Nature’s Alternative: Herbal Supplements for Prostate Health

For many men struggling with prostate problems, herbal supplements are more than just a passing fad. Learn about the major players in alternative prostate treatments and why men may want to consider taking herbs and other extracts.

Kim Lachance
drkoop.com

Tuesday, October 30, 2001; 12:00 AM

During their retirement years most men will kick back, take up a hobby and catch up on some long overdue downtime. Chances are many of them will also struggle with an enlarged prostate or will battle prostate cancer.

The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that hems the neck of the bladder and urethra.

Approximately 80 percent of men 40 and older will be diagnosed with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a noncancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, while 95 percent of males over 80 will experience excessive prostate growth. Meanwhile, according to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common killer of males after lung cancer and is estimated to claim the lives of 32,000 men this year.

Though men have no choice as to whether or not they will fall prey to prostate problems, they do have a choice when it comes to treatment. With an ever-increasing amount of scientific evidence bolstering herbal and natural supplements as effective therapies for BPH, as well as sexual dysfunction and urinary tract complications, men have more control over their prostate health than ever before.   

Herbal Therapy Goes Mainstream
Herbal supplements, though they saturate the trendy alternative medicine market and haven’t yet won FDA approval, are more than just a passing fad in the field of urology. The statistics speak for themselves: Some 44 million people in the U.S. regularly use herbal dietary supplements for the treatment of common illnesses, reports Prevention Magazine. And a rising number of them are middle-aged and senior men seeking relief for prostate complications.

Furthermore, a Consumer Reports survey conducted earlier this month showed more than a third of males experiencing an enlarged prostate have tried saw palmetto extract, a centuries-old herbal remedy for genital and urinary problems. The jagged-leafed palm plant first used by the Seminole Indians of Florida now ranks among the top ten best-selling plant-based medicines in the U.S., generating some $140 million in sales in 1999 alone.