Doctor Reveals the Real Cause of Prostate Problems (Not Just Age)

Introduction to prostate enlargement 0:00

Do you know the real reasons why you have prostate enlargement? So many men have urinary symptoms. I keep them up at night. Keep them going to the bathroom throughout the day. And they're not addressing the root causes of why they have prostrate enlargement. In this video, I'm going walk you through the hormonal connection. The connection that a lot of doctors don't treat as to why men had prostate and enlargment symptoms and why addressing hormonally issues can really help you with your enlarged prostate.

I'm Dr. Mark Stengler. I've been practicing integrative medicine for 30 years, and I have seen a lot of men with prostate problems. Matter of fact, I wrote a book on the subject, which has done very well, where I outline in more detail what's going on with prostrate problems and how to best help them integratively. But in this video, i'm going to give you the key information you need to know and How to address this hormone imbalance that's causing so many prostate problem. Benign prostatic hyperplasia, known as BPH, is an age-associated condition that involves enlargement of the prostate gland.

Now, this common condition affects approximately 50% of men between the ages of 51 and 60, but it becomes increasingly common as men age, with 90% men at age 85 having this condition. Basically, the older you get, more likely you're going to have prostate enlargment. The condition is generally more severe and aggressive in African American men. Now the following urinary symptoms indicate that you may have enlarged prostate or BPH. You could have incomplete emptying of your bladder. Your bladder fills full even after voiding urine.

Increased frequency. The need to urinate often, every hour or two in some cases. Intermittency. the need stop and start several times while urinating.

BPH symptoms and conventional treatment 1:35

You could have a sense of urgency, a sensation of needing to urinate right away, you may have weak stream, weak or feeble urinary stream. You can have straining or the need to push or strain to start urine flow. you might have what we call nocturia, which is night time urination. The need wake up at night to Urinate more than two times. Men with severe cases of prostate enlargement end up with urinary retention. That can lead to hospitalization or surgery. Not fun. Pharmaceuticals are conventional medicines treatment for enlarged prostate, but they can carry risks such as sexual dysfunction, breast enlargment, fatigue, increased libido and headaches.

So one of the fundamental causes why men are prone to prostate and enlargement are hormonal changes. Your prostate gland is very hormonally sensitive. I'm going to review the main hormones that affect the prostate and you can understand what is making you susceptible to prostate enlargement. Most of the research is focused on testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, progesterone and estrogen. Let's start with testosterone. The first stop for many people is that high testosterone is the likely culprit behind prostate However, testosterone levels decrease as men age and their testosterone level drops, of course.

We do not find prostate enlargement to be a common for the males that are in their teens or early twenties when testosterone is at its highest levels. So that does not seem to correlate. No, so testosterone really is not a driving factor when it comes to prostate and enlargment. However dihydrotestosterone is different. This is a metabolite of testosterone, which is associated with prostate enlargement. The prostate gland contains tissues that have the enzyme 5-alpha reductase, and this enzyme converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, again known as DHT.

DHt binds to androgen receptors in the prostate and stimulates growth, so this is not a good thing. Now, when we're younger, DHT stimulates prostate growth when were in the womb during the fetal time period. However, DHD continues to stimulate prostate grow later in life. We know that men with prostate enlargement have much higher levels of blood DHP levels or concentrations compared to healthy men their age.

Hormonal causes: testosterone, DHT, and estrogen 3:39

Furthermore, higher level of DHD increase the enzyme activity of the five alpha-reductase. which again seems to be related to prostate enlargement. There can be other reasons too, there can genetic reasons that affect the androgen receptors. In genetics this can known as polymorphisms and this in research has also been shown to relate to the prostate and enlargment. And these receptors are found in high concentrations in the prostate gland influencing the binding of testosterone and DHT as well as the regulation of genes that can affect prostate.

The other hormone which may surprise you, which makes men susceptible to prostate enlargement, is estrogen. This is a hormone, again, that influences prostate growth. Although it's a normal part of the male hormonal system, most of it is produced in fat, brain, bone, and other tissues. The production of estrogen is primarily controlled by an enzyme known as aromatase. Now aromatase converts the hormone androstenedione, made by the testicles and adrenal glands, into the estrogen known as estradiol.

Aromatase also converts testosterone from fat muscle cells into estrogen. Increased activity aromatases seems to be a causative factor in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia or prostate enlargement. Men tend to accumulate fat as they age and this leads to increased aromatase activity, decreased testosterone, and elevated estrogen levels. Age does not cause estrogen to decline the way it does with testosterone. It's kind of the opposite. As men get older, their estrogen tends to go up higher. There are other factors that you should know about that play a role in the formation of prostate enlargement.

One is a hormone known as insulin. As insulin levels rise and people or men are predisposed to prediabetes and diabetes, that's a risk factor. Insulin-like growth factors, like growth hormone, may be a factor, even hormones like norepinephrine and angiotensin may also be risk. We also know men who are obese, who have greater ways to... Hip ratio are more susceptible too. And of course there's all these dietary concerns. There's research showing that men that consume high amounts of animal protein, saturated fat and cholesterol, have a high calorie intake, they do not consume enough omega-3 fatty acids, or if you're deficient in vitamin D and zinc, these are predisposing factors to prostate enlargement as well.

While we see now hormones affect prostate growth, let's look at some of the natural supplements that prevent this excess hormonal stimulation and growth of prostate gland. The first supplement I want to talk about is known as beta-cytosterol. It's one of several plant sterols. Its found in many plants with higher amounts in foods such as rice bran, wheat germ, soybeans, corn oil, peanuts, avocados, pumpkin seeds, cashews, some fruits. You also find it in prostate herbal supplements like salt pimento and pygium africanum.

Now sterols are produced by plants that are structurally and functionally related to cholesterol. Now beta-cytosterol is the most abundant plant sterol consumed by humans and it's unique because it inhibits that 5-alpha reductase enzyme and as well it has anti-inflammatory properties. So research has demonstrated that beta cytosteral supplementation improves benign prostatic hyperplasia symptoms such as urinary symptom scores and flow measures better than placebo. In one study of 200 men with prostate enlargement, the men were given either 20 milligrams of beta-cytostral three times daily or placebo, those taken beta cytosterol had significant improvements in urinal flow while the placebo group did not have any changes.

Another study demonstrated that 177 men with prostate enlargement who supplemented with 130 mg of beta-cytosterol daily had significant improvements compared to placebo in terms of urinary parameters and quality of life scores. However, beta cytosterone was not shown to reduce the size of the prostate gland. And a typical dose for beta-cytosterol, 60 to 130 milligrams daily, it has an excellent safety rating. The other supplement I want to talk about, and I'm sure you've heard about but I wanna give you some specifics, how it blocks the excess hormonal effects and that is saw palmetto berry extracts.

And of course, very popular for treating prostate enlargement here in North America and Europe, This plant has a long history of use by Native Americans for the treatment of prostate and urinary symptoms. This practice was later adopted by American settlers and Europeans. Around half or 50% of German urologists prefer to prescribe plant extracts such as saw palmetto rather than pharmaceuticals for prostate enlargement. Now, several studies have shown the effectiveness of salpamenol in improving prostate enlargement symptoms, mainly focusing on an extract which is about 85

Other risk factors and diet 8:12

to 95 percent fatty acids and scarrols. This is a standardized extract. Now salpenol has multiple mechanisms that are likely responsible for reducing prostate largement symptoms. First, it has anti-estrogenic effects. and it inhibits the conversion of testosterone into DHT in the prostate tissue as well as intracellular binding to receptors in prostate. Now as with other herbal therapies, salt-palmetto works best for mild to moderate symptoms and the earlier stages of prostate enlargement. About 90% of men will notice an improvement in mild to moderate urinary symptoms or prostate enlargement within the first four to six weeks of starting supplementation, with a dose of about 320 milligrams per day of a liposteric extract.

Now, a 2018 paper conducted a salt and metal systematic review of meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies of man with prostate largement. And so this data included a total of 27 studies. Researchers found that salt metal extract reduced nighttime urination, known as nocturia, and improved maximum urinary flow compared to placebo. Furthermore, salp and mito extract had a similar benefit to those using the drug Tamsulosin, which is also a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, in relieving lower urinal tract symptoms.

and there is no negative effect on sexual function or PS levels in those taking the Soprameto. They found a slight decrease in the volume of prostate size, and the authors conclude that SopaMeto extract appears to be an efficacious and well-tolerated therapeutic option for the long-term medical treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms with benign prostatic hyperplasia. There's been another big review done. It involved 21 randomized trials lasting between 4 and 48 weeks, and they compared it to placebo.

Beta-sitosterol for BPH 9:57

And SalpaMetal improved urinary symptom scores, symptoms and flow measures. Also, Salpametl produced similar improvements in urinal symptoms scores compared to the drug Finasteride and had less adverse events than the drugs Finastroid. The other supplement I want to talk to you about is Pygeum Africanum, also known as Prunus Africana. In it, of course, as the name implies, has a history of use in Africa for urinary disorders. The active components of Pygium Africanium appear to be ferulic acid, esters, which lower cholesterol within the prostate and reduce metabolites that contribute to prostate growth.

Furthermore, PyGM contains sterols that reduce inflammatory compounds that cause inflammation. And here's the hormonal effect. They also reduce testosterone accumulation within prostate. And one study found that pygium africanum had anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects, which means improving natural cell death on certain types of tissue without affecting the smooth muscles of the prostate gland. Now, pygeum is beneficial when you look at studies, and it has improvements on both prostatic and bladder function.

Another review of 18 randomized controlled trials involving over 1,500 men and ranging between 30 and 122 days was positive. Compared to placebo, pygeumafricanum provided a moderately large improvement in the combined outcome of urologic symptoms and flow measures. Now those supplementing PyGEM were more than twice as likely to report an improvement in overall symptoms. Nighttime urination was reduced by about 19% and there were other urinary flow markers which were significantly improved.

Saw palmetto benefits and evidence 11:33

Side effects were mild and comparable to placebo. Now a different study on PygEM in the Journal of Urology involved 209 patients with prostate enlargement who were given either 50 mg twice a day or 100 mg once a days for two months. And then there was an open phase where 174 patients received 100mg daily. The results were similar in both phases with regard to the effectiveness and safety. After 12 months of treatment, there is even further improvement. A review authored by urologists of the evidence for the treatment of prostate enlargement with Pygium Africanum concluded that it has a long history of use along with strong enough published data to make it a, quote, useful drug for the urologist, although it's not technically a drug.

And the recommended dose is 100 to 200 milligrams daily of a standardized extract, usually one that contains about 14% triterpenes. It has no significant side effects and a small amount of users it may cause digestive upset. Now let's talk about nettle root. Nettle root has research showing that it is very effective in treating prostate enlargement. It has a traditional use in Europe for the treatment of urinary tract infections as well. The mechanisms for netdle root appear to be multifactorial and research has not identified them all definitively, but it appears to have an inhibition of sex hormone binding glybulin binding to the prostate receptors.

It also reduces conversion of testosterone into estrogens by reducing that enzyme aromatase activity. And it also has anti-inflammatory effects on the prostate tissue. Now one study, which was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized study compared nettles with placebo in 620 patients. At the end of the six-month trial, those receiving the placebo were switched to nettle and both groups continued to supplement for up to 18 months. More of those receiving nettles, about 81%, reported improvement in urinary symptoms than patients in the placebo group.

Only 16% of them had an improvement.

Pygeum africanum and nettle root 13:27

Also, those taking nettle had a reduction in post-void residual urine volume, which is the amount of urine left in a bladder after urination. From an initial value of 73 to a final value 36, so quite significant, where those on placebo did not see any appreciable change. There was also a modest decrease in prostate size as measured by ultrasound in the nettles group, but none in placebo group. There were no side effects found in either group. In one other double-blind clinical trial, 100 men with prostate enlargement between the ages of 40 and 80 were given nettles, 300 mg twice daily, or a placebo for two months.

Those taking nettle had significant improvements in urinary symptoms, and those on placebo had no change. The authors noted that nettles was extremely effective and safe for the treatment of prostate Now the combination of nettle root and salt pimento is popular in dietary supplement formulas. In one double-blind clinical trial, the combinations of 160 mg of saltpimento and 120 mg nettles root was evaluated in 257 elder men who had moderate to severe urinary symptoms due to prostate enlargement.

The men were treated with this combination or placebo for 24 weeks, followed by a 24-week control period, then a 48- week follow-up period which all men received the herbal combination. And assessments that week 96 revealed that the international prostate symptoms score was reduced by 53% and other improvements were noted in the treatment group. Also, the combination was very, very well tolerated. So this combination is often used in dietary supplement formulas because the combination has been shown to be quite effective.

Now, if you're a man with prostate enlargement and you are suffering from urinary symptoms, you know a large part of the problem is the hormone sensitization of your prostate gland. And by using the dietary supplements I just talked about, You can reduce the effects of these hormones on the prostate, which can improve your urinal symptoms

Combination supplements and closing advice 15:24

and in some cases actually reduce size of prostate. Well, hope you liked this video. Look for other videos I have on prostate health, men's health many videos on women's Health and children's Health as well. Thank you for being with me. If you like this Video, make sure that you hit the like button.