Your prostate is a small-walnut shaped gland that’s located between your bladder and penis. The urethra runs through your prostate to let urine out of your bladder. Its primary function is to produce seminal fluid, which is the fluid that protects and transports your little swimmers out of your body.
Prostate enlargement, otherwise known as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), is the prostate gland’s enlargement in men, especially if they’re over 50 years old. In fact, it’s so common that at least 90% of men will experience an enlarged prostate by the time they’re 80.
Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t an indicator of prostate cancer, but it does create some issues that may cause your quality of life to decline. For one, you might find it much harder to pee since it puts more pressure on your bladder. Not only that, but you might find it more difficult to empty your bladder completely, causing you to want to take a leak 20 times a day. If left untreated, it’ll lead to severe long-term damage.
Risk Factors For Prostate Enlargement
Besides age, a few other risk factors may contribute to prostate enlargement.
Your Family History
Many diseases are passed on from one generation to another, and BPH is no exception. If you know of any immediate or extended family members that are diagnosed with BPH, chances are you’d join the club someday too.
Diabetes
High insulin levels can trigger prostate growth, which is why diabetes plays a massive role in developing BPH.
Insulin is the hormone responsible for moving sugar from foods out of the bloodstream for energy. When you have diabetes, your body doesn’t react well to insulin, which causes a spike in blood sugar levels. When there’s an excess of insulin in your body, your liver produces an insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), which is believed to trigger prostate growth.
Obesity
Extra body weight is associated with higher estrogen levels, a sex hormone contributing to prostate growth. Besides that, more sedentary men are also more likely to develop BPH.
Those extra pounds are probably affecting more than your prostate. Check out our post, “What’s The Link Between Healthy Diet and Good Sex?“
Causes of Prostate Enlargement
Although the exact causes of prostate enlargement are unknown, prostate enlargement is mainly found among men above 50 and occasionally in men in their 40s. One of the most prominent reasons for prostate enlargement is the decline of hormone production as men get older.
Men produce testosterone and small amounts of estrogen throughout their lives. As you age, active testosterone decreases, leaving behind a substantially higher estrogen level. Unfortunately, estrogen increases the activity of substances in your body that promotes prostate cell growth, leaving you with a larger prostate.
Another theory focuses on dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a male hormone that plays a vital role in prostate development and growth. Some men continue to produce and accumulate DHT throughout their lives despite declining blood testosterone levels, which encourages prostate cells to grow as they get older.
Health Issues Related To Prostate Enlargement
Contrary to popular belief, an enlarged prostate doesn’t increase your risk of prostate cancer. However, there are a few complications that might cause your quality of life to decrease severely, so it’s always a good idea to get your prostate checked out if you’re not too sure.
Urinary Retention
One of the first symptoms of an enlarged prostate is urinary retention. This means that you can’t completely empty your bladder even though you feel the need to go to the bathroom every couple of minutes. In the case of BPH, urinary retention is most likely caused by weakened bladder walls.
It is more than just a minor inconvenience, though—you might be looking at other potential and more severe health issues down the road if left untreated. Since there’s always residual urine in your bladder, your urinary tract might get infected. Not only is the pain excruciating, but it also leads to bladder damage, kidney stone, and diabetes.
Bladder Stones
Your prostate puts pressure on your bladder when it’s enlarged, which obstructs urine flow from the bladder and out the urethra. Because of this, some of your urine remains in your bladder and crystalizes, eventually turning into calculi stones. BPH can worsen your symptoms and cause infections, internal bleeding, and damage if left untreated.
Your Bladder Weakens
Retention of urine in the bladder for a long time causes it to get stretched and make it weak. As the bladder is made from muscles, straining it can result in the weakness of its walls. So, it becomes hard for you to empty your bladder as the muscles do not contract properly.
Kidney Failure Can Occur
If your bladder does not get empty, it builds up pressure. It can damage either of your kidneys and cause renal failure. Another issue because of urinary retention is an infection occurring in the bladder that spreads to your kidneys.
3 Ways To Manage Prostate Enlargement Symptoms
You can’t avoid BPH altogether since it is linked to your age and genetics. However, there are certain things you can do to manage or mitigate the symptoms to keep your prostate (and urinary system) happy and healthy.
Exercise Regularly
We all know how important exercise is for a healthy life, which is why it should be on the top of your list when trying to manage BPH symptoms. Regular exercise strengthens the pelvis muscles, which helps with urination and incontinence. Your bladder muscles can function optimally with daily exercising, drastically reducing the risk of urinary retention and UTIs.
Many studies have shown that those involved in low to moderate or intense aerobic activities have a low risk of prostate enlargement. You don’t even need to join the gym or work out daily—a brisk 30-minute walk every day can be beneficial for preventing BPH. Not only that, but you’d also reap health benefits associated with an active lifestyle, like better heart health and average hormone production.
According to a study in Urology Journal, men with higher abdominal fat are at a higher risk of prostate gland enlargement. Although the exact reason is unknown, body fat increases estrogen production, which might lead to an enlarged prostate. Since regular exercise can help you lose weight, maintaining a healthy lifestyle goes long in BPH management.
Maintaining A Well-Balanced Diet
Besides exercising, practicing a healthy, well-balanced diet is crucial when taking care of your prostate health. It might be a good idea to stop drinking caffeine-loaded drinks like tea and coffee since these drinks increase your urge to pee. It would be best if you also avoid alcohol.
Not only that, but you should eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables and limit the consumption of red meat. Besides that, you should choose healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, and avocados. You can also cut down on sodium by reading and comparing food labels. You can also eat slowly and stop eating when you’re full.
Use VigRX Prostate Support To Help Support a Healthy Prostate
If you’re looking for extra help to support prostate health, you won’t go wrong with VigRX Prostate Support. Manufactured by VigRX, it contains a proprietary blend of natural ingredients that are clinically proven to encourage prostate wellness.
Stinging nettle and saw palmetto, for example, are commonly used in Europe as a natural remedy for BPH symptoms. Not only that, but it also includes several ingredients that help prevent prostate cancer, like broccoli, green tea leaf, maitake, reishi, and shiitake. Not only that, but most of these ingredients also provide secondary benefits such as reducing your cholesterol, increasing fat burning, and improving cardiovascular health.
Is Prostate Enlargement Deadly?
No, prostate enlargement is not as dangerous as most men think—it’s not a severe health issue that could cause death by itself. As we’ve mentioned, it’s a natural process that would eventually happen to every man.
Although it doesn’t increase the risk of prostate cancer, it can cause a myriad of urinary issues that lead to a severely reduced quality of life. While not wholly correlated to BPH, erectile dysfunction is another disorder that often goes hand-in-hand with BPH.
Thankfully, it can be pretty easy to manage—if you have the right help. VigRX Prostate Support encourages better prostate health with a blend of 100% organic ingredients that have been traditionally used as natural prostate enlargement remedies. Besides that, you can also maintain an active lifestyle and healthy diet to reduce excess body fat that causes hormonal imbalance.
Still worried about your health. Read more about how to, “Naturally Reduce Symptoms of Fatty Liver Disease.”
