Cranberries and pumpkin seeds are tested for benign prostatic hypertrophy.
More than 50% of men in their 50s and at least 70% of men over 60 suffer from benign prostatic hypertrophy, or BPH, otherwise known as an enlarged prostate. This can lead to aggravating lower urinary tract symptoms, such as having to get up frequently at night to urinate. While current medical treatments are clinically effective, side effects and low compliance rates compromise their effectiveness. Symptoms include sexual dysfunction, high-grade prostate cancer and depression. No wonder there is poor compliance. And when the medication failssurgical procedures—such as transurethral resection of the prostate—are being considered. There has to be a better way.
Population studies recommend that a low intake of animal protein and a high intake of fruit and vegetables may be protective, but that it is not only for the reduction each animal protein. Eggs and poultry appear to be the worst, along with refined grains, but no association was found with red meat or dairy. Besides population studies, are there foods that have been tested? Actually, there are it was more than 30 randomized controlled trials on the herb saw palmetto. And it was found to be… completely useless.
Obviously, the cranberries were used by Native Americans to treat urinary disorders. Were they effective? You don’t know until you try them. Study participants consuming about a teaspoon a day (about 3 grams) of powdered whole cranberries—not those sugary, fatty “craisins”—showed significant improvements in BPH symptoms, quality of life, and all urinary parameters.
So we know a teaspoon works, but what about a third of a teaspoon or a sixth of a teaspoon? They helped too, as you can see below and at 2:05 in my video Natural Nutritional Treatments for Enlarged Prostate BPH. (The results from one teaspoon of powdered cranberries in the previous study are are represented from the bottom green line.)
Now, this study (with the chart) used a supplement because it was sponsored by the supplement company, but the supplement is just cranberry powder. So you can also buy it in bulk for a lot cheaper and just add it to a smoothie or something.
How about a tastier option like drinking purple grape juice? No benefit.
Previously, I’ve talked about using flaxseed, which can have a therapeutic efficacy comparable to that of commonly used drugs — and only good side effects. So what about other seeds? Pumpkin seeds apparently were used for centuries in folk medicine as a remedy for prostate disorders, and in a petri dish, they can cut the growth of BPH prostate cells in half, as you can see below and at 2:48 in my video.
Scientists have too injected pumpkin seed extracts in rabbits, but what about humans?
Pumpkin seed oil appears to help with prostate problems. When confronted with the drug Prazosin, it it seemed to work like the pill. Same thing it happened when faced with the drug Terazosin. But what the study didn’t have was a placebo group. It would be nice to see how well the pumpkin seed oil supplement did versus the placebo. Or even better — whole pumpkin seeds. In fact, there is such a study! There were more than a thousand men randomized take either pumpkin seed extract, a placebo, or about a tablespoon a day (about 7.5 g) of plain pumpkin seeds.
The study was funded by the pharmaceutical company that produced the supplement, but the supplement failed. it was no better than placebo. The pumpkin seeds themselves, however, were successful. The supplement appeared to reduce symptoms, but no better than placebo. Just plain old seeds though did. So it wasn’t just some compound extracted from the oil. In fact, we have ever since erudite that even an oil-free extract seemed to work. Bottom line, researchers he concludedis that pumpkin seeds could be recommended for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of BPH. That was the conclusion echoed from the European equivalent of the US Food and Drug Administration: Pumpkin seeds can be used to relieve lower urinary tract symptoms associated with an enlarged prostate after a doctor has ruled out more serious conditions.
Doctor’s note
The flaxseed video I mentioned is Flaxseed against Prostate Cancer.
What about cranberries and prostate cancer? See Cranberries against cancer.
Can Cranberry Juice Treat Bladder Infections? Watch the video to find out.
