What Every Man Wants: A Healthy Prostate

Celebrate Men’s Health Month with a these tips for a healthy prostate

BY: ROBYN FLIPSE, THE EVERYDAY DIETITIAN

JUNE 12, 2012

SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES

Spend less line in restroom lines with a healthy prostate

Knowing how to maintain a healthy prostateis as important for women as it is for the men they love.  Men with an enlarged prostate gland take longer to urinate, so when out together, women have to wait twice as long at public restrooms. Once to get into the Women's Room and again waiting for her man to come out of the Men's Room. 

Focusing on the Prostate for Men's Health Month

Enlarged prostate is medically known as Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). Growth of the prostate gland is accelerated in men during adolescence and again around age 50. As the prostate gets larger it compresses the uretha (tube that carries urine from the bladder). As a result, the stream of urine gets slower and slower, and the waiting begins. 

The good news is, BPH is not a sign of prostate cancer and does not increase a man's chances of developing it. The test used to detect prostate cancer is the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) level. While an enlarged prostate can raise the PSA a few points, that reading is not the best, or sole, indicator of prostate cancer. Other tests musts be done to confirm a diagnosis.   

Diet for a Healthy Prostate

If you are following a diet to reduce your risk for heart disease, the number one cause of death in the U.S. for men and women alike, you are helping to lower the risk of BPH, too. Ads promising quick results to shrink the prostate are preying on the "impatience" of those dealing with the problem. Don't be fooled. There are no foods or herbs that can instantly make trips to the urinal shorter. 

What to Do:

• Maintain a healthy body weight. A large waist measurement, or "beer belly," is associated with higher risk of BPH.
• Get regular physical activity. Even if weight is normal, exercise improves the circulation and muscle mass, both important in keeping the prostate healthy.
• Eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamin C from vegetable sources, such as bell pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, has been found to be especially beneficial.
• Reduce fat intake. Choose lower fat milk and dairy products, light spreads, and lean cuts of meat and poultry for a lower fat diet.
• Limit alcoholic beverages to 2 drinks a day. Studies have shown moderate drinking may inhibit risks of BPH while excess is questionable. 

What to Doubt:

• Saw Palmetto may or may not help due to variation in ingredients, purity and dosages. If you decide to take it be sure to tell your physician since it can affect other medications.
• Zinc supplements or eating more foods high in zinc, like oysters and pumpkin seeds have not been proven effective.
• Lycopene supplements or extra servings of foods high in lycopene, such as tomatoes and watermelon, cannot shrink an enlarged prostate.
• Vitamin D supplements are not needed unless being taken to meet daily requirements for general good health.
• Beta-sitosterol supplements did not shrink the prostate or increase urinary flow in 4 studies of its effectiveness 

The role of diet in reducing the risk of enlarged prostate is just one more piece of evidence that the diet that good for the heart is good for the whole body.