Gary, 53 years old, wakes up three or four times at night to pee.  He feels that he has to pee, but he stands there and has to wait until it comes out. 

Very annoying. 

When he is traveling, he doesn’t drink water because he is worried that he won’t be able to find a bathroom in time. 

When he has to go, he has to go right away.   Then, only a small amount may dribble out.

He has been diagnosed with a common disorder in men, an enlarged prostate.   Forty three percent of men over 60 have an enlarged prostate. Thank God it isn’t prostate cancer. 

The Prostate Cancer Foundation reports that 186,000 men in the US will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.

Where is the Prostate?

The prostate gland is part of the male reproductive system.  It is under your bladder and in front of the rectum, just below the nerves controlling erections.

The prostate supplies most of the fluid that makes up semen. Since semen flows in the urinary tract, the prostate has to be near the bladder. 

Possible Damage from Surgery or Radiation

With the increase in prostate disorders, enlarged prostate, prostate cancer, researchers have been trying to develop different types of treatments.  For an enlarged prostate, if it interferes too much with urination, they perform surgery. 

For prostate cancer there is surgery or some form or radiation therapy. 

There is a danger of losing sexual function when the prostate is operated on because the erectile nerves are near by. 

There is a danger of incontinence after removing the prostate because the bladder is moved down to where the prostate was and the sphincter can be damaged in surgery. 

Radiation can damage the rectum so that you have diarrhea or urgency or rectal bleeding. 

How to Prevent Prostate Problems

Maintaining a healthy prostate is the best way to prevent having to go through the strenuous treatments to manage these problems.  Here’s how:

•Eat less dairy.  Studies correlate high dairy consumption with higher rates of prostate cancer.
 

•Frequent ejaculation correlates with reduced prostate cancer risk.  Researchers aren’t sure why.  They guess that ejaculating more frequently may flush carcinogens from the prostate, or reduce stress, or not allow crystals to form that may block the ducts in the prostate.

•Prostate massage reduced inflammation of the prostate.

•Kegel exercises squeeze the prostate and works as a self-massage.  To find the perineum muscle, try this.  Next time you pee, stop the flow.  That is the muscle that you want to tense in Kegel exercises.  Try to do them every day sitting at your desk at work or in the car. 

•Take supplements

There are now supplements available that help to improve a man’s prostate health and hopefully decrease his chances of getting prostate-related disorders, such as prostatitis, enlarged prostate and even prostate cancer.

Who knows what might have happened if Gary would have chosen to listen to the recommendations of supplements for prostate health.  Although there are treatments available, prostate health supplements could help you to avoid needing these treatments in the first place.

Here are some ingredients you can find in prostate health supplements.

• Saw palmetto is an herb known to shrink the prostate and release the squeeze so that urine can flow normally.

• Quercetin – is a flavonoid, which is a class of chemicals found in plants.  In test tubes they are very active anti oxidants.  Better than vitamin C.  In new research, it seems that the flavonoids are not active anti-oxidants in the body.  They are seen as foreign bodies that stimulate the body to eliminate it and other foreign bodies like mutagens and carcinogens.  See the Linus Pauling Institute press release.

• Zinc has been considered to be the most effective in helping lower a man's risks of developing prostate disorders.  Men tend to lose zinc when they ejaculate; their need for zinc is higher than that of women. A daily intake of 50 to 100 milligrams of zinc has been recommended by health experts to ensure a proper level of supply in the body. See Testosterone Booster and Immune Support for other uses of zinc.

• Beta sitosterol a fat found in pecans, avocadoes, cashews, and other foods, helps men to urinate more frequently, which helps to rid the body of bacteria.

• Lycopene – helps lower risk of prostate cancer and help treat post prostate cancer

It is not too late to start taking care of your prostate.  Check into the supplements for prostate health available today.  Avoid the suffering that Gary has had to undergo and learn what you can do to keep your prostate healthy.