: 5/18/2006 11:09:00 AM
A diet rich in cruciferous vegetables and foods rich in lycopene may help protect your prostate. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts. One study found just five servings a week reduced the risk of prostate cancer by twenty percent. Lycopene rich foods include tomatoes and tomato products, pink grapefruit and watermelon. It appears that processed and cooked tomato products offer more protection, possibly by making lycopene more available to the body. In a 2002 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, researchers found that eating at least 2 servings of tomato sauce a week can reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer by about a third.

Megavitamin Treatment of Cancer
Anti Cancer Nutrition
A large number of special diets ranging from fasting (water only) to juice fasts to low fat and sugar free diets are used. Every one of the special diets have proponents who think they are very helpful, and patients who have been helped by them but no one has ever conducted an experiment to compare all the diets to determine which is the best. Perhaps there will never be a "best". Because of the individuality of people it may turn out that each person will have to determine what is their own best diet. In my book Hoffer's Laws of Natural Nutrition Quarry Press, P.O.Box 1061, Kingston, Ontario K7L 4Y5. Almost all the diets used by complementary therapists are lower in animal proteins, much more vegetarian, with emphasis on vegetables rich in bioflavonoids and fruits. I advise my patients to obey three rules (1) To eliminate all junk food i.e,. food containing any added simple sugars like table sugar or glucose as in corn syrup. This simple rule, comprehensible even to children, will eliminate nearly 90% of the additives commonly added to processed foods. (2) To reduce fat levels, I think that dairy products are the chief villains. Nearly every study internationally has shown that countries with lower fat intake have fewer cases of cancer, particularly breast cancer. Milk is very rich in estrogens from the cow and in phytoestrogens from the grass that they eat.(3) To eliminate all foods they know they are allergic to. These rules allow the diet to be varied, palatable and interesting.

Can men prevent an enlarged prostate?
Excess calories, obesity may increase risk, studies suggest
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. But prostate enlargement affects even more men- about half of all men over age 50 and up to 90 percent of men over age 80. This condition, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) does not indicate prostate cancer risk. Yet some researchers suggest that whatever hormones or other influences cause BPH to develop may also spur the onset of cancer.
 

Fish oil lowers prostate cancer growth
A new study with mice suggests that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil might help slow prostate cancer growth. Omega-3 fatty acids -- especially the long-chain forms found in oily fish -- have become the latest nutrition superstars, with studies suggesting they can help prevent heart disease and even cancer. "This study clearly shows that diet can tip the balance toward a good or a bad outcome," said senior researcher Yong Q. Chen, Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. "It's possible that a change in diet could mean the difference between dying from the disease and surviving with it."

If you use herbs, do so responsibly. Consult your doctor about your health conditions and use of herbal supplements. Herbs may be harmful if taken for the wrong conditions, used in excessive amounts, combined with prescription drugs or alcohol, or used by persons who don't know what they are doing. Just because an herbal remedy is natural, does not mean it is safe! There are herbs that are poisonous such as Poison Hemlock, Jimson weed, and many more.