Prostate Health

Natural Prostate Health:

Note: Prostrate means to lay down flat (usually face down).  Prostate is the name of the organ we are discussing here.

Statistics for Prostate Health and Prostate Problems:

• Prostate disorders generally begin after age 35.
• By age 50, over 25% of all men have an enlarged prostate.
• By age 70, that increases to over 50% and
• by age 80, 80% of men exhibit some form of prostate dysfunction.  

4 Signs of prostate dysfunction:

1)  Bladder outlet obstruction:

• Getting up to pee more than normal for the amount of fluids you ingest.
• Can’t empty your bladder all the way or sensations of incomplete emptying.
• Increased frequency of urination.
• Smaller stream of urine—takes a long time to empty bladder.
• Foam in the urine- sign of protein in the urine (a sign of kidney disease).
• Hesitancy with intermittency and decreased flow of urine.
• Terminal dribbling or urinary incontinence.

2)  Pain during intercourse

Burning sensations when urinating, tugging sensation around  the base of the penis, low back pain, (Note: Blood in the urine or an orange staining in the underwear may have a different cause than Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH)) 

3) Hurting thumbs

Especially that largest muscle at the base of the thumb. 

4) Energy Dysfunctions from 7-9 p.m.

(This is when the meridian for the prostate is most active.) This could exhibit as needing a nap (low energy to this meridian) or you may feel sarcastic and pick a fight (too much energy flowing through the meridian). You may also have a difficult time getting started from 7-9am.

Products that can keep the prostate healthy and decrease your PSA scores:

Saw Palmetto:  (Herb of choice for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH)) Tonic value: Strengthens and builds body tissues and encourages muscle mass. Anabolic. Hormonal: Estrogenic actions good for impotence, reduced or absent sex drive, testicular atrophy, premature ejaculation (in women it has been used for breast enlargement) Urinary remedy:  Nick-named the “plant catheter” because it strengthens the neck of the bladder and helps reduce enlarged prostate glands, Used as a diuretic to improve urine flow (raw parsley is excellent for this as well) and it acts as a urinary antiseptic in cystitis.  Up to 3 capsules daily.

Raw Pumpkin seeds: (Food of choice for BPH) Dose: 4 teaspoons/day raw and hulled.  Sources for Raw-Hulled Pumpkin Seeds:  Huckleberries, Local Co-ops, Winco ($2.75/pound) , Health Food Stores.

Foods are the strongest medicines we use.   “If a little is good a lot ain’t necessarily better” Eating too many may cause diarrhea (like over a pound at a sitting!)  How to use them: 

• Put them in a bowl next to the stove. Eat a small handful once a day.
• Put them in sandwiches if you like crunch.
• Put them in omelets and salads.
• Put them in stir fry or on top of steamed vegetables.
• Add them to cookie recipes  (see recipe for Carob/Spelt/Pumpkin seed no bake cookies at bottom).
• Be creative.

Raw Fruits 1 ½ cups/day.

Raw Vegetables 1 ½ cups/day. If you can’t chew them, juice them! Eating raw fruits and vegetables create a synergistic response. Besides helping with detoxification and rebuilding of tissues, they alkalize your body. You know, so many people are so deficient on live, raw foods, that I would go so far as to say 3 + 3 = 33 if you get your six servings in each day. There are so many live enzymes in raw foods that they can increase some biochemical processes making them 10,000 times more efficient. 

Power foods for prostate health: 

• Pumpkin seeds—Recommended dose is 4 tea/day, but no more than 3 tablespoons/day.
• Wheat Germ oil– (high in zinc and opens up the seminal vesicles- great for infertility) Dose: 1/3 tea/day or  3 capsules/day.
• Oatmeal– (Aveno sativa) Oatmeal is a great zinc and fiber source, even for blood type O.  Dose: about ½ cup cooked oatmeal per day or 3 ½ cups/week.
• Parsley— Awesome source of minerals and highly recommended for most health problems. Dose: 2 tablespoons/day chopped.
• Zucchini-– I think there’s a reason why God made an excess of zucchini.  Dose: 5 cups cooked or raw per week.
• Watermelon—A great diuretic and good for the kidneys as well as the prostate.  Dose:  3 cups/day in season.
• Unsweetened Cranberry Concentrate:  For urinary tract infections you will want to add unsweetened cranberry concentrate to your diet for a couple of weeks. That is NOT cranberry juice off the shelf with all the sugar in it. You can get this product at the Co-op or at Huckleberries. It comes in an 8oz. bottle and costs about $8. Take 2 Tablespoons/day. Chase it with water and it will taste sweeter. Cranberry causes a tightening of the bladder sphincter muscles and causes the inside of the bladder to be slicker so bacteria cannot stick to it.  Good brands are Knudson’s or Tree of Life.

Techniques to help the Prostate:

Inguinal massage technique—Move that lymph. Lying down on the bed, face up, massage from where your legs attach to your body up towards the heart. Pay special attention to the lower abdomen just above the base of the penis. Be gentle. It should not hurt, but you should feel pressure.

Total Body Massage—Once a week is best, but every other week is the very least you should shoot for.

Reflexology points– Achilles tendon and heel area. Massage each leg about 5 minutes/day.

Foot soaks with While Flower Analgesic Balm.

Exercise: Dead Lifts to increase circulation in the pelvis area. Start light. Breathe in as you lift the weights. Breathe out as you set them down. Bend at the knees. Squeeze your buttocks, throw your shoulders back and stick your chest out. Do about 2 sets of 10/day and work up from there. Don’t overdo it. Repetitions are much better for your body than the amount of weight you lift.

Metaphors we say can cause distress and dis-ease in the body because your body believes every word you say and it will pool irritation in the form of “energy cysts” in those parts of your body that you direct it to. For example, where do you feel the energy in your body when you say: “You saved my butt on that one” “That pisses me off” or “These people are a pain in the ass.” I had a partner die of colon cancer. The last metaphor was his personal favorite.

Common emotions associated w/ prostate challenges:

• Wanting but unable to protest
• Unable to release unneeded things/ideas
• Unresolved criticism
• Inner conflicts surfacing
• Resenting caring for others

Note: Over the years I’ve noticed that prostate problems come and go. Those men that apply positive lifestyle changes and work on the emotional aspects of the challenge have a better success rate. If you don’t work on the emotional aspect of the dis-ease, you will never fully release it (especially when it comes to cancer!).

Depression is a sign of prostate disease, but more so, it is a sign that you are not doing your Life Purpose. It is your body’s response to try to get you to pay attention to that fact.

If Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is the cause of your depression, add a tablespoon of sesame seeds, halvah, or tahini to your diet every day.  This works great.

The Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test. What is it? How often? Scoring system. 

The PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) is a protein produced only by the prostate gland. The current recommendation is to get a PSA test done once a year beginning at age 50.  Other doctors recommend less frequent testing. I am a proponent of getting that base level test done so that if there is a problem in the future, there is something to compare to.  Some men have a predisposition to prostate cancer or have had cancer. For this group of people the PSA test is recommended more frequently.

PSA tests can be elevated for several reasons including:

• Cancer
• Benign Prostate Enlargement (BPE)
• Inflammation
• Infection
• Age or Race (Blacks have higher PSA. Indians have the lowest amount of PSA) 

PSA Scoring:

• 0-4 nanograms/milliliter is normal
• 4-10 ng/ml is slightly elevated
• 10-20 ng/ml is moderately elevated
• >20 is considered elevated

There are two types of PSA—Free and Attached.  The Free fraction is elevated with Benign Prostate Enlargement and the Attached fraction elevates with tumor involvement.  Since there are both false positive and false negative tests, scientists are still studying various aspects of the Prostate Specific Antigen.

The “finger test” may pick up enlarged prostate, but increased PSA may not accompany enlarged prostate.

“Denial is not a river in Egypt.”  (When things go very wrong.)  The 5 Basic causes of cancer:

A naturopath’s goal is to get to the core causes of cancer, remove or minimize them and let the body’s own immune system take over to overcome the dis-ease so that the body recovers. Over 90% of those people with any form of cancer have 3 or more of the following things for a long time before their body can’t take it anymore, the cells freak out, and cancer overcomes the body:

• Mutated Yeast
• Toxic Emotions
• Viruses
• Parasites
• Chemicals/Heavy metals

Other causes that can lead to prostate cancer: 

• Electromagnetic fields
• Obesity- toxins build up in fatty tissue 20 times more than lean tissue
• Not enough raw fruits and vegetables (lack of live enzymes) which leads to an acid body.

No Bake Carob Spelt Pumpkin Seed Cookies

From the kitchen of Dr. Denice Moffat                  Makes about 36

Bring to boil in 2-quart saucepan and boil 1 minute:

• 1 ¾ cups sugar
• 1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
• 1 cube Organic  butter
• ½ cup milk  (dairy, rice, hemp, almond or oat milk)

Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Remove from heat and add:

• ½ cup almond butter
• 1 teaspoon real (not imitation) vanilla
• 4 tablespoons carob powder

Pour over:

• 3 cups rolled spelt (or oats if you can’t find spelt)
• ½ cup sesame seeds
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds or slivered almonds

Drop by teaspoonful onto waxed paper.  Cool and eat. Used in my practice for heavy metal poisoning, anemia, depression, prostate problems and for blood type O people.