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Three natural ingredients for optimal prostate health

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They say that your life begins at 40. It most certainly does, especially when it comes to looking after your health. For men, the 40 year milestone marks a point in life when health should be a primary concern, especially in terms of your prostate. Once over 40, your risk of developing prostate disease increases to 50%! However, adopting healthy eating patterns and a healthy lifestyle is an excellent defense against these conditions.

The most common prostate problems are prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate), prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or enlarged prostate. This is not cancerous, but it does cause uncomfortable symptoms such as difficulty urinating, the need to urinate frequently, a slow stream, burning while urinating and pain in the area of the prostate.

Luckily, researchers have pinpointed various natural substances that can play a beneficial role in men’s prostate health, particularly prostate enlargement. In-house pharmacists at NATRX™ state that research indicates that good prostate health benefits can be derived from the following three natural substances found in plants and vegetables:

Pygeum

Pygeum is derived from the root of the Red Stinkwood Tree. Since the 1970s, numerous scientific studies report improvements in BPH symptoms, such as nighttime urination, urine flow rate and leftover urine volume, when taking pygeum. In 2000, researchers concluded that pygeum “modestly, but significantly” improved symptoms of BPH.

The University of Maryland Medical Centre notes that pygeum is beneficial to BHP sufferers as it may improve nighttime urination urgency and improve the flow of urine in BPH sufferers. Experts at the centre recommend taking 75-200mg daily.

Beta-sitosterol

Beta-sitosterol is a plant sterol (an important organic mollecule) with powerful anti-inflammatory properties. According to MayoClinic.com, a beta-sitosterol extract may help with BPH.

In a study published in Lancet, 200 men with BPH were given a 20mg dose of beta-sitosterol or a placebo three times per day for six months. Patients who were given beta-sitosterol had experienced a marked increase over the six months in urine flow and decrease in post-void residual volume (a measurement taken in urinary testing where lower volumes are optimal). The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2000 found that urinary symptom scores and flow measures were improved from the influence of beta-sitosterol.

Lycopene

Lycopene is a natural pigment and powerful antioxidant. A number of studies have shown that people who eat diets high in tomatoes and fruits that contain high amounts of lycopene have lower cancer rates, in particular, lower rates of prostate cancer.

Journal of the National Cancer Institute published a study which found that eating lots of tomatoes lowered prostate cancer risk by 35% in a study of 48 000 men. A further study published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that prostate enlargement progressed in the placebo group, but not in the group taking lycopene.

The authors of a 2009 paper that evaluated the relationship between diet and prostate cancer noted that, “There is accumulating evidence to support the consumption of lycopene, in particular tomato and tomato-based products, as protective factors against prostate cancer.”

Get proactive about your male health needs!

The proven use of pygeum, beta-sitosterol and lycopene to promote optimal prostate health in men is a major motivation to make your nutritional health a priority. However, in these busy times, it can be difficult to ensure that your body has access to these nutrients on a daily basis. This is why PROSTATE HEALTH ™ from NATRX is the perfect way to invest in your improved male health. The capsules contain pygeum, beta-sitosterol and lycopene, as well as Bioperine®, which assists the body with absorption of nutrients.

(Health24, October 2012)

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