PROSTATE DISEASE AND DIET
by London Acupuncturist Roisin Golding
What does your prostate do? Are you one of the twenty-five percent of men who actually knows? Despite widespread ignorance, 80 percent of men over 60 have problems with this gland.
One could be forgiven for thinking of the prostate as a sort of male appendix, an unnecessary appendage left over from a previous evolutionary phase. But the prostate is what helps keep the evolutionary process going. For without the prostate, sperm travelling on its way to fertilise the female egg wouldn't survive. The sperm's ability to swim relies on the alkaline environment provided by the prostatic fluid. This helps protect sperm, not only from the frankly caustic environment within the female, but also from other acids in the seminal fluid.
What factors turn this walnut-size gland (the approximate size it reaches under the influence of testosterone by the age of twenty,) into the huge apple of a problem it can become by age 6o, the enlarged prostate. When you realise that the prostate surrounds the urethra, which conducts water from the bladder, it is easier to understand symptoms of enlargement -- including dribbling urine, extra frequency, night-time and interrupted urination, et cetera. These symptoms creep up on you like old age.
You can't laugh about it because not only is an enlarged prostate sore to sit on, back pressure from the incomplete emptying of the bladder eventually results in distension and dilation of the kidney itself, causing further complications. Other common problems are inflammation (prostatitis), and cancer.
Western and Chinese theories partly converge about the factors involved. Stagnation, brought about by too much activity (for example riding horseback, cycling) or by too little activity, (for example sitting all day, constipation,) can be a contributing factor. The other is simply old age. The third main factor is a diet rich in alcohol, fat, and spicy food.
A combination or culmination of any of these can lead to chronic intractable stagnation of energy which in Chinese terms is synonymous with cancer. When you look at these factors, diet, stress, sitting at a desk all day, it is clear why prostate cancer, although it can affect any man, has a higher mortality rate among the middle classes.
Acupuncture, Chinese herbs and exercises such as Tai Qi and Qi Gong aimed at increasing the flow of energy around the pelvic area have been shown to be successful in treating the prostate, whether enlarged, inflamed or even cancerous, if caught at the right time.
Cancer of the prostate is often symptomless until its cancerous cells break away and attack the nearby bones of the pelvis, ribs or spine. Luckily, most prostate cancers have low-grade malignancy and are very slow growing.
Acute bacterial prostatitis (inflammation) has obvious symptoms of chills and fever along with the urinary symptoms. It is often accompanied by low back or perineum pain, pain on ejaculation or premature ejaculation and sometimes joint or muscle pain. Chronic bacterial prostatitis is usually preceded by acute bacterial infection. However antibiotics should only be prescribed if infection is confirmed by positive bacterial culture, as bacterial inflammation of the prostate is uncommon.
There are plenty of things that one can do for oneself, and considering the high incidence of this disease, it is never too early to start.
First avoid those things which have a high correlation with prostate disease, namely high fat diet and high exposure to pesticides. Then there are many substances which have a positive effect on the prostate. Carotene, found in red and orange fruit and vegetables, help prevent further damage by inflammation. Lycopene is a substance found in high concentrations in the healthy adrenal glands, the testes and prostate, and the only food supply is tomatoes and their produce (except tomato juice.) These are especially effective when taken with olive oil (as in salad).
Stinging nettles, useful as diuretics when drunk as a tea, also prevent a build up of the chemical DHT, which is active in prostate enlargement.
The three amino acids, glycine, alanine, and glutamic acid, are found in perfect proportions in Pumpkin seeds, or bought in a tablet in a health food store. These have been used to effectively alleviate the symptoms of enlarged prostate. Take half a cup a day for ten weeks. They are also rich in Zinc. Zinc insufficiency is linked with reduced seminal fluid volume.
Soya, consumed in quantity by the Japanese, who have the lowest rate of prostate disease, contain phytoestrogens. These have a balancing effect on the hormones and are a good alternative to orthodox hormone therapy, estrogens, (used for cancer) with its unpleasant side effects.
Saw palmetto has long been used by Native Americans to treat genitourinary disease. Extracts obtained from this native palm of the West Indies and US provide good anti-inflammatory and diuretic actions, and they also regulate male hormones. Top all this with B6, and Vitamin A and you can look forward to a long and (prostate) healthy life.
