While many treatment options are available for men with prostate problems, maintaining a proper diet is probably one of the most important things that they can do for themselves. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas can be very helpful, but for daily care, you have to watch what you eat. Certain foods can increase a patients level of pain and also their frequency of urination. Just the same, certain foods can help to decrease pain levels and frequency of urination.
Whether a patient has prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia or prostate cancer, diet is a crucial element in their health care. Some foods have an effect of causing inflammation, while others can have a natural anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, during painful attacks of prostatitis it's important to eat foods and drinks with anti-inflammatory properties. That being said, it's also in a patients best interest to avoid potential inflammatory foods.
Some foods that are known to aggravate the prostate and are best to avoid are spicy foods, coffee, alcohol, soft drinks, soy (and soy products), processed meats (hot dogs, lunch meats, sausages, etc....), smoked fish, cantaloupe, pineapple, raisins, strawberries, chocolate, heavily processed breads (enriched with additives), pickled products (sauerkraut, eggs, pickles, etc....), pecans, hazelnuts, potato chips, processed cheese, boxed rice and pasta. A good rule to follow is to avoid highly acidic foods and gear your diet to more alkaline foods. You can easily search the Internet and get a lists of foods with their pH level.
Foods that are beneficial to the prostate are herbal tea, milk, eggs, chicken, lamb, rice, honey, garlic, basil, almonds, cashews, green peas, corn, pears, carrots, squash and cottage cheese. Also, vanilla has anti-inflammatory properties as well as being used to increase male vitality. Real vanilla extract has been used for many years to increase production of testosterone, fight infections and reduce inflammation. So as long as you don't have lactose intolerance, enjoy a vanilla milkshake.
Individuals will have different results with different foods, but these foods listed are a good guideline to follow. Always keep track of the foods you eat in a food diary and note how you feel that day. By tracking how you feel after eating certain foods you can help to alleviate flare-ups and the pain of inflammation. If you wish to go a step further, feel free to go to an acupuncturist and experience how the use of acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help reduce pain levels and urinary frequency.
Bret Ellington is an acupuncture specialist in Orange County and is the owner of Inner Balance Acupuncture. Graduating with a Master of Science in Traditional Oriental Medicine, Bret is a Licensed Acupuncturist in California and Nationally. Specializing in women's health, fertility and post-surgical recovery, he works with women trying to conceive naturally and through IVF. Patients at Inner Balance can also get treatment for endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, menopause and PCOS. Please visit www.innerbalanceacupuncture.com to learn more.