Taking care of your health is everyone’s responsibility, both men’s and women’s, although with the latter it unfortunately happens differently. Men very often neglect the diseases and other ailments that affect them, which has further consequences, and the effects of underestimating them often turn out to be tragic. A man, especially in his middle age and older, may be afflicted with many diseases, affecting various systems and organs of the bodyOne of them is problems with prostate, also called prostate gland or prostate gland.
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Causes of deteriorating health in men
Let’s face it, most men don’t even try to take care of their health in the right way. They disregard not only diseases, which they usually don’t even want to treat, but also the recommendations of doctors or dieticians concerning changes in the current lifestyle. Unfortunately, this can be seen in the death statistics which, although they have improved recently, still show that men live shorter lives than the opposite sex.
In the vast majority of cases they are guilty of this themselves, and the most common negligence that leads to this are:
- Improper diet, about which, in the case of gentlemen, whole volumes have already been written. Most, however, will never admit that what they eat is far from the advice of nutritionists, full of unhealthy trans fats, cholesterol, preservatives and gigantic amounts of sugar and salt. At the same time it lacks the most important nutrients, vitamins and minerals, including those especially recommended for men. All this leads to overweight or even pathological obesity, heart and circulatory system diseases, bacterial prostatitis or prostate hypertrophy. It has an almost immediate negative effect on potency, also making it difficult to achieve and maintain a normal, strong erection;
- sedentary lifestyle, despite the fact that physical activity is one of the foundations of long-term preservation of health and full sexual performance. Lack of exercise also becomes a reason for rapid weight gain and cardiovascular diseases, especially life-threatening hypertension and atherosclerosis;
- alcohol and cigarette smoking, two stimulants that almost completely ruin not only men’s health, and the effects of their abuse is also felt by the prostate.
What is prostate
Before we answer the question how to take care of prostate, we should first learn what prostate g land actually is and what important functions it performs in the body. The prostate is a gland found exclusively in the male urogenital system, the growth of which is determined by the appropriate level of testosterone, built of two lobes connected by the so-called node. It is located in the lower part of the pelvis minor, under the bladder, surrounds the urethra, and with its posterior part touches the rectal area.
Although it is only the size of a chestnut fruit, with an average length of 3.5 cm, height of 2.5 cm and width of about 4 cm, its importance cannot be underestimated. Among other things, it is responsible for fertility, because it produces seminal fluid, in which sperm move. The second important function it performs is to enable ejaculation, i.e. ejaculation; it controls the work of smooth muscles which determine it.
Diseases of the prostate gland
The prostate gland develops throughout a man’ s life, reaching its greatest capacity around the age of 30, but over time its activity begins to decline. Men in the middle age, around 45-50 years old, have to reckon with its enlargement, which does not remain without influence on further health and sexual condition.
Prostate hypertrophy
Prostatic hypertrophy is the main, most common disorder of theprostate gland, which, as official statistics show, already affects almost 50 percent of men over 60 years of age, and in older men, between 70 and 80 years of age, the number of diagnosed cases exceeds even 80 percent. The reason for the development of this disease is reduction of testosterone levels, also progressing with age, causing proliferation of the tissues of the gland, and its characteristic and most common symptoms are:
- frequent urination, the need to urinate several times more often, not only during the day but also at night, which interferes with rest and impedes regeneration;
- intermittent, weak urine stream proving that the enlarging prostate presses on the urethra causing its progressive narrowing;
- an uncomfortable feeling of continuous pressure on the bladder, even when it is empty;
- formation of stones in the urinary system due to the difficulty of emptying the bladder, which if not treated properly can end up in a urinary tract infection or acute renal failure;
- embarrassing incontinence and blood in the urine, which may be signs of developing inflammation.
Prostate cancer
Neglect and failure to control the health of your prostate gland can lead not only to prostate hypertrophy, but also to the particularly dangerous prostate cancer. The risk of developing the disease also increases as a man ages, but the causes are varied, and the following pathogenscan accelerate it:
- the aforementioned poor diet, which is dominated by highly processed products, large amounts of red meat, saturated fats, and lacks in turn vitamins C and E, which are antioxidants that remove carcinogenic free radicals from the body;
- genetic predisposition, not so much inheriting it from the older generation of one’s family, but if the father or grandfather had prostate cancer in the past, the son or grandson must also take it into account. They are much more likely to have the BRCA1 gene mutation responsible for it;
- Age, and men over 40 and older are at risk. It is also worth remembering that it is not a disease of younger people, who practically do not get it;
- race, and studies have shown that prostate cancer is much more common in black people in Africa and the Americas than in Europeans or Asians.
The symptoms of prostate cancer are gradual, not very noticeable at first, but strong pressure on the bladder, pain when urinating, or difficulty in emptying the bladder should already be a cause for concern. Of course, there is no need to panic immediately , you need to continue to observe your body and go to the doctor when there are other symptoms that may indicate a developing disease:
- Frequent urination, similar to prostate hypertrophy;
- the appearance of blood in the urine and in the sperm;
- severe pain in the perineum, making it difficult to move around;
- pain during ejaculation;
- erectile dysfunction;
- stagnation of urine in the bladder, leading to kidney failure or stones;
- back pain, especially in the lumbar region of the spine, and lower back pain;
- pressure on the spinal cord, which occurs when cancer has metastasized to the spine, impairing sensation in the lower extremities;
- swelling in the legs as a result of cancer cells spreading into the bloodstream and lymph nodes.
How to take care of your prostate – best proven methods
Now that we know the serious risks of possible diseases of the prostate gland, it is time to find out how to take care of the prostate to effectively avoid them. There are many, more or less effective methods worth using, but the first thing you absolutely must do is visit your doctor, because only he can order the appropriate tests to confirm or exclude the initial diagnosis.
In fact, they are recommended for every man over 40, but as is usually the case, most of them find out about possible abnormalities only when the first symptoms of the diseases described above appear. When it comes to their treatment and prevention, if they are not too severe, it is worth turning to natural methods at the beginning, and only when they prove ineffective, reach for pharmaceuticals. Maintaining a healthy prostate until old age will certainly make it easier:
Changing your diet
Properly balanced diet has a beneficial effect on minimizing the risk of prostate hypertrophy and alleviating its symptoms, if we already have the disease. It will also support the treatment, especially when you remove from it harmful products:
- highly processed, full of artificial fillers and preservatives, some even carcinogenic;
- carbonated drinks, especially those sweetened with fructose-glucose syrup or refined sugar;
- Unhealthy snacks, such as chips full of salt;
- Bread and other products made from white wheat flour;
- fatty meat and all processed meat products;
- certain types of dairy products, full-fat cheeses, butter, fatty yogurts and skimmed milk;
- stimulants, the alcohol mentioned above, strong coffee and strong black tea.
Instead, the daily menu should include:
- large amounts of vegetables and fruits, the richest source of vitamins and other nutrients. From vegetables are recommended tomatoes, red peppers, Brussels sprouts, carrots, kale, cabbage and spinach. Fruits recommended for prostate problems, on the other hand, are citrus, watermelon, grapes, raspberries, strawberries and avocados;
- healthy fats such as olive oil, but only extra virgin extra virgin;
- Oily fish, a source of valuable fatty acids Omega – 3 and Omega – 6;
- whole-grain breads and pastas, which provide the fiber necessary for proper digestion;
- brown rice and buckwheat groats;
- legumes, especially beans;
- nuts;
- green tea, yerba mate and large amounts of still mineral water.
More physical and sexual activity
Of course, no one here intends to persuade steady men in their fifties or sixties to engage in competitive sports, but some forms of physical activity are highly recommended. Kegel exercises, daily walks, nordic walking, swimming, leisurely jogging and recreational cycling are all effective.
Also, do not forget about sexual activity, even with prostate problems. Studies show that men who have regular intercourse are less likely to have it, and their risk of prostatic hypertrophy is reduced by nearly 30 percent.
Use of herbal treatments
Theeffectiveness of herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, in the treatment and prevention of various diseases cannot be faulted much, and plants with proven health-promoting properties have been used for thousands of years. They work perfectly well also in the case of benign prostatic hyperplasia, called in short BPH (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia), and herbs, not only exotic, but also coming from our meadows or gardens, such as:
- nettle, with exceptionally broad medicinal properties, inhibiting, for example, baldness, accelerating the growth of new hair. Vitamins and minerals contained in it also protect against cancer, heart disease, prevent platelet aggregation, regulate hormone balance, including testosterone levels, increase the quality of semen;
- small-flowered willow-wort, growing practically in the whole Europe, also in our country, removing free radicals from the body, taking care of the right amounts of hormones, soothingwillowbush, which grows practically all over Europe, also in our country, removing free radicals from the organism, taking care of appropriate amounts of hormones, alleviating symptoms accompanying prostate hypertrophy, swelling and inflammation, simultaneously preventing their recurrence
- Sabal palm, also known as saw palmetto, another plant with multi-faceted medicinal uses. It prevents testosterone from converting into its harmful variety, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which can also cause prostate hypertrophy.
Sources:
- https://www.healthline.com/health/prostate-infection
- https://www.healthline.com/health/prostate-cancer-symptoms
- https://www.healthline.com/health/mens-health/bph-vs-prostate-cancer
- https://www.healthline.com/health/enlarged-prostate/prostatitis-and-bph
