Enlarged prostate gland, also known as BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy), is a non-cancerous condition in which the male prostate gland swells. The prostate gland resembles a donut surrounding the urethra - the tube that carries urine from your bladder through the prostate and out of the penis. When your prostate gland swells it squeezes or pinches the urethra so reducing urine flow.

The symptoms of enlarged prostate gland, or BPH, are: incomplete emptying of your bladder, dribbling, difficulty urinating, reduced flow of urine stream, and frequent urination of small amounts.

“I’ve been bursting for a pee for ages. Now I’m here I can’t do one!” This was the comment of a man in his 50s as he stood in a public urinal. A typical symptom of an enlarged prostate gland.

It’s estimated that 80% of men aged 40 and over have some degree of enlarged prostate, or BPH. This condition may exist for years with little or no symptoms. But it gets worse as the years pass by..

Less often, what is thought to be an enlarged prostate gland, can, in fact be prostate cancer or prostatitis (a more serious prostate condition). It's advisable to check with your doctor about having a PSA blood test if you have any symptoms. This can determine whether or not your condition requires immediate medical attention.

What Causes an Enlarged Prostate Gland?
The exact cause of an enlarged prostate gland, or BPH, isn’t certain. It appears to be linked to declining testosterone production. What is known, is that it only occurs in men with normally functioning testicles. Castrated men don’t get enlarged prostate glands.

Although an enlarged prostate gland may be unavoidable to some degree, this doesn’t mean you can do nothing about it. The following pointers can help improve your prostate health.

Dietary and Lifestyle Steps You Can Take for an Enlarged Prostate Gland

1. Avoid over-the-counter cold medications and decongestants. Especially those containing pseudo-ephedrine (Sudafed). These can aggravate prostate symptoms.

2. Lycopene, found in tomatoes, is an important nutrient for prostate health. So be sure to eat plenty of tomatoes. Much has been made about tomato pastes and other forms of concentrated tomato containing more lycopene. While this is true, more research suggests that other substances in the whole fruit aid lycopene’s activity. So don’t ignore whole fresh tomatoes while increasing your consumption of tomato pastes and the like. Spaghetti Bolognese includes tomato paste.

3. Reduce your intake of dairy products. Research show these increase the risk of prostate cancer. Substitute soya milk for cow’s milk where possible. Soya protects against many forms of cancer.

4. Eat plenty of onions and garlic. Recent studies show these to be highly beneficial for the prostate. Asian men who normally eat plenty of onions and garlic, have the lowest rates of prostate cancer and enlarged prostate gland in the world. The fact that they also eat other healthy substances like reishii and shitake mushrooms, ginseng, soya beans and sea plants, makes their overall diet a good deal healthier than ours and obviously contributes to low cancer incidence.

5. Make a habit of eating a few pumpkin seeds every day. These alone have saved many men from prostate surgery – which should only be considered as an absolute last resort. Lots of men have died as a result of it. Many others are left incontinent and incapable of achieving an erection. Pumpkin seeds are naturally high in zinc content. The prostate needs a lot of zinc!

6. Soluble fibre protects you against prostate cancer. Vegetable fibre appears to be the best. Men surveyed who ate the greatest amounts of vegetables each day suffered the least risk of prostate cancer. Wheat bran is insoluble fibre so doesn't help here. But oat bran is a soluble fibre. As well as the benefits of soluble fibre above, it also gets into your bloodstream where it mops up surplus fats - including cholesterol. Increasing your intake of fibre can help you lose as much as 16 lbs excess weight in a year without dieting.

Nutritional Supplements for an Enlarged Prostate Gland
1. Saw Palmetto is the favourite of many. It’s good for enlarged prostate. Combined with pumpkin seeds already mentioned, it may be enough to keep an enlarged prostate under control in the early stages.

2. Pygeum, extracted from the bark of an African tree, provides beta sitosterol. Beta sitosterol acts as an anti-inflammatory. It reduces swelling in tissues - such as an enlarged prostate.

3. Zinc, as mentioned above occurs naturally in pumpkin seeds. It’s an important mineral that has been shown to help shrink an enlarged prostate.

4. Lycopene as we’ve said is found in tomatoes. You can also get it in supplement form.

5. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that can combat damage caused by free radicals. These are ‘rogue’ atoms of oxygen that lack an electron. They attack many of your body’s cells to rob them of electrons, in their quest to make themselves entire. In doing this they damage your cells. When the DNA of the cells is damaged, those cells can turn cancerous. Vitamin E and other antioxidants are electron rich. They give up their electrons easily to free radicals, so protecting your cells. 6. Selenium, a mineral, is another powerful antioxidant that works hand in glove with Vitamin E. Their combined effect is more like 1 + 1 = 4, instead of 2! British and European soils are virtually devoid of selenium. So if you live in Europe, be aware that you’re highly unlikely to get enough selenium from your diet. Brazil nuts are normally rich in selenium. But you do need it daily. So you’re safest relying on supplements for selenium.

Trying to get all of these substances separately and work out the right dosages is the work of a nutritionist, not Joe Public. But it is advisable to use a combination rather than any one or two individual supplements. Just like Vitamin E and selenium, they work far better as a team than individually. Where prostate cancer is concerned, you're safer employing maximum protection rather than partial. When conventional cancer treaments are so horrible and relatively inefective, it's not worth the risk to wait until you get it.

Your safest bet is to use a supplement that combines them all – and then some! Where the dosages are already worked out for you! A supplement that can protect you not only against BPH or enlarged prostate gland, but also give protection against prostate cancer. Probably the finest male health supplement available in the UK and Europe is VitaMen, from Vitamark Europe. Or in the USA and Canada from Vitamark International. Highly recommended!