This month marks the start of Movember, a global movement that seeks to raise awareness of men’s wellbeing, in particular testicular and prostate health.
Many men – in particular young men – don’t pay as much attention to looking after their health, and many don’t even know what their prostate is, but they should.
Prostate problems are an issue for men of all ages and affects 35% of men aged 50 and older. Plus over 50% of men in their 60s and as many as 90% in their 70s or older have symptoms of an enlarged prostate
It has been estimated that more than 30 million men suffer worldwide from prostate conditions that negatively affect their quality of life.
And if those facts weren’t alarming enough, prostate cancer is not only the most common form of cancer for men but it is also it the second biggest killer of men, after lung cancer. Each year over 230,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and about 30,000 will die of it.
But according to a survey of men aged 45 and over by Prostate Cancer UK, 70% of them knew nothing about their prostate or the symptoms of prostate cancer.
The prostate, found only in men, is located below the bladder. It is the gland that makes fluid for the semen and surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the male body.
The prostate produces some of the fluid in semen and is crucial to a man’s sex life. It prostate fluid nourishes and protects sperm during intercourse and forms the bulk of ejaculate volume. Although only the size of a walnut, the prostate is prone to many problems. One issue is benign hyperplasia (BPH), which is growth of the prostate to an unhealthy size, causing difficulty and discomfort for men when urinating.
Symptoms are similar with prostatitis, a more simple inflammation of the prostate, often caused by bacteria. Whereas BHP largely affects men in later life, prostatitis is an issue for men of all ages and is not always easy to target.
The prostate often enlarges as men get older, but for two-thirds of men aged 50 or over this doesn’t cause any problems. In some cases, an enlarged prostate can press on the tube carrying urine from the bladder and cause urinary problems.
Modern lifestyles can be stressful and damaging to our health, and many men are guilty of burning the candle at both ends – for example, drinking, smoking, having too many late nights and eating an unhealthy diet. Therefore, it is important to remember that the lifestyle choices young men make now can have a big impact on their health later in life.
However, there are also a number of other measures that men can take to lower their rick of prostate problems:
- Eat more fruits and vegetables, especially tomatoes which are high in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant which has been shown in studies specific ability to prevent the formation of prostate cancer cells cancer.
- Many of us don’t get enough lycopene naturally in our diet, if you are one of these please visit vitahealthcare.com/8-lyc-o-mato as you could benefit from a highly concentrated lycopene supplement”.
- Let your doctor know if you have a family history of prostate cancer. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man’s risk of developing this disease.
- Eat more selenium-rich foods such as wheat germ, tuna, herring and other seafood and shellfish, beef liver, kidney, eggs, sunflower and sesame seeds, cashews, mushrooms, garlic and onions. Selenium has also been shown in studies to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
- Get a blood test and rectal exam annually, beginning at age 50. Men at high risk, such as African American men or men with a strong family history of prostate cancer should begin testing at age 45.
For more information on lycopene and Lyc-O-Mato, please visit vitahealthcare.com/8-lyc-o-mato
Blog post written by Vita Healthcare
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