Prostate Health

According to Canada’s Movember, the following statistics show alarming facts about Prostate health

1 in 7 men will develop prostate cancer during his lifetime and 1 in 28 will die of it.

A man dies from prostate cancer every 15.6 minutes.

In 2013, 26,500 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed and 4,000 men will die of prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer.

The incidence rates are nearly double for in African American men.

If detected and treated early, prostate cancer has a 95 percent success rate.

While there are cases of prostate cancer showing up in younger men, it is recommended that men begin an annual screening at age 50 and at age 40 if there is a family history.

(http://ca.movember.com/mens-health/prostate-cancer/)

The older you get the better the chance of Prostate Cancer occurring. The prostate is notoriously slow the act and react to its surroundings in a good or bad way. Therefore your prostate health is as much preventative as it is treatment based. This means there are things you should be doing now at any age rather than wait for prostatic hypertrophy (enlarged prostate), prostatitis, or prostate cancer to occur.

Testosterone can change to DHT via an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase or to estrogen via aromatase. Most men believe that it is the excess of testosterone that causes the problem, but it is more the conversion of testosterone to these metabolites that results in hypertrophy (enlarged prostate). Estrogen dominance is not only a common problem in women but also in men due to diet, environmental factors, and being overweight (aromatase works in fat tissue in abundance in men and women). Some supplements you can take to help reduce this include:

• Zinc - which helps stop the conversion of testosterone to harmful metabolites.
• Prostaglandins in the prostate decrease with age. It is believed that these substances help to control the growth of the prostate from hormonal factors. Essential Fatty Acids are precursors to these substances and can help reduce the prostatic hypertrophy
• Saw Plametto inhibits the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme and reduces the DHT produced and has other actions that help to reduce the size of the prostate. It is well studied in prostatic health.
• Pumpkin seed , Pygeum Africanum (an endagered species), Saw Palmetto and stinging nettle contain phytosterols that have been studied extensively for prostatic hypertrophy and shown to have beneficial effects.
• Prostatitis, which is an inflammation or infection of the prostate can be aided with zinc due to it’s antibacterial effects, and Quercetin (a natural anti-inflammatory flavanoid). Also, we here from our patients all the time how diet affects their prostatitis.

Ask us more on doses and sources of these supplements and which foods to avoid and other proactive things you can do to avoid this condition. Estrogen metabolism is just as important in men and we can help you funnel estrogen down to favourable metabolites and decrease your estrogen dominance.

Gaby, Alan R. Nutritional Medicine - A Textbook, chapter 210