Should I Use Supplements Or Herbal Remedies
Some people like to use dietary supplements or herbal remedies, but theres little evidence theyre helpful for men with prostate cancer. Some may even be harmful.
Dietary supplements
Theres little evidence that supplements are helpful for men with prostate cancer. Some supplements may interfere with your treatment for prostate cancer, so let your doctor or nurse know if youre taking any.
Most people should be able to get all the nutrients they need by eating a balanced diet, without taking supplements. If you do choose to take supplements, dont take more than the recommended daily allowance for each nutrient because large doses could be bad for your health.
Some men may need to take specific supplements. For example,
- Vitamin D. Between October and March, try to take 10 micrograms of vitamin D supplements every day. This is because during these months, there is not enough sunlight in the UK for your body to produce enough vitamin D.
- Calcium. If youre on hormone therapy, your doctor might recommend calcium supplements.
Herbal remedies
Some men like to take herbal medicines to help manage their prostate cancer or the side effects of treatment. For example, some men drink sage tea to help with hot flushes. But there is very little evidence that herbal remedies can help to treat prostate cancer or reduce side effects.
Herbal supplements being tested
How To Add More Green Tea To Your Diet
If you like the taste of green tea, start by drinking a cup each morning in place of your regular coffee.
If you prefer to skip caffeine, try a decaffeinated version. If you dont like warm tea, try cooling it in your refrigerator and adding ice for a refreshing beverage.
If you arent a fan of the taste, try using cooled green tea as the liquid in homemade smoothies, or adding green tea powder.
Summary
What Is Enlarged Prostate
Enlarged prostate is also called benign prostatic hyperplasia . It is an enlargement of the prostate gland. As men age, its common for the prostate to get larger and luckily it does not lead to prostate cancer . The prostate gland is in the abdomen below the bladder that is about the size and shape of a walnut. As part of the male reproductive system, it produces a milky white fluid that helps to transport sperm during ejaculation and it surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine passes out of the body , . Enlargement of the prostate may affect the flow of urine. The actual cause of prostate enlargement is unknown but some factors affecting the prostate could be due to aging and changes in the cells of the testicles may have a role in the growth of the gland, as well as testosterone levels .
It may seem inevitable for some men to experience such condition. But a little medication can help relieve symptoms, meaning less urinary urgency and fewer nighttime awakenings to use the bathroom. Seeing a doctor could be your best option to help you manage the BPH symptoms. You can also protect yourself from its severity by making sure you get the best in your diet.
Also Check: How Is Prostate Test Done
More On Prostate Cancer:
This article describing some of the best foods to eat for prostate cancer prevention is one in a series of articles on prostate cancer and nutrition. To learn more about how eating certain foods can help prevent prostate cancer, continue to the article 12 Diet Tips to Fight Prostate Cancer. If youre interested in recipes that help prevent prostate cancer, be also sure to check out our collection of Prostate Cancer Fighting Recipes.
Foods That Support Prostate Health
- Posted On: Jun 1, 2022
Making changes to your diet may not only improve your wellbeing. It can also help reduce your risk of developing prostate problems such as prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer affects 1 in 8 men in the United States.
There are a few theories on how your diet affects your prostate health. Some experts believe that a high-fat, high-sugar diet can increase your risk of developing prostate cancer. Some studies associate diets high in dairy and calcium with an increased risk of the disease.
As you consume less sugar, fat, and dairy, try adding more of these foods to your diet.
Broccoli
Some researchers believe broccoli produces chemicals that target and kill cancer cells. It also has lots of fiber and vitamins. Not a fan of broccoli? You can get the same benefits from cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and kale. Theyre from the same species of plant but have different tastes and textures.
Adding broccoli to your diet
- Use fresh or frozen broccoli in soups, stir-frys, and other dishes
- Steam as a side dish
- Eat raw by itself or dipped in a low-fat dressing
Tomatoes
Tomatoes have a powerful antioxidant called lycopene that may help reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer. Because lycopene is bound to the cell walls of raw tomatoes, your body has trouble extracting it. Cooked or pureed tomato productslike tomato sauce and juicetypically have the most lycopene.
Adding tomatoes to your diet
Fish
Green Tea
Recommended Reading: Best Prostate Medicine In Ghana
> > > All Natural Technique Fixes Enlarged Prostate Watch Here< <
Surgical procedures to remove the diseased prostate are usually necessary. Surgical procedures are not always necessary. If the disease is caused by bacterial infections, a doctor can treat the symptoms using alpha-blockers or surgery. Physical therapy, relaxation exercises, and warm baths are all recommended. A physician may also prescribe antibiotics to cure the infection. A bacterial infection can also cause a recurrence of the condition.
An enlarged prostate can be uncomfortable for both men and women. Some of the symptoms of an enlarged male reproductive organ include a weakened urine stream, urgent need to urinate, and urinary tract infections. BPH can also cause damage to the kidneys. A sudden inability to urinate can be life-threatening, as it can lead to bladder and kidney damage. Unfortunately, most men with enlarged prostrates put up with the symptoms for years before they seek treatment. However, many of the men with symptoms finally decide to go to a doctor for proper gynecological evaluation and to begin enlarged prostatic therapy.
Sensitivity Analysis And Publication Bias Analysis
The impact of individual study on the summary RR was assessed by repeating the meta-analysis after removing each study in turn. The study-specific RRs ranged from a low of 0.88 to a high of 0.93 by removing the study by Diallo et al. and the study by Fraser et al. , respectively . Similar results were obtained when excluding two studies that reported the RRs for raw tomato and cooked tomato separately . No significant publication bias was observed using Begg’s test or Egger’s test .
Figure 3. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by omitting each study in turn and repeated the meta-analysis.
Figure 4. Publication bias was assessed with a Begg’s funnel plot.
Don’t Miss: T3a Prostate Cancer Survival Rates
Impact Of Lycopene On Drug Efficacy
In a study published in 2011, the researchers from the University of California, Irvine, evaluated how carotenoids such as lycopene could enhance the effect of a specific drug on prostate cancer. The researchers found that lycopene along with this drug may have more pronounced growth inhibitory effects than that of the drug alone. The study also mentioned that lycopene may significantly enhance the antitumor efficacy of this drug by approximately 38%.
Foods To Avoid When Considering Prostate Health
Just as with foods that might help you prevent prostate cancer, Dr. Gill says that information about what foods to avoid is also a bit uncertain.
The biggest challenge with studying the impact of diet on medical conditions, like prostate cancer, is that things often happen at a glacial speed, very slowly compared to studying other things, like the impact of a medication on blood pressure, he says. If you wanted to see the effects of diet on prostate cancer development, youd really need to follow subjects for at least 15 to 20 years, if not longer.
Still, theres evidence that points to certain foods being bad news. What we do know about avoiding prostate cancer is similar to avoiding colorectal cancer and heart disease, he adds. Those dietary risks include:
- Too much red meat.
You May Like: What Is Stage 3 Prostate Cancer Mean
Tomatoes ‘cut Risk Of Prostate Cancer By 20%’: It Takes 10 Portions A Week
- British researchers drew conclusions after analysing diets of 1,800 men
- Eating five portions of fruit and veg a day also decreased risk by 24%
- Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, previously linked to good prostate health
- Researchers: Daily servings of selenium and calcium also reduce cancer risk
10:28 EDT, 27 August 2014 | Updated:
Just ten helpings of tomatoes a week could help men reduce the risk of prostate cancer by almost a fifth, according to a study.
Researchers think that protection against the illness comes from a key chemical inside the fruit known as lycopene.
Tomato-based pasta sauce, tomato juice and even baked beans and the tomato puree topping on pizza were all found to have a beneficial effect.
Tomatoes are rich in the compound lycopene, which has previously been linked to good prostate health
And men who doubled their intake of fruit and vegetables to the recommended five portions a day reduced their risk by nearly a quarter, say scientists.
In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford examined the diets and lifestyles of nearly 14,000 men aged 50 to 69. They found that those who ate at least ten portions of tomatoes a week were 18 per cent less likely to develop prostate cancer compared to those who had none, or very few.
One portion counted as 150g of tomatoes, half a tin of baked beans, a portion of pizza with tomato puree, tomato-based pasta sauce or a glass of tomato juice.
A Man’s Recommended Diet
The study says men should aim for:
* 10 or more portions of tomatoes a week
* Between 750mg and 1,200mg of calcium a day
* Between 105mcg to 200mcg of selenium daily.
What we do know is that men shouldnt rely too heavily on one type of food, such as tomatoes.
A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables together with regular exercise is by far the best option.
‘It is difficult to separate the effects of one type of food from another, and we still dont have nearly enough evidence to make concrete recommendations on which specific foods men should eat to reduce their risk of prostate cancer.
‘What we do know is that men shouldnt rely too heavily on one type of food, such as tomatoes. A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, together with regular exercise is by far the best option.
‘Increasing awareness of the key known risk factors for prostate cancer – age, black ethnicity and family history of the disease – is also crucial if we are to reduce the number of men who lose their lives to the disease every year.
‘Any man who is worried about his risk of prostate cancer should discuss his concerns with a GP.
Read Also: Zero The End Of Prostate Cancer
Eat Tomatoes And Other Red Foods
Tomatoes, watermelon, and other red foods owe their bright color to a powerful antioxidant called lycopene. Some recent studies show that men who consume this fruit and tomato-based products have a lower risk of prostate cancer than those who dont. However, the American Institute for Cancer Research cautions that studies linking tomatoes to prostate cancer prevention are limited and ongoing.
A 2018 study from Spain suggest that cooking tomatoes makes it easier for your body to absorb lycopene. The redder the tomato, the better because lycopene accumulates during ripening. That means that pale, store-bought tomatoes that are picked too early have less lycopene than vine-ripened tomatoes.
- Drinking four to five cups of coffee every day can lower your chances of fatal and high-grade prostate cancer, according to a 2014 review of clinical studies.
- Regardless of how many cups you drink overall, every three cups of coffee you drink can reduce your risk of fatal prostate cancer about 11 percent.
This describes a dose-response relationship between prostate cancer and coffee. That means the effect on prostate cancer goes up or down with the amount of coffee you drink. These effects may not extend to someone who only grabs an occasional cup.
However, high doses of caffeine can cause major health issues, such as irregular heartbeat and seizures. The Mayo Clinic cautions against ingesting more than 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, the equivalent of four cups of brewed coffee.
Does Lycopene Support Prostate Health
Plant based diets, low in Omega 6 fats and animal fats, have shown some promise in the fight against prostate cancer.
And within the sphere of plant based nutrition, lycopene, a type of carotenoid found in high amounts in tomatoes and tomato products, comes up again and again in the prostate health discussion, with many studies pointing towards lycopenes ability to reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
However, study results are mixed. Although there is promising data, not every sign points to lycopene as protective against prostate cancer.
This paper provides a detailed overview on the state of the science regarding prostate cancer and lycopene. I found one of the studies, related to BPH and PSA levels in elderly men, particularly interesting.
Authors found lycopene supplementation for 6 months reduced PSA levels and stopped prostate growth.
This review of studies related to lycopene and prostate cancer finds conflicting evidence.
To quote the paper:
Notice how the quote above mentions tomato sauce. Authors of some studies have speculated that the efficacy of lycopene in protecting the health of the prostate hinges on bioavailability, i.e. the form of tomato product you consume as your source of lycopene determines whether that lycopene ends up in your blood and plasma.
You May Like: Where Can Prostate Cancer Spread
What About Herbal Supplements
Although some people have reported relief from bothersome BPH symptoms by using herbal supplements such as saw palmetto, beta-sitosterol, pygeum, stinging nettle and rye grass pollen extract, theres really no evidence to back up their benefit. The same goes for turmeric.
Its all hypothetical, Dr. Maria says.
And supplements bought over-the-counter may even be harmful. Supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so that means that anything goes as far as bringing a product to market, says Dr. Swenor. They dont have to prove whats in the supplement, and theres no standardization.
Some supplements also have medications in them and can interact with other drugs, like blood thinners, adds Dr. Maria.
For these reasons, make sure to talk to your doctor before trying any herbal supplements.
Read Also: Symptoms Of Infected Prostate Gland
Best Foods For Prostate Health
We dont often think about the best foods for our prostate health. If it smells right and tastes good, its okay to eat.
However, studies have shown that lifestyle and diet play an enormous role in mens healthparticularly prostate health. Eating the rights foods is extremely beneficial to have a healthy prostate.
Regrettably, unhealthy foods are very present in the majority of everyday diets.
Large amounts of processed food, salty foods, and junk food are the norm.
These are bad for health generally, but especially for prostate health. They only increase the likelihood of developing prostate diseases and becoming obese.
Interestingly, the diet recommendations by leading health organizations around the world are the Paleo/Ketogenic diet. Fish, seafood, fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, and healthy oils.
All of these are in the Paleo diet. If youre suffering from prostate issues, we highly recommend you check out the Paleo/Ketogenic diet. It is the best diet for fighting prostate disease, getting fitter, and losing weight.
Below we list 10 of the best foods that will help improve, support, and sustain prostate health.
Read Also: New Chapter Supercritical Prostate 5lx
Supplements That Show Promise
Other supplements show hopeful signs of helping in studies so far, but thereâs less research on these than the more common options.
Pumpkin seeds: These and pumpkin seed oil extract seem to help with BPH symptoms and may shrink the size of the prostate. It may also be helpful when used along with other supplements such as saw palmetto.
Stinging nettle: This is a type of herb, and its root may help with urine flow and waking up a lot at night to pee. Itâs sometimes used along with other supplements to treat BPH symptoms.
You May Like: Radiation For Recurrent Prostate Cancer
> > > One Crazy Prostate Trick All Men Over 40 Should Try
Symptomatic treatment of an enlarged prostate usually involves a combination of medication and lifestyle changes. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables may be the best option if you suffer from chronic urination. It will help the body adjust to the increased size of the prostate. Also, taking regular urination intervals will help retrain the bladder to function properly. Inactivity also contributes to urine retention, and cold temperatures can increase the urge to urinate.
Invasive treatment of enlarged prostate includes medication that relieves the pressure on the urethra and bladder. However, if the condition is severe, it may require surgical intervention. If treatment is not successful, the enlarged prostate can become a potentially life-threatening disease. As the hormone levels in the body change, the enlarged prostate can lead to various complications, including urinary retention and even cancer. This is why it is critical to see a doctor for further evaluation.
A physician can recommend a number of treatments to address an enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate will require surgery to relieve the symptoms. In most cases, surgical treatment for an enlargement of the penis is enough. Moreover, a doctor may recommend a course of treatment based on symptoms. A TURP procedure is not painful and requires less recovery time than open surgery. The recovery period will be shorter and less traumatic.
Recommended Reading: How Does One Get Prostate Cancer