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Get with the Flow: Herbs for Prostate Health

© Christine Traxler

"I think I've got prostate troubles."

Many middle-aged men have mumbled these words to their healthcare provider, hoping for relief from troubling urinary symptoms such as poor urinary flow, incomplete bladder emptying, a frequent urge to void and repeated nighttime voiding. It is estimated that over 50 percent of men will develop these symptoms at some time in their lives, resulting in a significant reduction in perceived quality of life.

The culprit in this common medical condition is the prostate gland, a walnut-sized gland that sits beneath the bladder and surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine flows as it leaves the bladder. Only men have a prostate gland which has an important function in providing necessary components to the fluid which carries sperm. Unfortunately, as men age, there are changes in the levels of sex hormones in their bodies that results in a buildup of the hormone testosterone within the prostate. Inside the prostate gland, the testosterone is further metabolized into its more potent form, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is partially responsible for the increase in the size of the prostate. When the prostate enlarges, it pinches off the urethra, making it difficult for the urine to pass. And thus the problem.

Until 1990, traditional medical models had only surgery to offer men with enlarged prostates (a condition known as Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy or BPH). The surgery, called transurethral resection of the prostate or TURP, involved using a device that went up inside the urethra through the penis and scraped out sections of the prostate. Besides being painful and expensive, it often had to be repeated after several years. In 1990, a drug called finasteride (Proscar) was approved for prostate enlargement. It acted by inhibiting the enzyme that turned testosterone into DHT which, in turn, would decrease the proliferation of prostate tissue. Its major "side effect" was its cost, almost $800 dollars a year.

In the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to herbal remedies for prostate enlargement which have been shown in clinical research trials to be effective in relieving prostate symptoms at considerably lower cost and with surprisingly few side effects. At the risk of sounding lofty, however, I am refusing to say another word about these helpful herbs until I am certain I have gotten the point across as to what the first step should be before attempting to use these remedies for prostate symptoms:

SEE YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER FOR AN EXAMINATION OF YOUR PROSTATE. IT IS NOT SOMETHING TO TREAT ON YOUR OWN WITHOUT FIRST SEEING A PROVIDER. PROSTATE CANCER HAS THE SAME SYMPTOMS AS AN ENLARGED PROSTATE AND IS TREATABLE IF CAUGHT EARLY.

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