How To Reduce Prostate Enlargement With Diet

Foods High In Vitamin D

So, what vitamin D foods that shrink the prostate gland do we recommend?

Heres a list you can consider for your next visit to the grocery store:

• Salmon: 3 ounces provide your body with 647 IU of vitamin D, which is a lot. It also has omega 3 fatty acids that aid in the absorption of vitamin D. Other types of fish are excellent, too, including cod, tuna, and halibut.

• Soymilk: Regular milk has vitamin D when fortified, and soymilk is an alternative for vegetarians. It has up to 119 IU of vitamin D for each cup.

• Eggs: If you do not take out the yolk, you get a total of 118 IU of vitamin D for each cup of boiled eggs.

• Foods fortified with vitamin D: Other foods such as breakfast cereals and dairy are fortified with vitamin D. You can find fortified foods by looking at the labels.

Do Plenty Of Exercise

Obesity especially excess weight around the waist and hips is closely linked with BPH. So, in conjunction with a healthy diet, it is important to stay fit and active to promote good prostate health. Studies suggest that regular exercise can have benefits for your prostate and decrease the risk of BPH. Even light-moderate exercise, like such walking or jogging, will help. The key is consistency. A well-rounded exercise regimen that includes aerobic exercise and/or resistance training all or most days of the week is highly recommended.

For those looking to reduce the severity of BPH symptoms, regular Kegel exercises to help strengthen the pelvic muscles is a great way to help control incontinence. Kegel exercises are easy and can be done anywhere. Simply clench your bladder, as though you are trying to stop urine flow, hold for 5 seconds, and release. Doing 2 to 3 sets of 10-20 Kegels each day can have fantastic benefits.

Maintain A Balanced Diet

Theyre probably not your favorite part of any meal, but green, leafyvegetables are a good first step toward a healthy prostate. Thesevegetables are full of important vitamins and antioxidants that keep you and specifically, your prostate healthy.

So look for somehealthy recipesthat have lettuce, spinach, kale and broccoli to make your prostate-healthydinner delicious.

While youre filling your plate with these leafy greens, avoid charredmeats. There is believed to be a link between PhIP, a chemical compoundreleased when meat is charred, and an increased risk of cancer.

Read Also: Best Scan For Prostate Cancer

What Foods Should I Avoid

• Sugary foods: Soda, fruit juices, smoothies, cake, ice cream.
• Grains or starches: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal.
• Fruit: All fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries.
• Beans or legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
• Root vegetables: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
• Low-fat or diet products: These are highly processed and often high in carbs.
• Some condiments or sauces: often contain sugar and unhealthy fat.
• Unhealthy fats: Limit your intake of processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
• Alcohol: Due to their carb content, many alcoholic beverages can throw you out of ketosis.

Other Ways To Help Naturally Manage Prostate Enlargement

• Give up smoking to prevent the narrowing of tubes and blood vessels.

• Drink as little fluids as you can in the evening to cut down on night urination.

• Limit fluid intake to no more than 2 liters per day, but beware of dehydration.

• Try and empty the bladder when urinating, using your bladder muscle to squeeze everything out.

• Do a series of pelvic floor exercises to strengthen the bladder and abdomen muscles.

• There are also bladder training exercises you can do.

• Avoid medications such as diuretics and antihistamines.

Also Check: Cyberknife Prostate Cancer Side Effects

How To Reduce Prostate Enlargement With Diet

As men age, a common health problem that lurks is that of Prostate enlargement. It can be caused due to any of the multiple reasons varying from genetics to urinary tract infections . Whatever be the cause, prostate enlargement is a painful condition that can cause a number of problems in men.

Since the initial symptoms of prostate enlargement include slight pain while urination, most people ignore it in the initial stage. This causes the condition to worsen further leading to severe conditions like bladder stones, complete inability to urinate & even kidney damage.

There are a number of treatments for prostate enlargement, of which Ayurvedic treatment is one of the best. Being natural, it has no side effects. A major part of Ayurvedic treatment includes diet changes. With the right food, the size of an enlarged prostate can be reduced significantly.

How Your Diet Promotes A Healthy Prostate

The Mediterranean Diet has a strong association between lowering cancer risk and preventing heart disease. This is attributed to the fact that this diet is focused on whole foods including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans while also focusing on healthy unsaturated fats from plants. With this style of eating, theres also an emphasis on decreasing processed or refined foods along with lowering intake of red meat or processed red meats. It allows alcohol in moderation and its focus on whole foods supports adequate fiber intake. It also allows for a wide range of foods, which means its more of a lifestyle rather than just a fad diet.

RELATED: How the Mediterranean Diet May Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

Since this style of eating has a positive impact on cancer prevention, adopting healthy eating habits now could help prevent prostate problems down the road. Some nutrients and vitamins can have a very positive effect on the health of your prostate. Making sure youre getting the right nutrients as part of a balanced diet can play an important role in the health of your prostate.

Recommended Reading: Aggressive Types Of Prostate Cancer

How Does A Keto Diet Help Prostate Cancer

Nutritional ketosis involves restricting carbohydrates to decrease the availability of glucose in your bloodstream.

Restricting carbs also increases the production of ketone bodies from your liver.

Nearly all of your normal cells have the flexibility to readily adapt to using ketone bodies for fuel in place of glucose, but cancer cells do not have this metabolic flexibility.

Hence, they effectively starve to death, while all your normal cells operate more efficiently than before.

A traditional ketogenic diet allows you to eat quite a few dairy products. However, dairy can actually be problematic for cancer in particular, even if from raw organic sources.

Moreover, lactose is a sugar made from galactose and glucose, and lactose makes up 2% to 8% by weight in dairy milk from cows.

Further, there are a number of other serious problems in milk produced by cows if you are dealing with suspected or diagnosed prostate cancer.

You can use small quantities of goats milk .

You can eat butter if it is produced from grass-fed cows. And you should ideally restrict yourself to cheese and yogurt that is produced from goats.

For more information on the ketogenic diet, click here.

How Do You Self Drain Your Prostate

While some people find massaging their prostate unpleasant and painful to perform it themselves, others like to be more private. You can also ask your partner for help, but getting help from a healthcare provider is the best solution depending on your condition.

Finding your prostate is the first thing you need to do before starting to perform the massage. This walnut-sized organ in your rectum wraps around the urethra and sits below the bladder. For this reason, finding the prostate involves inserting a lubricated finger in the rectum and slightly pushing on the wall looking for a slight bulge.

To drain your prostate at home, start by applying enough lubricant on your finger and lay sideways with your feet bent to mimic a fetal position. Wearing gloves makes the insertion smoother, and its also a good idea to remain hygienic.

When in position, gently insert your lubricated finger in the anus while slowly pushing against the rectums walls. Most people need to insert their index finger halfway before touching the prostate, while others prefer to use their thumb. Either way, touching the prostate might produce a pleasurable sensation.

After applying for several seconds, slowly press the finger towards the opening, and youll feel a certain fluid coming out. At this point, youll get a sensation like youre trying to urinate.

Also Check: Natural Products For Prostate Health

How To Shrink Prostate Enlargement Without Drugs

Prostate enlargement is the disease of every old age man. It involves the unwanted increase in the size of the prostate gland. It reduces the quality of life of the affected men to such an extent that the person faces depressive and stressful conditions.

Many other consequences of an enlarged prostate are the urinary problems such as frequent urination at night, dribbling, difficulty to urinate properly, bladder feels to be full every time, inflamed feeling, etc. These consequences increase as the prostate size increase.

When any man faces such problems then he obviously looks for treatment. Most of the time before going to take any medications, other remedies are opted by a person. These remedies include:

Dietary changes Foods to be consumed

Diet plays a very critical role in shrinking prostate size. The dietary effect starts with providing relief from urinary problems such as urinary frequency and urinary urgency. To get such relief, following diet should be started:

Dietary changes Foods to be avoided

There are some food items which increase inflammation of the prostate and bladder problems. These food items should be eliminated from your diet.

Physical activity

Physical activity or exercise on regular basis is very beneficial to reduce the size of the prostate. Exercise is otherwise good for maintaining a healthy body, especially during old age. These exercises are:

Weight loss

Manage stress

Manage hormone levels

What Is The Prostate

The prostate is a small gland, no bigger than a large walnut. It is a male reproductive organ, located between the bladder and the penis, close to the rectum. Only men have this gland, and it is essential for reproduction.

It makes fluid known as prostatic fluid, which constitutes 30% of the semen and provides nourishment to the sperms.Sperm are produced in the testes, and semen is the fluid needed for sperm to travel and survive.

The urethra is a tube that runs through the center of the prostate and is essential for the proper functioning of the entire urinary tract.

If the prostate is compromised, you will have trouble urinating, and with the transporting of semen and sperm for ejaculation.

Don’t Miss: How To Self Examine For Prostate Cancer

What The Research Says

A recent study has also evaluated a possible connection. The authors explored the link between prostate enlargement and vitamin D. They did it through the hormone testosterone. Their results show that higher vitamin D levels in the blood reduce the PSA levels. They also hypothesize that testosterone levels and function depend on vitamin D status. If thats the case, low vitamin D levels would also have a hormonal consequence that explains BPH and BPH symptoms .

Other studies explored a more direct association between the prostate tissue and vitamin D. Interestingly the prostate epithelial cells can activate vitamin D. Moreover, these cells have a vitamin D receptor, even prostate cancer cells. Upon binding, vitamin D sends signals to control the proliferation of cells.

Superfoods For A Healthy Prostate

A balanced diet may reduce your risk for prostate problems.

The prostate, which is part of the male reproductive system, is a gland that surrounds the bladder and urethra. It is about the size of a walnut and grows throughout a mans life. As you age, its important to maintain a healthy prostate. The gland can become enlarged, and prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men.

Theres no definitive evidence that good nutrition can prevent prostate problems, but eating a healthy balanced diet may reduce your risk. Building a meal and snack around veggies and fruit is a smart idea for health in general, and particularly a healthy prostate, says Chris Mohr, PhD, RD, nutrition expert for New York Times bestseller LL Cool Js Platinum Workout and advisory board member for Mens Fitness magazine.

Here are six foods you can eat to boost your prostate health.

Recommended Reading: How Early Can You Get Prostate Cancer

Aim For A Healthy Eating Pattern

Instead of focusing on specific foods, dietitians, physicians, and researchers tout an overall pattern of healthy eating and healthy eating is easier than you might think. In a nutshell, here’s what experts recommend:

Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Go for those with deep, bright color.

Choose whole-grain bread instead of white bread and choose whole-grain pasta and cereals.

Limit your consumption of red meat, including beef, pork, lamb, and goat, and processed meats, such as bologna and hot dogs. Fish, skinless poultry, beans, and eggs are healthier sources of protein.

Choose healthful fats, such as olive oil, nuts , and avocados. Limit saturated fats from dairy and other animal products. Avoid partially hydrogenated fats , which are in many fast foods and packaged foods.

Avoid sugar-sweetened drinks, such as sodas and many fruit juices. Eat sweets as an occasional treat.

Cut down on salt. Choose foods low in sodium by reading and comparing food labels. Limit the use of canned, processed, and frozen foods.

Watch portion sizes. Eat slowly and stop eating when you are full.

About Half Of Men Older Than 50 Have An Enlarged Prostate Here Are Some Of The Basic Facts You Need To Know About This Common Condition

As men age, many experience prostate gland enlargement. This condition is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia .

The prostate gland surrounds the urethra, the hollow tube that carries urine out of the body. When the prostate gets bigger, it can squeeze or partially block the urethra, which leads to problems urinating.

BPH is quite common in older men. In fact, the condition impacts about 50% of men between the ages of 51 and 60. For men 80 and older, the prevalence of BPH is approximately 90%, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Don’t Miss: What Kind Of Cancer Is Prostate Cancer

What Are The Symptoms Of Bph

Some common symptoms that men tend to experience when they develop benign prostatic hyperplasia include:

• There may be an urge to urinate often. .

• Nighttime urination causes sleep disturbances.
• The urine stream tends to become weak due to the obstruction in the urethra.
• The urine stream may also be frequently interrupted during urination.
• Urine may leak after the man has urinated.
• Initiating a urine stream can feel difficult and uncomfortable.

When these symptoms persist, and the patient fails to obtain the right treatment for the condition, benign prostatic hyperplasia may lead to some of the following complications and more serious symptoms:

• Urine control may be completely lost.
• There may be damage to the bladder.
• The kidneys may become damaged due to infection, caused by an obstruction in urine flow.
• Frequently affected by urinary tract infections.
• Some patients may find that there is blood in their urine.

Foods That Shrink The Prostate Gland

Benign prostatic hyperplasia becomes a common ailment as we age. It is an enlargement of the prostate gland and causes various urinary symptoms.

BPH is not cancer, but sometimes the prostate gland grows too much, and doctors decide to practice surgery. But if you have a slightly increased gland, you may need non-invasive treatment instead.

The normal prostate is made up of a given number of cells. In a prostate with BPH, the number of cells increases.

The exact cause is unknown, but aging and hormones are both critical factors. It is the primary cause of urinary symptoms in men, especially urinary retention and frequent urination.

Urination becomes frequent and sometimes difficult and wakes them up at night. Some patients may also have erectile dysfunction, but this symptom is usually due to other health conditions.

The majority of these problems can be solved by reducing the size of the prostate gland. But is it possible? How can you shrink the prostate gland with foods?

Don’t Miss: Stanford Hospital Prostate Cancer Treatment

When Should I See A Doctor

Growth of this gland, which is just below the bladder, is typical. But problems when you pee arenât. Even if you donât think itâs a big deal, itâs worth getting checked out if you have common BPH symptoms, such as:

• Dribbling when you finish peeing
• A hard time starting a stream
• Having to pee a lot — 8 or more times a day
• Waking up several times a night to pee
• A weak urine stream or you pee in stops and starts

Some problems with urine flow can be more serious. See your doctor or go to the emergency room right away if you:

• Canât pee at all
• Feel intense pain or discomfort in your lower belly
• Have blood in your pee
• Keep needing to pee right away, it hurts to pee, and you have fever and chills

Do Prostate Problems Cause Other Problems

Yes, a prostate problem may cause other problems, such as

• problems having sex
• feeling stressed due to chronic pain
• inflammation in areas near your prostate
• bladder stones
• kidney failure

Which problem you may get depends on the type of prostate problem you have. Other problems may vary from man to man for each type of prostate problem.

Also Check: Prostate Removal Pros And Cons

Foods To Avoid: Eggs & Poultry

A study published in the January 2006 issue of Urology explored the connection between diet and BPH symptoms.1 It found that eating eggs and poultry appeared to increase symptoms. This may be to do with the fact that egg yolks have high levels of arachidonic acid, which, as mentioned earlier, increases inflammation.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you must cut eggs and chicken out of your diet completely this is just one study and more research would be needed to make a more thorough conclusion on the issue. However, I would advise you not to focus your diet around these foods and to get more variety instead. Vegetables are an excellent option as they contain and array of nutrients and can be incorporated into meals like curries and soups, as well as snacks.