Your Prostate and Natural Prostate Remedies - are They All They're Cracked Up to Be?

We've already discussed drugs and your prostate, how they work, what they do, their side effects and how long they take to work.

Now it's time to do the same with natural prostate remedies. It's only fair right?

There are many natural prostate remedies that help the prostate return to it's natural function but the main point with all of them is the fact that their side effects are minimal, compared with up to 1/3 of men taking drugs. Moreover, severity and type of the side effects is not comparable, eg: stomach pains compared to depression or labored breathing?

Things are starting to look better already aren't they? Here's some of the most commonly used;

Saw palmetto is a natural prostate remedy extracted from the berries of a small palm tree in Americas southeastern coastal region. Saw Palmetto is a traditional Native American remedy, that shrinks the prostate by preventing the production of DHT (dihydrotestosterone), it also helps to remove it from your system by lowering estrogen levels. DHT levels are important as studies have shown that DHT causes the prostate to enlarge, the main problem with your prostate. In the UK 2080 men with BHP were treated for 12 weeks with saw palmetto and the results were staggering;
- 26% increase in maximum urinary flow
- 44% reduction in residual urine
- 62% reduction in painful urination
- 53% reduction in post urination dribbling
- 50% reduction in nighttime urination
Saw palmetto has a 92% effectiveness on men in trials, and benefits were noted within 2-4 weeks. Interestingly enough, the number of men that had side effects was less than the number of men taking a dummy pill! ! About 1.7%!! You will find there are people out there that say that saw palmetto is ineffective but the number of men who are incredibly grateful for getting their life back with this simple berry extract is too large to be ignored.

Pygeum. This natural prostate remedy comes from an African tree bark, studies indicate that pygeum can treat BPH and prostatitis. The herb also contains chemicals that inhibit DHT-associated prostate enlargement. A European study gave a 30% improvement with a study of 263 patients in Germany, France and Austria.

Cernilton, a popular European product prepared from the extract of mainly rye pollen. Numerous studies document Cernilton’s ability to treat BPH and prostatitis. Again however, you will come across studies disproving its effects. The best bet is to try to it and see if it works. You've got nothing to lose have you?

Finally, stinging nettle is a traditional herbal folk remedy for many ailments, including prostate disorders. Clinical studies indicate that the herb (marketed as Bazoton in Europe) also can relieve BPH symptoms. A French study gave a marked improvement over a period of 8 weeks for men suffering from prostate problems.

There are other minor ones like Tumeric, Uva Ursi, Juniper Berries and False Unicorn that have good effects, but the main ones are listed above.

Beta-Sitosterol, which is contained in all of the above extracts can be purchased by itself, and it does have good results in regards to improving flow. But it does not shrink the actual size of the prostate - which is crucial in maintaining good health in a gland that increases 21 times in size during it's life-time in your body. Imagine if you were 21x as tall as what you were when you were born!!

One of the major facts that cannot be denied about the alternative prostate remedy route is that their side effects are minimal to completely non-existent. Also, their effects are usually noticed within 2-4 weeks and they can be taken with virtually all other medication that you may be on. As the number of men over 50 on medication is increasing rapidly, that is not something that can be ignored. 50% of European physicians prefer the use of extracts like saw palmetto and pygeum to treat their patients, their reasoning being that if it does the same job for less money and with no side-effects ... where is the problem?

Even just getting back to the basics of prostate remedies is very effective. Zinc and Selenium are minerals that are vital to maintaining optimum prostate health and should be taken via a high-quality multi-vitamin as they work best when consumed with other vitamins and minerals, far better than just by themselves. For example, selenium works with far better with vitamin E to protect the whole cell. While selenium protects the inside of the cell, vitamin E protects the cell membrane. Alone, they each have their benefits, but together they're far more powerful.

In summary, with the effectiveness and availability of natural prostate remedies, they are cheaper, work as quickly or quicker and have virtually no side effects. They are definitely worth a shot before trying surgery or drugs with the nasty side effects.