How Nutrition Can Promote Healing of Prostate Disease
The three most common problems a male can face with his prostate are prostate enlargement, prostate cancer and prostate inflammation and infection. Good nutrition can play a significant role in the health of your prostate.
Prostatitis can be acute or chronic bacterial infection of the prostate. There can also be a nonbacterial prostatitis, which is actually more common. It has been found that saturation doses of vitamin C can be as effective as antibiotics in healing these conditions. Vitamin C is also cheaper and safer than antibiotics. A maintenance dose of vitamin C can effectively help to prevent a recurrence of prostatitis (infection of the prostate).
Infection or stress can lower blood serum zinc levels and also lower prostate levels in particular. When a man has prostatitis, his zinc levels are typically one-tenth those when the prostate is normal. One remedy that has been used is eating pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are a good source of zinc. Other good sources of zinc are shellfish and nutritional yeast. 50 to 100 milligrams of zinc daily is recommended for prostate disease, according to the natural healing literature. Males actually lose zinc in every seminal emission, so they have a higher need for zinc than women do.
An enlarged prostate is another change that a male might encounter especially as they grow older. A herb that grows in Georgia and Florida called the saw palmetto berry can be taken once or twice daily (1 tsp. of berries steeped in a cup of water. European studies have verified that saw palmetto berries are a safer treatment and cheaper than drugs and very effective.
Zinc is also effective against enlarged prostates and inflamed ones too. 50 mg to 100 mg daily can help shrink a swollen prostate. Researchers at the Chicago Medical School and the Cook County Hospital studied zinc and prostate enlargement and confirm that zinc does prevent prostate enlargement.
Lycopene, which is the natural antioxidant pigment in tomatoes, has been shown to slow or even halt the growth of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in studies.
There are many nutrients that strengthen the immune system and can prevent cancer or fight cancer including vitamin C, vitamin D, beta-carotene, and selenium.
Other studies through the Harvard University School of Public Health indicate that eating red meat every day increases the risk for prostate cancer indicating that men should eat more fruits and vegetables for prostate health.
Japanese men have a low death rate for prostate cancer, despite getting prostate cancer as often as American men. The reason may be found in the fact that Japanese men eat a lot of tofu, and other soy products including soymilk. Soybeans have shown to reduce prostate cancer in studies of animals. The two substances in soybeans that have been shown to be useful against cancer are genistein and isoflavinoids. According to an article in the Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal on January 12 1994 soybean products may lower prostate cancer.
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