Ask Dr. Scott

Natural treatments for prostate problems

Q: Dr. Scott, I am worried about my prostate gland. Are there any natural treatments that can help me with this?

A: The prostate gland is part of a man’s urinary and sexual organs. It’s about the size of a walnut, crescent-shaped like a flattened cone, and it surrounds the urethra which exits the bladder. The urethra has two jobs in males. The first is to carry urine from the bladder. The second function is to carry semen during sexual climax.

Realize that over 50% of men will develop an enlarged prostate in their lifetime. If you’re a man over 50 and are having problems urinating, the reason is usually an enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). As men get older, there is a tendency for the prostate to grow. As it grows, it squeezes the urethra. Since urine travels from the bladder through the urethra, the pressure from the enlarged prostate may affect bladder control.

If you have BPH, you may have one or more of these symptoms:

· A frequent and urgent need to urinate that occurs first at night.

· Trouble starting a urine stream. You may have to strain to get the urine flowing.

· A weak stream of urine. You take longer to urinate than you used to.

· Erectile dysfunction.

· When you do urinate, there is a small amount when you go.

· You may get the feeling that you still have more urine in you, even when you have just finished urinating.

· Leaking or dribbling.

It is often recommended that men over the age of 40 have yearly prostate exams. The exam involves a doctor inserting a gloved finger into the rectum and feeling the lower part of the prostate for any abnormality. However, in the case of BPH, often the prostate has not enlarged to a point that can be recognized by physical exam. Ultrasound measurements are the best diagnostic method, and then a blood test is used to differentiate an enlarged prostate from the more serious prostate cancer.

Is an enlarged prostate a serious disease? By itself, an enlarged prostate is not a serious condition, unless the symptoms are so bothersome that you can’t enjoy life. Be aware that similar symptoms can occur in some individuals after taking over-the-counter cold or allergy medicines.

How is prostate enlargement treated?

Watchful waiting. It is often said that most patients diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to die with the disease than from it. The majority who has this typically slow-growing cancer are older: an estimated 80% of men in their 80s have cancerous cells in their prostate gland, yet only 3% of American men will die from the disease. For these reasons, many physicians recommend “watchful waiting” as the first course of action for less-aggressive forms of prostate cancer. If your symptoms don’t bother you too much, you may choose to live with them rather than take pills every day or have surgery.

Prescription medications. The evening news usually has ads for medications that help this condition. Be aware of the possible side effects of these medications.

Surgery. If the problem becomes too severe, surgery to remove a piece of the prostate can be done through the urethra or in open surgery, which requires cutting through the skin above the base of the penis. Surgery for the prostate may have only temporary, but sometimes permanent effects on sexual function. Most men recover complete sexual function within a year after surgery. The exact length of time depends on how long you had symptoms before surgery was done and the type of surgery. Side effects include erection problems and loss of bladder control. Another common side effect is that semen does not go out of the penis during orgasm. It goes backwards into the bladder.

The Journal of Nutrition (2013) advises people with prostate cancer to eliminate milk from their diet. This is a good idea for many other reasons as well. Cruciferous vegetables, lycopene from tomatoes, watermelons, and other fruits and vegetables with bright red colors are also protective for the prostate. Drinking pomegranate juice and an antioxidant found in green tea called EGCG has been shown to kill prostate cancer cells. Correcting essential fatty acid deficiency in the clinic relieves many benign prostatic hypertrophy cases.

Finally, Saw Palmetto is an herb that has been shown in clinical studies to have an important role in maintaining a healthy prostate. Saw Palmetto is only one of several herbs and plant compounds that are potentially useful in maintaining a healthy prostate gland. One of the most impressive aspects in the studies on these natural approaches to prostate health has been the improvement in quality-of-life scores. Many men who suffer from an enlarged prostate suffer from sleep deprivation. By improving the very bothersome symptom of sleep deprivation, a man’s mental outlook is dramatically improved.

Usually symptoms resulting from mild-to-moderate prostate enlargement respond more readily to these treatments than symptoms due to severe enlargement. No significant side effects have been reported in the medical literature from these natural treatment methods. This is similar to the old oil filter commercial where the car owner was told, “you can do a little now or a lot later.” If your prostate enlarges enough, you will have no option except for medications or surgery with the possibility of permanent side effects.

Dr. Scott Cuthbert is the chief clinician at the Chiropractic Health Center in Pueblo, Colorado, as well as the author of two new textbooks and over 50 peer-reviewed research articles.