By Claire Bacon, ACN, CNC
A question for our men today: have you ever thought of how to keep your prostate healthy? We normally care about many other aspects of our health such as:
- Caring for our heart by exercising
- Managing our weight by eating salads and vegetables
- Taking care of lungs by not smoking
- Or taking care of kidneys by drinking more water.
Let’s help you bring more attention to your prostate health by sharing these easy tips and benefits…
Why is my prostate health important?
Prevent Health Issues: Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of men are diagnosed with a prostate health problem every year. Whether it be cancer, enlargement due to BPH, or prostatitis, the prostate is highly susceptible to poor lifestyle choices. You create the best conditions for prostate health by living a healthy lifestyle. This means eating nutritious foods, exercising, and minimizing sources of inflammation (sugar, wheat, dairy, alcohol, and exogenous hormones). However, living a healthy lifestyle sometimes is not enough to keep hormonal issues in check; in which case, targeted supplementation is necessary. Taking the right supplements should be easy, especially if it’s hard to get certain therapeutic foods into your diet.
- Improve Libido: Did you know, the prostate is responsible for the production of fluid which, together with sperm cells, makes up semen. As you improve prostate function, in most cases you will be able to improve your libido as well.
Those are two major reasons to support your prostate health. Now let’s dive more into what you can actively do…
Consume Plenty of Hydrating Fluids
Adequate hydration benefits the body in many ways, including prostate function. There are lots of delicious ways you can add great-tasting beverages to your daily habits.
Green tea and hibiscus tea are both excellent sources of antioxidants for the prostate. Many studies show that Green Tea helps men’s issues by increasing microcirculation and decreasing inflammation.
Coconut water is deliciously sweet, and provides plenty of electrolytes like potassium and magnesium. Did you know, you can make your own sports drink? Just water down some real coconut water, and add a little bit of Celtic sea salt for added minerals!
When you’re looking for a more savory taste, tomato juice is an excellent source of vitamin C and antioxidants. Tomato juice is another ideal drink for anyone suffering from symptoms.
Water is always the essential beverage! Maintain enough hydration by drinking the majority of your water and other fluids in between meals.
Maintain a prostate healthy diet
You better be thinking, the simplest solution to hormonal balance is in your diet. Prostate-friendly diets include: oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and fruits like tomatoes, avocados, olives, and lemons. In addition, walnuts, legumes, pomegranate juice, and Asian mushrooms promote function. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are the best for detoxing excess estrogen. And anti-inflammatory spices like ginger and turmeric (curcumin) can pack a powerful and therapeutic punch to your food!
Another essential point is to avoid the most inflammatory foods: sugar, alcohol and processed junk foods. Generally speaking, a whole-food, organic diet that avoids chemical residues and preservatives is ideal.
Exercise & weight loss
Wouldn’t you know, exercise and weight loss are two effective ways to boost prostate health. Many studies show that regular, aerobic exercise and resistance exercise can prevent or reduce symptoms. Happily, exercise improves your cardiovascular system and microcirculation, and therefore may prevent erectile dysfunction.
If you are overweight, decreasing your BMI is the best way to improve prostate health naturally. Because losing weight often involves a multi-faceted approach, you are addressing all the lifestyle factors that can play into this issue. These actions include: eating better, exercising more regularly, and avoiding chemical toxins and estrogenic foods like soy. Cumulatively, the hormonal effects of taking these actions are to reduce cortisol, estrogen, and insulin, and promote detoxification pathways. All these effects are beneficial to the body’s overall toxicity burden.
Consume supplements
If you want to make headway quickly, you won’t be able to get enough nutrients entirely from food. Modern agricultural methods have left our crops seriously devoid of nutrition. However, we can counterbalance that with whole food supplements, like these:
Prost-X: Contains essential fatty acids derived from Spanish moss, with calcium and phosphatase enzymes, which ensure the proper functioning of biological processes in the prostate.
ProstaCo: known to have many benefits as it contains Nettle root, Saw palmetto, Crataeva stem extract, and Pumpkin seed oil. All these ingredient together help alleviate the symptoms of enlarged prostate and support a healthy urine flow.
Chezyn: A balanced source of chelated zinc, copper and iron from whole-food sources.
- Cat’s Claw : A tropical vine used in the treatment of yeast overgrowth and prostate cancer. Surprisingly, it is also helpful for libido. This is due to its anti-inflammatory nature, which involves suppression of NFκB and reduction of yeast within the digestive system.
We know supplements can get confusing…
so watch Dr. Bacon with Chris Goodson from Standard Process, to help simplify them for you!
Manage Stress and minimize Sitting
Unfortunately, stressing out and sitting too long both have detrimental effects on prostate health. Indeed, some men may unknowingly contract their pelvic muscles during times of stress. Chronic tightness of the pelvic floor muscles may result in pelvic floor muscular dysfunction; this is one of the causes of chronic prostatitis. Fortunately, there are some good exercises you can do to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles that are weakened from sitting too long.
And, we’d highly advise getting your stress in check. Stress causes increased cortisol, which leads to increased insulin (and decreased insulin sensitivity). These hormonal effects may exacerbate symptoms of urine urgency, frequency, and discomfort.
Bottom Line
To sum it up, adhering to these natural principles can have a significant influence on your overall health. These are easy actions you can do immediately. Best of all, you won’t need a prescription, or a lot of cash on hand to start. Once you recognize that improved prostate health is directly related to your dietary choices, weight, stress, and lifestyle, you can quickly add these habits to your daily routine!