Table of Contents
Performing the Exercises. Since the muscle is internal and sometimes hard to isolate, doctors often recommend practicing while urinating:
- The patient is asked to contract the muscle until the flow of urine is slowed or stopped. He attempts to hold each contraction for 20 seconds.
- He then releases the contraction.
- In general, patients should perform 5 - 15 contractions, three to five times daily.
Dietary Factors
A heart-healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruit may help reduce BPH risk. Some evidence indicates that fruits and vegetables rich in beta-carotene and vitamin C may help protect against BPH. Dietary choices should also focus on increasing intake of healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, and limiting intake of unhealthy saturated fats and trans-fatty acids.
[For more information, see In-Depth Report #43: Heart healthy diet.]
Herbs and Supplements
Generally, manufacturers of herbal remedies and dietary supplements do not need approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell their products. Just like a drug, herbs and supplements can affect the body's chemistry, and therefore have the potential to produce side effects that may be harmful. There have been several reported cases of serious and even lethal side effects from herbal products. Patients should check with their doctor before using any herbal remedies or dietary supplements.
Popular herbal and dietary supplement treatments for BPH include:
- Saw palmetto is one of the most popular herbal remedies for BPH. It comes from the berry of the plant Serenoa repens. Most clinical trials have shown a modest benefit at best. A large, high-quality study found that saw palmetto had no benefit for treating BPH for men with moderate-to-severe BPH when the herb was taken for 1 year.
- Other popular herbs include extracts from African plum tree (Pygeum africanum), rye grass pollen (Secale cerale), stinging nettle root (Urtica dioica), South African star grass (Hypoxis rooperi), and pumpkin seed oil (Cucurbita peponis). Beta-sitosterol is a plant sterol found in some of these herbs that is marketed as a dietary supplement for prostate health. There is no scientific evidence that any of these remedies help treat BPH.
- Patients should be aware that high doses of zinc supplements may increase the risk and progression of BPH.
Review Date: 07/20/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
