2 Natural Ways To Treat An Enlarged Prostate
October 18th, 2008 | by Clare |
There are several alternative or natural treatments for an enlarged prostate and 2 of these are to use saw palmetto and pumpkin seeds.
It might seem strange but pumpkin seeds have a variety of healing properties and they appear to be especially effective for many men with an enlarged prostate. Pumpkin seeds possess three properties which are particularly useful in this case.
The first is that pumpkin seeds contain fatty oil that acts as a diuretic and assists in improving urine flow and counteract the restrictive effect of an enlarged prostate gland on the urethra.
The second property of pumpkin seeds is that they contain high levels of zinc which means that a half a cup of pumpkin seeds contains about eight milligrams of zinc. It has been clearly demonstrated that taking zinc can reduce the size of an enlarged prostate and many doctors recommend taking sixty milligrams every day. You should take care however and it is a good idea to talk to your doctor before increasing your daily zinc intake to this level as it is higher than the normal recommended daily level.
The third benefit of pumpkin seeds is that they are high in animo acids such as alanine, glycerine and glutamic acid, all of which have again been shown to give significant symptomatic relief.
Another frequently used treatment for prostate problems is saw palmetto. Grown in the southeastern states, saw palmetto is a form of palm tree the seeds of which formed a central part of the Seminole Indian diet.
Saw palmetto works by converting testosterone into dihyrotestosterone and this is precisely the process used in the drug Proscar, which is one of only a handful of over-the-counter treatments which have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for prostate problems. Its central benefit is that it raises urine flow, reduces the difficulty of residual urine and lessens the frequency of urination.
As is the case with most alternative treatments views vary widely over the effectiveness of saw palmetto, but we have seen several studies carried out over the years which have clearly demonstrated that it does produce a sizeable benefit. In one such study, a clinical study looking at over 2,000 German men suffering from benign prostatic hypertrophy, a daily dose of just one or two grams of saw palmetto seeds created a significant reduction in symptoms.
Of course these are only two of the many natural cures available but there is no doubt that such treatments can and do work. By way of a further example, it is believed that about thirty percent of American men suffer from an undiagnosed prostate cancer by the time they get to the age of sixty compared to a mere one percent of Arctic Inuit men at the same age. Of course there may be various reasons for this large difference, but one difference which most doctors consider to be very significant is simply the fact the Arctic Inuit diet is high in fish oil.
As a result, if you are concerned about your prostate heath then, before you turn to your doctor for treatment, you could find that a simple change in your diet and taking several vitamins and minerals may be all that you need to do.