The Top Six Vitamins to Shrink an Enlarged Prostate prostate enlargement, also known as BPH, is a common problem which occurs in men, especially over the age of 50. This condition can make it difficult to urinate properly, may cause frequent urination and pain around the pelvis, the abdomen and the area between the scrotum and the anus in men. So what's happening here? Well, as you can see on this image, the prostate is a small gland which sits behind the pubic bone and just underneath the bladder, the organ that holds your urine or pee. The problem is that when your prostate starts to grow, become swollen or enlarged, it can start to put pressure on the tubes that are connected to your bladder.

This causes poor bladder control. You may have an urgent need to pee, sometimes with only a small amount of urine coming out. You may also have a weak urine stream, which could potentially stop and start as you pee. Or you may have a difficulty starting the stream of urine in the first place. If this is left untreated, an enlarged and swollen prostate can lead to prostateitis infections and a higher risk of prostate cancer.

Although the medical research is ongoing, studies show us that prostate enlargement is usually caused by hormonal imbalances, where there is a build up of anabolic hormones in the body such as estrogen, insulin or DHT. For this reason, in this video we're going to explore the six vitamins that can be used to help shrink an enlarged prostate back down to its normal size and improve your urinary flow. You'll also learn about some simple lifestyle changes that you can make to fix the root of the problem. Bear in mind that I use the words vitamins broadly to include phytonutrients minerals and botanical herbs that you can use to shrink your prostate naturally. Just a quick reminder this video is for educational purposes only, so do speak to your doctor if you have any medical concerns.

The first item on my list is the allimportant zinc. Zinc is one of the most important minerals when it comes to shrinking an enlarged prostate and balancing male hormones. Zinc helps to stop your testosterone from being converted into estrogen or DHT by inhibiting certain enzymes called aromatase and reductase. Basically, zinc helps to fix the hormonal problem that's making your prostate grow, and it helps to bring down inflammation so that the gland can start shrinking. If you wish, you can start taking a daily supplement of 30 milligrams of zinc chelate.

This is also sometimes labeled as zincbiz glycinate or preferably you can consume it from whole food sources such as pumpkin seeds, oysters, crab meat, beef, organ meats, watermelon seeds and sugarfree dark chocolate. Please note that if you are taking a supplemental form of zinc, make sure that you're also taking copper in a blend of different trace minerals, as too much zinc can deplete your copper reserves. Number two is phytosterols. Phytosterols are natural chemicals found in certain plants, which have been shown to help an enlarged prostate shrink back down to its normal size and also help to improve the urinary flow by blocking the hormone called DHT. Phytosterols have also been shown to help prevent cholesterol from sticking to the artery walls, therefore reducing the risk of heart disease as you get older.

Some men also use phytosterols to prevent male pattern baldness and hair loss, which is also caused by a DHT imbalance. Some of the best food sources that I recommend that you eat containing phytosterols include pumpkin seeds, sesame oil, macadamia nuts, green peas and extra virgin olive oil. Consider eating these regularly, especially the pumpkin seeds. You can also get this in a supplement form called sore palmetto, which is rich in betacytosterol and is very effective at reducing the size of the prostate and improving urinary problems. If you're finding this information helpful so far, please hit the like subscribe and turn all notifications on.

To stay updated with my latest health and nutrition tips, let's jump right back in now with number three, an important phytonutrient called lysipine. All different types of tomatoes are rich in an antioxidant called lysopine. This is a red plant pigment or a carotenoid, which helps to protect the cells throughout the body from oxidative damage. Studies show that consuming lysopine lowers PSA levels, helps to shrink the prostate, and reduce the risk of prostate cancer by balancing out testosterone. This is very useful for aging men as testosterone levels tend to drop as we get older, causing estrogen levels to rise and the prostate to become enlarged.

What's very interesting, however, is that cooking tomatoes makes the lysacine four times more bioavailable, so you can absorb it much better. So start eating homemade cooked tomatoes on a regular basis, as these are a superfood when it comes to your prostate health. You can also find lysepine in certain prostate health supplements which contain blends of plant chemicals, but it's much easier to just consume it from your food. As a side note, you can also get varying amounts of lysepine from basil, grapefruits, goji berries and asparagus. Number four is green tea.

Perhaps one of the simplest and the easiest things that you can do to help shrink your prostate is start to consume green tea on a regular basis. Much a green tea in particular is the highest quality and is rich in a catechin called EGCG. EGCG blocks an enzyme called five alpha reductase from converting your testosterone into DHT. This therefore stops the prostate from becoming bigger. If this is your problem, drinking three to five cups per day has been shown to significantly lower inflammation in the prostate gland, which helps it to heal and shrink back down to its normal size, which is around the size of a walnut.

Number five is very important and it's vitamin C. Vitamin C is an essential nutrient which we have to consume regularly in our diet from plantbased foods like salad leaves, vegetables, berries and fruits. Eating foods like cabbage, sauerkraut strawberries, bell peppers and cruciferous vegetables will boost the antioxidant network within your body. The real vitamin C complex helps to prevent and reduce oxidative damage in the prostate cells and therefore lowers the risk of developing prostate cancer. Interestingly, it also helps to regulate cortisol production.

This is another hormone which can interfere with hormone balance and potentially trigger prostate problems. Please do make sure that you avoid the OvertheCounter asorbic acid supplements, as these contain only 5% of the true vitamin C complex. If you do want to take a supplement for vitamin C, use a whole fruit powder such as acerilla, cherry, rosehips or Camu Camu. And last, but by no means least, we have lauric acid in no. Six.

As I previously mentioned, prostate enlargement is often caused by high levels of DHT in the body. What happens is the main male hormone called testosterone gets converted into DHT, which can cause the gland tissue inside your prostate to grow. This results in problems with the urinary flow and an increased risk of prostate cancer. Lauric acid, however, is a medium chained fat found in coconut oil, and it's been shown to significantly block this conversion from testosterone into DHT and also prevent prostate enlargement. I recommend that you start cooking with raw, unprocessed and organic coconut oil and replace the inflammatory vegetable oils which may be worsening your prostate health.

Later in the video, we'll explore six action steps to shrink an enlarged prostate. But first, let's take a look at the underlying causes which may be causing your prostate to become enlarged in the first place. The first and most common cause of an enlarged prostate is eating too many refined foods like sugar, processed grains and flour, which deplete your zinc reserves, causing higher levels of DHT, insulin or estrogen. Coincidentally, being overweight, perhaps from eating these foods can trigger prostate enlargement too, because the more fat you have in your body, the more estrogen and insulin you have hormones that could be making the gland grow. Another problem is that when we get older, our stomach acids become weaker, which reduces our ability to absorb zinc and other nutrients that are needed for a healthy prostate.