Is Sex Good For Your Prostate
Whether or not sex is good for prostate problems is a question many men wonder, and its an important one that needs answering.
The prostate plays an active role during sexual activity.
Along with other structures, the prostate is responsible for making fluid in semen, which helps transport your sperm when you ejaculate.
The effect regular ejaculations have on the prostate should become a significant talking point, especially amongst men who are experiencing prostate problems.
This article will determine whether a healthy sex life can reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.
Tweak Your Bathroom Habits
One of the simplest things you can do for the bothersome urinary symptoms of an enlarged prostate is change some of your bathroom habits.
Make sure you urinate as soon as you feel the need to go and that you empty your bladder completely each time you go. This will reduce the number of trips you need to make to the bathroom, both day and night.
Michigan Medicine offers the following tips to make it easier to fully empty your bladder when you have BPH:
- Relax as much as possible before you urinate. As we mentioned earlier, anxiety can make it even more difficult to urinate, so try not to worry about your symptoms and consider meditation for a few minutes or doing some deep breathing.
- Don’t rush. Give yourself plenty of time in the bathroom.
- Consider sitting on the toilet instead of standing, to help you relax.
- Turn on a faucet or visualize running water this may help get your urine flowing.
- Read or think of other things while you urinate, to help you stay relaxed.
- Try “double voiding,” when you urinate as much as possible, relax for a few moments, then urinate again.
How Sugar Causes Cancer
The body is not designed to eat sugar in the quantities we give it today. Just a hundred years ago, the average person ate 10 times less sugar than what we eat today. Several centuries back, even eating the fruit was considered a sweet and rare treat.
While honey was available in many countries, it was not added to every food like sugar is today. Since the body is not designed to handle large doses of sugar, it is harder to process. When we use sugar, it is processed with more reactive oxygen, creating free radicals.
Free radical damage can cause mitochondrial disruption, DNA damage, and impairment in cells and proteins. A large number of free radicals in the body are linked with the increased spread and development of cancer. Additional studies indicate that obesity also causes more free radical damage in the body, which means both eating sugar and gaining weight increases cancer risk.
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Rye Grass Pollen Extract
Rye grass pollen extract is made from three types of grass pollen: rye, timothy, and corn. A review of herbal studies published in BJU International found that in one study, men who took rye grass pollen extract reported an improvement in their symptoms compared to those who were taking a placebo. However, this study lasted only 6 months. It didnt look at how well the supplement worked compared to prescription medications.
How To Add More Legumes And Soybeans To Your Diet
To add more legumes and soybeans to your diet, consider swapping meat for plant protein in at least some meals. This could mean trying Meatless Mondays or moving toward a plant-based diet.
Try making a black bean burger with lots of veggies. Alternatively, homemade hummus made with blended chickpeas makes a delicious dip for vegetables or whole grain bread.
Finally, tofu is an excellent source of soy. Try flavoring tofu with sauces and baking it or browning it on the stove, or adding it to stir-fries.
Summary
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Ways To Stay On Top Of Prostate Health
The nut-sized gland called the prostate lies between the base of your penis and your bladder. This small gland has a mighty job: It must produce the seminal fluid that carries your sperm into a partner and allows you to ejaculate.
When your prostate isnt healthy, you dont feel well, either. Although the most common condition that affects your prostate is benign prostatic hyperplasia , the most deadly is prostate cancer, which kills more than 34,000 men in the United States each year.
Because the prostate sits so near the bladder, if it gets too large it can interfere with your ability to urinate. Although BPH doesnt cause cancer, both BPH and prostate cancer have similar symptoms, including urinary incontinence, dribbling, and failure to void urine.
Prostate cancer is rare. However, BPH is common, with its risk increasing as you age.
Our physicians at Men’s T Clinic® are specialists in mens health. Thats why we encourage you to adopt the following five prostate-healthy lifestyle habits, no matter how old you are. And fortunately, prostate-healthy habits increase your overall health, too.
Other Points To Consider With Enlarged Prostate
Need for repeat procedures: With minimally invasive procedures for an enlarged prostate, there is a chance you will need to have a repeat procedure later on. Having the procedure when you’re young makes that a near certainty. However, that may be a risk you’re willing to take — to avoid surgery in the short term.
Side effects of treatments: Some BPH treatments cause erection problems, although that risk is low. Men who have normal erections before surgery will not likely have trouble afterward. Some treatments cause retrograde ejaculation . Fertility can also be affected, but is still possible with newer assisted reproductive techniques.
Multiple health problems: If you have other health problems, especially if you are on an anticoagulant and cannot stop taking this medication, your treatment options for enlarged prostate may be affected. For example, if you have had surgery for obstructive sleep apnea or pulmonary surgery in the past, having surgery with general anesthesia may be too risky. However, spinal anesthesia may be an option for you. Or you may wish to have a minimally invasive office procedure that doesn’t require anesthesia at all.
Talk to your doctor about your BPH symptom score, your concerns, and about the plan of treatment that works best for you.
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Talking With Your Doctor
Different kinds of doctors and other health care professionals manage prostate health. They can help you find the best care, answer your questions, and address your concerns. These health care professionals include:
- Family doctors and internists
- Physician assistants and nurse practitioners
- Urologists, who are experts in diseases of the urinary tract system and the male reproductive system
- Urologic oncologists, who are experts in treating cancers of the urinary system and the male reproductive system
- Radiation oncologists, who use radiation therapy to treat cancer
- Medical oncologists, who treat cancer with medications such as hormone treatments and chemotherapy
- Pathologists, who identify diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope
View these professionals as your partnersâexpert advisors and helpers in your health care. Talking openly with your doctors can help you learn more about your prostate changes and the tests to expect.
What Does It Do
You could live without your prostate , but it plays a key part in fertility and reproduction, and grows during adolescence under the influence of the male hormone testosterone and its byproducts.
The prostate produces some of the fluids contained in your semen, the liquid that transports sperm.
Healthy semen has to be just the right consistency and contains special enzymes and hormones that help your sperm cells survive and function properly. Semen also contains citrate, zinc and a sugar called fructose. Fructose helps give the sperm the energy to make it to the egg and fertiise it.
About 70 to 80 percent of the fluid in semen comes from the seminal vesicles, two small structures that sit on top of the prostate like rabbit ears.
There are nerves and blood vessels that run along each side of your prostate called the neurovascular bundle. These are involved the process of getting and maintaining an erection.
The muscles in your prostate also help push semen through your urethra when you ejaculate.
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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.
Get A Prostate Exam Each Year
As part of your annual mens health exam at Mens T Clinic®, our physicians check the health of your prostate. Every man receives a digital rectal exam . Yup, thats the awful test where a doctor sticks a gloved finger up your anus and you cough. But the awful test could save your life.
If youre between ages 55-69 or at high risk for prostate cancer, we may also recommend a prostate-specific antigen blood test to determine if your levels of PSA are within normal ranges. We may also advise you to get your first test at age 40 or so, to help establish a baseline normal value unique to you.
Show your prostate you care by contacting our Mens T Clinic®office that’s nearest you — in Dallas, Frisco, The Colony, Houston, Cypress, Pearland, Pasadena, Grapevine, and Spring, Texas. You can phone us or use the online booking form to set up a mens health consultation today.
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Are There Any Side Effects Of Prostate Supplements
If prostate health supplements are manufactured by certain manufacturing standards and with proven and safe ingredients, they should cause no adverse effects. This is mainly because most prostate supplements contain natural and herbal ingredients that were found to be safe for most users.
However, because the FDA doesnt regulate dietary supplements, their safety can only be guaranteed and tested by the manufacturers, and product safety can be highly questionable under such circumstances.
According to a meta-analysis of saw palmetto studies, supplements in this category are associated with a lower rate of erectile dysfunction, but a slightly higher rate of gastrointestinal symptoms, when compared to finasteride.
What Foods Are Good For Shrinking The Prostate
The food mentioned above isnt all bad news. Some foods actually support prostate health and can also serve to relieve some of the symptoms of prostate disease in its sufferers. Here are some foods to explore and expand in your diet:
1. Salmon
Consuming fatty fish helps reduce the risk of prostate cancer by about 70% and the risk of mortality from the condition by around 50%. Fish high in healthy fats and calcium, plus omega-3s, contribute to reducing inflammation.
2. Tomatoes
Cooked tomatoes play a crucial role in lowering the risk of developing prostate cancer. According to a study, guys who ate cooked tomatoes regularly had a 28% lower risk of prostate cancer than those who never ate them. Tomatoes packed with lycopene are an antioxidant that acts on prostate tissue.
3. Berries
Resveratrol present in berries was found to help prostate cancer cells become more sensitive to radiation therapy. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries are high in antioxidants, which assist the body in fighting sickness and inflammation.
4. Broccoli
One study has shown that broccoli sprout consumption was linked to reducing prostate cancer incidence. Sulforaphane, found in all cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, is a cancer-fighting compound.
5. Nuts
Brazil nuts are rich in selenium and other essential minerals like vitamin E and calcium. A study indicated that selenium in nuts combined with soy might help fight against prostate cancer.
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Question 5 Of : What Foods Are Good For Your Prostate
Cut Down Or Cut Out Alcohol And Processed Foods
Both alcohol and processed foods can cause unhealthy inflammation in your body. Youll want to eliminate processed foods, which are also low in nutrients and high in chemicals that could compromise your health.
When you shift your focus around eating to nutrition instead of taste alone, you may find that youre so full of pomegranates and cucumbers and other good foods that you dont have room for nutrition-poor processed foods, alcohol, and other indulgences.
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How To Add More Pomegranate Juice To Your Diet
You can buy pomegranate juice at most grocery stores. If drinking the juice plain is too intense, consider diluting it with plain water or adding some sparkling water.
You can also add pomegranate seeds to homemade salad dressing to sweeten up your favorite salad.
Summary
Pomegranates are high in antioxidants. Animal and test-tube studies have shown that pomegranate juice could inhibit the production of some prostate cancer cells.
How Are Prostate Problems Treated
Treatment depends on which kind of prostate problem you develop.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia needs treatment only if the urinary symptoms become bothersome. BPH often responds to drugs that either:
- Relieve the tension around the urethra
- Reduce the size of the prostate itself
The FDA is revising labels on several BPH drugs — Proscar, Avodart, and Jalyn — to include a warning that the drugs may be linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer.
If medication does not relieve the symptoms, surgery may be required. Several herbs showed promise as treatment for BPH in some studies, but results are incomplete or conflicting. These include saw palmetto, beta-sitosterol, and Pygeum africanum.
Prostate cancer treatment is complex. When designing a prostate cancer treatment plan, doctors consider a man’s age, overall health, and how aggressive or widespread the prostate cancer is. All men’s cancer is unique, and their treatment will be unique. Some treatment options include:
- No treatment
- Active surveillance
- A combination of these
Prostatitis is usually a bacterial infection. Prostatitis is most often treated with antibiotics, usually for at least four weeks.
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Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer
Some risk factors have been linked to prostate cancer. A risk factor is something that can raise your chance of developing a disease. Having one or more risk factors doesn’t mean that you will get prostate cancer. It just means that your risk of the disease is greater.
- Age. Men who are 50 or older have a higher risk of prostate cancer.
- Race. African-American men have the highest risk of prostate cancerâthe disease tends to start at younger ages and grows faster than in men of other races. After African-American men, prostate cancer is most common among white men, followed by Hispanic and Native American men. Asian-American men have the lowest rates of prostate cancer.
- Family history. Men whose fathers or brothers have had prostate cancer have a 2 to 3 times higher risk of prostate cancer than men who do not have a family history of the disease. A man who has 3 immediate family members with prostate cancer has about 10 times the risk of a man who does not have a family history of prostate cancer. The younger a man’s relatives are when they have prostate cancer, the greater his risk for developing the disease. Prostate cancer risk also appears to be slightly higher for men from families with a history of breast cancer.
- Diet. The risk of prostate cancer may be higher for men who eat high-fat diets.
Different Natural Home Remedies For An Enlarged Prostate
Prostate enlargement does not need medical treatment if it isnt severe as there are natural remedies for enlarged prostate. However, ensure you consult your doctor before implementing any home remedies.
These remedies are efficient especially if you are looking for how to shrink the prostate.
These treatments can be located in your homes. Green tea is one of the best natural remedies for enlarged prostate. It contains many antioxidants components that assist in decreasing prostate enlargement.
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Choose The Mediterranean Diet
A healthy diet for everyone, the Mediterranean diet is especially beneficial for prostate health.
Fresh vegetables, fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids, olive oil, and fresh fruits, along with whole grains are all heart healthy and prostate healthy. Nuts and avocados are better than carbs and fatty foods, therefore reduce the amount of red meat and processed foods.
One tablespoon of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, or Italian dressings reduce insulin levels and inflammations.