Tag Archive prostate

Bycleverhealthtips

Aging and Prostate Health

Aging is a natural part of life. It does not just affect what you can see on the outside, for example, grey hair and wrinkles. We also age on the inside, which is the reason we have to nourish ourselves with a range of supplements to ensure good health, longevity and happiness.

The prostate is one of the components of a man’s sex organs. It is a walnut-sized organ in young men, but with age it slowly increases in size, and this can cause issues. For men, the older you get, the more likely you are to have problems with your prostate health.

The prostate goes through two primary phases of development during a man’s life. The first sees fairly rapid growth during the early years of puberty – the prostate generally doubles in size. The second phase of growth begins in a man’s mid-twenties and this is a much slower period of development which then proceeds throughout life.

The second phase of growth does not cause any issues until men are well into their 60s or 70s when the indications caused by the now enlarged prostate will begin to appear and a visit to the specialist will reveal the presence of nothing more than a basic enlarged prostate. In medical terms, your doctor will state that you are experiencing benign prostatic hypertrophy, benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH.

When the prostate grows, the tissue surrounding it restricts its expansion and causes the prostate to close around the urethra. In this case, the flow is restricted through the urethra. In the meantime, the bladder wall thickens and the bladder begins to contract even when it contains moderately small amounts of urine. At last, the bladder weakens and loses its ability to contract and to empty itself and the urine stays trapped in the bladder.

The exact symptoms experienced because of an enlarged prostate will clearly vary from person to person, but, as a general rule, the first signs will be a difficulty in urinating and a change in your pattern of urination.

An early visit to the doctor can have the issues related to an enlarged prostate cleared up quickly and considerably reduce the danger of developing complications.

Bycleverhealthtips

Enlarged Prostate: Risks of Inaction

A worrying lack of knowledge and awareness are preventing men from acting on concerns they have about the benign prostatic hypertrophy, benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH.

Sometimes the enlarged prostate is a symptomless disease, and an awareness of risk factors, such as aging, is key for men being vigilant against the issue. According to statistics, every second man above 45 years is suffering from the growth of the prostate tissue or BPH.

The Disease

There is a nodule (nodules) in the prostate, which increases in size. Thus, it compresses the urethra, and the process of urine output becomes complicated. After some time, high pressure is made in the tissues. It leads to thickening of the walls of the bladder, which volume is essentially reduced. This prompts frequent urination and urine in small amounts, on the “drops”, while in the bladder may accumulate residual urine, breaking contractility. The result is intense or chronic urinary retention, infection in the urinary tract, prostatitis, etc. But this is just one of the possible scenarios of development of the disease.

There is a perception that adenoma may advance into prostate cancer. But this is false. Adenoma and prostate cancer affect, as a rule, different parts of the prostate.

However, the cunning of the situation is that prostate cancer can be developed without symptoms, and in the background of the development of adenomas, that is, with the similar symptoms.

BPH and cancer may coexist at the same time.

Risks of Inaction

A critical lack of action could also be keeping some men away from finding out they have the disease in time. If treatment isn’t started in time, the bladder can become unable to perform its functions. Kidney failure, stone formation, sexual disorders, including a complete loss of potency, insomnia, nervous exhaustion – the payment for delay.

BPH Can Be Prevented

But this should frequently undergo preventive medical examinations of the specialist urologist and to pass a set of special laboratory tests. In the first place, this is especially valid for men after 40 years, but it is also true for the younger ones. Timely detection of changes will help to avoid the development of serious disease.

Bycleverhealthtips

Enlarged Prostate: Medications and Natural Treatments

Treatment for an enlarged prostate (or BPH) depends on the symptoms and the risk of side effects, for example – urinary retention. Most people with enlarged prostate experience mild to moderate symptoms, and usually the men are able to cope with them without depending on serious treatment plans and medications. But for others, the symptoms can be painful and very troublesome, and they can get worse over time, so a treatment plan is required.

Medications

Most individuals with an enlarged prostate will either watch and hold up to see how their symptoms develop or take medications. Alpha blockers (for example terazosin) are used to relieve BPH symptoms within several weeks… But they do not stop the prostate from continuing to grow.

On the other hand, 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (for example Proscar and Avodart) are used to reduce an enlarged prostate, but they may take up to 6 months or even more to show any effect on symptoms. Sometimes a combination of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and alpha blockers is used.

When taking drugs, it’s important to be aware of the possible interactions between different medications. For example, if a man takes alpha blockers, he should not use medications for impotence treatment also because both of these drugs have a blood-pressure-lowing effect.

Natural Treatments

You should think about some of the natural treatments for enlarged prostate when consulting with your doctor. Natural ways of treatment can be used both alone and along with conventional alternatives. When discussing natural treatments for BPH, we are including approaches such as natural supplements, nutrition, exercise, lifestyle changes, stress reduction, and hormone management.

There are many lifestyle and dietary steps you can take to boost prostate health and help in the management of any symptoms of BPH. Here are some useful pieces of advice:

  • Focus on low-fat foods
  • Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables
  • Drink green tea
  • Avoid red meat, calcium, dairy products, and foods high in sugar
  • Take only well-researched supplements
  • Achieve and maintain a healthy weight
  • Exercise regularly
  • Adopt stress reduction techniques
  • Research natural therapies
  • Quit smoking
  • Maintain hormone balance
  • Engage in a healthy sex life
  • Avoid exposure to toxins
  • Cut caffeine intake
  • Reduce spicy and salty food intake
  • Avoid alcohol
  • Keep your diabetes under control
  • Stay warm

In general, embracing healthier lifestyle habits will help reduce estrogen, decrease inflammation, and go a long way towards reducing your symptoms of enlarged prostate.

Bycleverhealthtips

How hard is it to deal with prostate issues?

Prostate health easily gets sidelined by other health subjects. Men are usually hesitant to talk about their prostate concerns, even with their GP. The easiest screening option – a blood testing your PSA levels indicates expansion in cases of prostate growth, which causes a lot of anxiety related to the anticipation of results and is very often skipped.

Why does a prostate issue have to be difficult when the problem could be dealt with ease when addressed early on? Why not concentrate on prevention by keeping a healthy prostate?

Fortunately, there are natural approaches to keep a healthy prostate.

Eat Healthy Food

Including a balanced amount of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables to your daily snacks and meals would be a perfect way to guarantee that your prostate stays healthy, particularly those rich in zinc and vitamin C. Other example of foods that boost prostate health is nuts, avocados and healthy oils (for example – the organic olive oil).

Do The Pelvic Floor Exercise

Exercises help your bladder empty at a normal rate. The pelvic floor practice works the muscles by contracting and relaxing them regularly. While relaxing the muscles, all you should do is simply leave them. Repeat this routine several times daily. It is important to keep the muscles tight, as hard as possible, and enabling the muscles to relax completely afterwards.

Manage Hormones

Dealing with your hormone production is an essential step in managing your aging prostate health. As you age, your hormone production changes. An enzyme and hormone called 5-alpha-reductase turns testosterone to dihydrotestosterone or DHT. This can cause the testosterone levels to drop down and create imbalance between your testosterone and estrogen. This leads to an enlarged prostate. You can naturally manage your hormones through maintaining a healthy weight and by using supplements.

Your lifestyle significantly affects your prostate health – from the exercises you do to the food you eat to the supplements you take. Following all of the above easy ways to shrink your prostate can help you in preventing BPH symptoms from getting worse. Taking steps to improve your prostate health through these efforts can help you to naturally manage your prostate health.