Eat these foods and supplements to your diet to keep your "twigs and berries" working properly.
There's only one time when shrinkage down there is a good thing, and
that's when your prostate is enlarged. As men age, their prostate (the
gland that produces the fluid the carries the sperm) tends to grown
bigger and as a result, it can cause urination and bladder problems. In
fact, it may have you running to the bathroom as much as a woman who is
pregnant. Luckily there are things that you can do to keep the prostate
from growing and protect it from cancer. The first is to exercise on a
regular basis since inactivity seems to worsen symptoms. The second is
developing a good nutrition plan. Read on to find out the foods and
supplements you should be consuming to keep everything relatively
sizeable.
Decrease Size with Saw Palmetto

The most popular of the prostate helping herbs is
saw palmetto, known to the scientific community as
Serenoa repens.
Recent research has confirmed saw palmetto's prostate prowess. Chinese
researchers reported in the September 2007 issue of the
International Journal of Oncology
that saw palmetto inhibited the growth of prostate cancer tumor cells
in mice. Along similar lines but done on human cells, Swedish
researchers reported in the March/April 2007 issue of
Anticancer Research
that saw palmetto had an antiproliferative effect on cancer cells.
These studies confirm previous findings. More specifically, a Spanish
study that had men take 160 mg of saw palmetto extract twice a day for
a year, in which the men experience a decline in benign prostate
hyperplasia (BPH) "the medical term for an enlarged prostate" symptoms. And the herb may also have a synergetic effect with other
herbs as Eastern European studies have found. When 160 mg of saw
palmetto is paired with 120 mg of stinging nettle and both are taken
twice a day, a decrease in BPH symptoms were experienced. There are
also studies that suggest that saw palmetto improves the quality of
life for those with BPH and that there seems to be no drug-interaction
problems. In addition, previous research has found that a combination
of
saw palmetto and pygeum lessen BPH symptoms.
Relieve the Pressure with Pygeum
Pygeum can help reduce the symptoms of an enlarged prostate. The
result: fewer trips to the men's room. Why? Because this supplement
that comes from the bark of an evergreen tree found in the mountains of
central and southern Africa has been found to contain not one, but
three types of compounds that relieve the symptoms of prostate
enlargement. The most important of the three is beta-sitosterol, which
interferes with the formation of substances that cause inflammation and
swelling in the prostate. The other two compounds are pentacyclic
terpenes, which also reduce swelling, and ferulic esters, which combat
enlargement. Recently, three studies have closely studied these
compounds and how they inhibit the proliferation of cells that promote
prostate growth and affect bladder function. Two separate groups of
French researchers found that Pygeum stopped prostate cell growth in
the lab and in the body. While researchers in the United Kingdom and
six European countries followed 2,351 patients suffering from BPH. Some
were treating it with prescription medications (tamsulosin,
finasteride, or alpha-blockers) and others were treating it with
supplementation (
Pygeum africanum or
Serenoa repens). Their results, reported in the January 2007 issue of the journal of
European Urology,
found significant improvements in 43% of patients taking supplements
compared to 57% of those on finasteride and 68% on alpha-blockers.
Proving that natural means lessen the symptoms of BPH and cut down on
the amount of trips to the bathroom.
Don't Shun Soy
Soy isn't just a super food for women anymore, according to a
large-scale study of Japanese men. Researchers found that increasing
intake of soy isoflavones significantly reduced the risk of prostate
cancer by as much as 50 percent. The study, published in
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention,
recruited 43,509 Japanese men with a generally high soy isoflavone
intake and followed them for five years. During that time, 527 men were
newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. In fact, the highest intake of
soy isoflavones (at least 32.8 milligrams of genistein per day) had a
40 percent reduced risk compared to those with the lowest intake (less
than 13.2 milligrams per day). In addition, a recent study of
Seventh-Day Adventist men in California, conducted by Loma Linda
University, found that those who consumed soymilk at least once per day
had a 70% reduced risk of developing prostate cancer. An earlier study
found similar results for Japanese men living in Hawaii who ate tofu.
How can soy have such a profound effect on prostate cancer? Soy
isoflavones may reduce testosterone levels and inhibit an enzyme
involved in the metabolism of testosterone. It's this hormone that
may increase prostate cancer risk. But before you start reaching for
your wife's or girlfriend's "made for her" soy-fortified foods,
know this: these results occur in men eating whole soy foods, such as
edamame and miso soup. Considering that over 500,000 new cases of
prostate cancer are diagnosed worldwide every year, eating soy foods
could be a potent step in prevention.
Drink Red Wine
When it comes to wining and dining, pick up a bottle of cabernet to put
her in the mood and do your prostate some good. Researchers have found
that men who drink an average of four to seven glasses of red wine per
week are only 52% as likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer as
those who do not drink red wine, reports the June 2007 issue of
Harvard Men's Health Watch.
Researchers in Seattle collected information about many factors that
might influence the risk of prostate cancer in men between ages 40 and
64, including alcohol consumption. By evaluating each type of alcoholic
beverage independently, researchers were able to link wine drinking to
a reduced risk of prostate cancer. And when white wine was compared
with red, red had the most benefit. Even low amounts seemed to help,
and for every additional glass of red wine per week, risk declined by
6%. Why red wine? Much of the speculation focuses on
compounds--including various flavonoids and resveratrol--missing from
other alcoholic beverages. These components have antioxidant
properties, and some appear to counterbalance androgens, the male
hormones that stimulate the prostate. In fact, researchers at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have found that when male
mice were fed resveratrol, the mice showed an 87 percent reduction in
their risk of developing prostate tumors. You see, a glass of wine with
dinner may provide unexpected benefits.
Get Your Fruits and Vegetables
You know that you should be eating seven to nine servings of fruits and
vegetables daily, but are you? You may want to hustle down to your
produce department tout suite after reading this. Johns Hopkins
researchers reported in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
that foods containing nutrients with antioxidant properties or that
influence cell growth and differentiation may reduce the risk of
prostate enlargement. More specifically, consumption of fruit and
vegetables rich in beta-carotene (such as carrots and sweet potatoes),
lutein (such as corn, mango and leafy vegetables), or vitamin C (such
as kiwi and oranges) were found to help keep your prostate in check.
They also found that men who ate a lot of foods that are high in
vitamin C were less likely to have an enlarged prostate.
Pop or Pound Pomegranates
The pomegranate has been shown to possess strong antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory properties. And while you would think the pom should
be included in the above category, it is unlike most fruits and
vegetables. This is because it has a very short season; many fruits and
vegetables are available year around thanks to worldwide transport.
Luckily, food and supplement makers have been able to harness this
fruit's tasty goodness in the form of juice and extracts. And this may
actually be better. University of Wisconsin at Madison researchers
reported in the journal
Cell Cycle
that pomegranate fruit extract inhibited cell growth and caused cell
death of potentially cancerous prostate cells. If you decide to drink
pomegranate juice instead of popping a pill, make sure its label says,
"100 percent fruit juice."
Make Friends with Fish

Unless you have been hiding in a proverbial nutrition news cave, you
have probably heard that omega-3 fatty acids do a body good. The
benefits are numerous and it seems that we can add another benefit to
the list--slow prostate cancer growth. Research done in mice and
reported in the July 2, 2007, issue of the
Journal of Clinical Investigation
suggests that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil and
certain types of fish could potentially improve the prognosis of men.
The study's authors from Wake Forest University concluded that a
change in diet could mean the difference between dying from prostate
cancer and surviving it. Adding fish to your diet doesn't seem like
an awful idea when you consider that the disease is the most frequently
diagnosed cancer and is a leading cause of death in men in the United
States, and population studies have suggested that consumption of fish
or fish oil reduces prostate cancer incidence. In the current study,
the mice were fed varying levels of omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated
fatty acids (PUFAs). Both are "essential" fatty acids, which means the
body needs them for proper cell function but cannot produce them. Many
vegetable oils contain omega-6 PUFA. Fish like mackerel, lake trout,
herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in omega-3 fatty
acids. Nutritionists recommend that people consume equal proportions of
omega-3 and omega-6 PUFA. However, in current western diets, the
proportion of omega-6 to omega-3 is between 30 and 50 to one. Don't
like fish? Then you may want to take
fish oil supplements.
A diet rich in soy, fish, fruits, vegetables and red wine supported by
supplemental pomegranate fruit extract, pygeum and saw palmetto is a
good way to keep your
prostate healthy and your physique ripped.