Prostate Problems

The prostate is a small gland that encircles the neck of the bladder and the tube that carries urine from the bladder. Found only in men, the prostate adds fluid to sperm just before ejaculation.

It?s also responsible for a lot of discomfort. In about 60 percent of men over age 50, the prostate becomes enlarged?sometimes as big as an orange?and restricts the flow of urine. The condition is painless but can be frustrating to live with.

Prostate cancer is another major concern. More than 30 percent of men over age 50 may already have it, but it?s a very slow-growing form of cancer that won?t cause immediate health problems for most of them. Still, doctors recommend a yearly rectal exam for all men over 40. The natural remedies in this chapter?in conjunction with medical care and used with the approval of your doctor?may help prevent a prostate problem or lessen its symptoms, according to some health professionals.

Ayurveda

First, see a medical professional to find out what?s causing the problem, says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. If the cause is benign, the following remedy can be useful for self-treatment, according to Dr. Lad: Mix equal amounts of punarnava, gokshura and shilajit, which are herbal powders available in Indian pharmacies or by mail order (refer to the resource list on page 634). Dr. Lad says to take ¼ teaspoon of this mixture twice daily, either dry or mixed with a little warm water.

Or buy horsetail, ginseng or hibiscus tea, Dr. Lad says (these teas are available in most health food stores). Drink any one or more of these teas daily, as frequently as you wish.

Food Therapy

?Eat more pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and other foods high in zinc,? advises Allan Magaziner, D.O., a nutritional medicine specialist and head of the Magaziner Medical Center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. ?Zinc has been shown to have a beneficial effect in shrinking an enlarged prostate.? (For other food sources of zinc, see ?Getting What You Need? on page 142.)

Hydrotherapy

A hot sitz bath may be beneficial for prostate inflammation, according to Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist and co-founder and co-director of Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. Fill a tub with enough comfortably hot water to cover the navel, then sit down and soak for 20 to 45 minutes. Follow with a cold bath or shower. Dr. Thrash suggests using this treatment once a day for 30 days or until symptoms subside.

Imagery

This imagery exercise from Healing Visualizations by New York City psychiatrist Gerald Epstein, M.D., may help you corral an enlarged prostate. Close your eyes, breathe out three times and imagine entering your body through any opening you choose. Find your prostate and examine it from every angle. Next, envision putting a thin golden net around the gland. This net has a drawstring that you can tighten. Cinch the drawstring so that the net is wrapped snugly around the prostate. As you do this, picture the prostate shrinking to its normal size. Then imagine using your other hand to massage your prostate. Sense that urine can now flow evenly and smoothly.

Dr. Epstein says to practice this imagery twice a day, three to five minutes a session, for six cycles of 21 days on and 7 days off.

Reflexology

Focus on the prostate reflex as well as on the endocrine gland reflexes (pituitary, parathyroid, thyroid and adrenal glands and pancreas) on your hands or feet, according to Rebecca Dioda, a reflexologist with the Morris Institute of Natural Therapeutics, a holistic health education center in Denville, New Jersey. A reflexology session helps relax the entire body, and paying special attention to the prostate reflex may help the body heal itself, she says.

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see ?Your Reflexology Session? on page 110.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

?Take a 15- to 30-milligram supplement of zinc each day,? says Allan Magaziner, D.O., a nutritional medicine specialist and head of the Magaziner Medical Center in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. ?It?s also good to get more essential fatty acids, such as those in flaxseed oil, which help prevent inflammation and swelling of the prostate.? Dr. Magaziner recommends taking up to two teaspoons of flaxseed oil a day; if it?s in capsule form, he says to follow the dosage recommendations on the label (about three capsules equals one teaspoon of the liquid). Both forms of flaxseed oil are available in most health food stores.

A person with prostate problems may want to use the following vitamin, mineral and herbal regimen to help control or reverse the disease, suggests David Edelberg, M.D., an internist and medical director of the American Holistic Center/Chicago: 400 international units of vitamin E a day; 30 milligrams of zinc twice a day; 1 milligram of copper twice a day; one tablespoon of flaxseed oil a day; and 160 milligrams of saw palmetto twice a day. Saw palmetto is also available in most health food stores.

Yoga

Make two poses?the knee squeeze (page 612) and the seated sun (page 616)?part of your daily yoga routine, says Alice Christensen, founder and executive director of the American Yoga Association. She explains that these poses can increase circulation to your groin and ease prostate troubles. She recommends practicing the two poses, along with a yoga exercise called the stomach lock, every day.

To do the stomach lock, says Christensen, lie on your back and take a deep breath. Breathe out until the breath is completely gone, then pull in hard on your buttocks, groin and stomach muscles. Hold for a count of three, then release your muscles. Christensen suggests doing this two or three times per day, three times per session, to help prevent prostate problems. You can also use the exercise as needed when problems flare up, she adds.

You should not practice this pose if you have high blood pressure, hiatal hernia, ulcers or heart disease, according to Stephen A. Nezezon, M.D., yoga teacher and staff physician at the Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.