For Men Entering Their Golden Years: Reducing the Impact of BPH

If you're a man who has read about prostate enlargement (BPH or benign prostatic hyperplasia), but brushed it off because you're not a senior nor have you felt symptoms yet, then this post is for you.

Now we don't want to scare you since you've got enough to be alert about with the global pandemic, but just because you don't have BPH, doesn't mean you won't get it someday.

BPH is a condition that commonly develops as men age due to the natural continuous growth of the prostate. BPH doesn't become a problem until it interferes with urinary function (poor flow, frequent urges, stopping and starting, dribbling, sensation of residual urine, etc.).

The older a man gets, the more likely he will develop BPH. While about 50% of men in their 50s-60s have BPH, that number goes up to 90% of men in their 80s-90s who develop prostate enlargement. As men live longer, it is more likely BPH is in their future.

There is currently no method to prevent BPH. The only circumstances where BPH would not develop are if a prostate is removed surgically or if testicles are removed before puberty. However, it is not medically sound to remove organs to prevent BPH. If managed properly, a man can still have a good quality of life even with BPH.

Some of the risk reducing or impact reducing actions you can take while you are still younger are as follows:

If you have high blood pressure, work on reducing your blood pressure to stay heart and prostate healthy.

If you have excess body fat and are overweight, work on making nutritional and physical activity adjustments to reduce the risk of BPH developing sooner or of BPH having a more negative impact on your body.

If you are consuming mostly food high in fats and red meat, try to balance out by adding more forms of protein, vegetables, fruits, grains, and reducing sugars and fats whenever possible.

If you don't even know what BPH is, learn more and share information about BPH responsibly by using trustworthy and reliable sources. Everyone in the community (men, women, young and old) can do their part to spread awareness and encourage more research into BPH development and treatment.

Basically the above actions are about the same that most people would take to reduce the risk and impact of other disease states that come with age. If we can encourage more studies to be done on the nature of BPH, we may even be able to validate natural, alternative and complementary health options from traditional Chinese medicine, aryuvedic medicine and other holistic approaches on the physical and mental levels.