Prostate And Hormone Connection

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 prostate enlargment. 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. Have prostate and enlargement symptoms and why dressing the hormone 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 to address this hormone imbalance that's causing so many prostate problem. Welcome to Health Breakthroughs with Dr.

Stengler. I'm Dr Mark Stegler and each episode we cut through the noise to bring you practical, science-backed insights for more energy, better health and a life that feels like yours again. 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 that you get, more likely you're going to have prostate enlargement, a condition generally more severe and aggressive in African-American men.

Now the following urinary symptoms indicate that, you may have enlarged prostate or BPH.

BPH Symptoms and Conventional Treatment Risks 1:44

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, then need stop and start several times while urinating. You can have a sense of urgency, a sensation of needing to Urinate right away. you may have weak stream, weak or feeble urinary stream. Straining or the Need to push or strain to start urine flow. You might have what we call nocturia, which is nighttime urination, the need to 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 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 enlargment.

Most of research is focused on testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, progesterone and estrogen. Let's start with testosterone. The first thought for many people is that high testosterone is the likely culprit behind prostate enlargement. However, testosterone levels decrease as men age and their testosterone level drop, of course. So we do not find prostate and enlargment to be a common for the males that are in their teens, early twenties when testosterone's at its highest levels. That does not seem to correlate.

No, Testosterone really is not a driving factor when it comes to prostate largemen. 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 dihydrotestostrone, again, known as DHT. Now, DHB 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 they're 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 4:27

Furthermore, higher level of DHD increase the enzyme activity of the five alpha reductase, which again seems to be related to prostate largement. There can be other reasons too. There could be genetic reasons that affect the androgen receptors. Ingenesis can known as polymorphisms. And this research has also been shown to relate to prostate enlargement. 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.

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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, which is made by the testicles and adrenal glands, into the estrogen known is estradiol.

Aromatases also converts testosterone from fat and muscle cells into estrogen, known Increased activity aromatase 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 level 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 a be risk. We also know men who are obese. who have a greater waist to hip ratio are more susceptible to. And of course, there's always dietary concerns.

There's research showing that men that consume high amounts of animal protein, saturated fat and cholesterol, have 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. When 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. Hey everybody, I want to take just a quick moment and invite you to my website drstengler.com.

Here we have the supplements that we've been using with our patients for many, many years. High quality and high potency supplements, very pure. So, if you're looking for high quality supplements where you can notice a difference, both in how you feel and on your lab tests, go to our website at dr.stegler dot com. The first supplement I want to talk about is known as beta-cytosterol and it's one of several plant sterols. It's 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-cytosterol supplementation improves benign prostatic hyperplasia symptoms such as urinary symptom scores and flow

Other Risk Factors and Diet 8:49

measures better than placebo. In one study of 200 men with prostate enlargement, the men were given either 20 milligrams of beta cytostrol three times daily or placebo, Those taking beta-cytosterol had significant improvements in urinary 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 cytosteral daily had significantly improvements compared to placebo in terms of urinal parameters and quality of life scores.

However, Beta-cytosterol was not shown to reduce the size of the prostate gland. And a typical dose for beta-cytosterols, 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. And 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 largement. Now, several studies have shown the effectiveness of saw Palmeto in improving prostate enlargement symptoms, mainly focusing on an extract, which is about 85 to 95% fatty acids and sterols. This is a standardized extract. Now, saw palmetto has multiple mechanisms that are likely responsible for reducing prostate enlargement 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, Saw Palmeto works best for mild to moderate symptoms and the earlier stages of prostate largements. 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.

Beta-Sitosterol and Saw Palmetto 11:15

Now, a 2018 paper conducted a supplemental systematic review of meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies of man with prostate 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, salt and metal abstract had a similar benefit to those using the drug Tamsulocin. which is also a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, and relieving lower urinary tract symptoms.

And there was no negative effect on sexual function or PS levels in those taking the Soprametal. They found a slight decrease in the volume of prostate size. The authors conclude that Sopa-metal 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.

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 Pygium 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 africanum appear to be ferulic acid, esters, which lower cholesterol within the prostate and reduce metabolites that contribute to prostate growth.

Furthermore, PyGium contains sterols that reduce inflammatory compounds that cause inflammation. And here's the hormonal effect. They also reduce testosterone accumulation within prostate. One study found that Pygym afrikanum 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, pygium 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 1500 men and ranging between 30 and 122 days was positive. Compared to placebo, Pygiamafricanum provided a moderately large improvement in the combined outcome of urologic symptoms and flow measures. Now those supplementing PyGm 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. Side effects were mild and comparable to placebo.

Now a different study on Pygm in the Journal of Urology involved 209 patients with prostate enlargement who were given either 50 milligrams twice a day or 100 milligrams once a then there was an open phase where 174 patients received 100 milligrams daily and the results were similar in both phases with

Pygeum and Nettle Root 14:34

regard to the effectiveness and safety. After 12 months of treatment there is even further improvement and 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, where only 16% of them had an improvement.

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. And 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 Soprametal is popular in dietary supplement formulas. In one double-blind clinical trial, the combinations of 160 mg of SopaMetall and 120 mg Nettleroot was evaluated in 257 elderly 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.

Nettle and Saw Palmetto Combination, Closing Remarks 17:58

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 the 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 urinary symptoms and in some cases actually reduce decide your 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. Thanks for listening to Health Breakthroughs with Dr. Stengler. If today's episode resonated with you, please follow the show, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review. It helps more people find us. For more resources and wellness support, visit DrStenglar.com.