Today I’m going to tell you how to get over prostate problems.
If you’re a man, you’ve either encountered them already or you’re going to. You may have already found yourself standing over the urinal waiting for something to happen and nothing does.
But I’m going to show you the best, state-of-the-art, natural way to improve your peeing power.
It’s called beta-sitosterol, and it can help in a big way. Beta-sitosterol is a particular kind of plant sterol, which means it’s a fancy, organic chemistry name for a plant fat. It’s where the word “steroid” comes from.
In a review of 63 other clinical trials, beta-sitosterol was among the top three most effective treatments to improve urinary flow and prostate health.1
Weak “pee power” is one of the most common parts of aging I see in my male patients. Sixty percent of men over 60 have weak stream when urinating. That number shoots up to nearly 80% ten years later.2
This is one of the oldest health issues in the world. We know from ancient scrolls that the Egyptians developed their own formulas for treating it as far back as 2000 BC.3
The use of simple plant formulas to promote health goes back to the beginning of civilization. It’s called phytotherapy (“phyto” is the Greek word for plant). And that’s what you get with beta-sitosterol.
One randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study – the gold standard in clinical trials – looked at 200 men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or enlarged prostate, which can make you have trouble peeing. Half the group received 180 mg of beta-sitosterol daily, while the other half received placebo.
After six months, the beta-sitosterol group saw improvement in the International Prostate Symptom Score, the measurement of urine flow (QMax), and the amount of residual urine remaining
in the bladder (PUR).4British researchers gave 177 patients with benign prostate enlargement 130 mg of beta-sitosterol each day and were monitored for over six months. Measurements of the International Prostate Symptom Score, urinary flow, and residual urine in the bladder after voiding were recorded.5
On average, urinary flow values increased significantly while the amount of urine left in the bladder decreased by a huge amount. In terms of the International Prostate Symptom Score scale, that’s big news.6
I always have faith that something works when I see the same tradition of use spring up in totally unrelated places around the world.
In Bali, healers use the herb beluntas in men with a loss of urinary flow. Science has since discovered that beluntas is full of beta-sitosterol.
When I visited South America, I found that traditional herbal healers use sacha inchi seeds to help restore urinary flow in men. Turns out, every 100 grams of sacha inchi seed has over 75 mg of beta-sitosterol. The cold-pressed sacha inchi oil has an even higher concentration.7
In Africa, my friend Dr. Josiah Kizito showed me how they use the African potato, called hypoxis, to treat urinary tract infections and prostate problems like BPH.
One of the reasons hypoxis is so good at healing the prostate is that it’s full of beta-sitosterol. Hypoxis is so powerful it’s traditionally used as a tonic in African medicine known as “muthi,” which simply means medicine.
To get more beta-sitosterol for better “pee power” as you age, here’s what I recommend:
1) Get it from your food: Food is always my number one way to get nutrients. The good news is, there are plenty of plants besides the ones I just mentioned that have beta-sitosterol, like:
- Pistachios
- Almonds
- Macadamia nuts
- Lentils
- Pumpkin seeds
- African plum (Pygeum africanum)
- Maca root
- French lavender
Maybe the best source is the good old avocado. Besides being full of healthy fats, every 200-calorie serving of avocado (about 4/5 of a medium avocado) is going to give you around 90 mg of beta-sitosterol.
When I found that out, I was surprised, because that’s a pretty good dose. That’s more than what’s in most prostate formulas.
2) Get a full dose: As good as avocados and nuts like pistachios are, you’d have to eat a lot to get the dose I recommend for you every day, which is a full 300 mg.
That’s not so easy. I’ve seen some that only have a few milligrams in each capsule, and you have to take a few pills to get a small amount.
For full relief of BPH and for total prostate health, look for a prostate formula that has a full 300 mg of beta-sitosterol in each capsule. You’ll be able to restore function to your prostate, and you won’t have to take a handful of pills every day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. “Randomized clinical trial of an ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum in men with lower urinary tract symptoms.” Asian Journal of Andrology. 2008. 10(5):777-85.
2. Homma et al. “Urinary symptoms and urodynamics in a normal elderly population.” Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology [Supplement]. 1994. 157:27-30. PMID 7939451
3. Shokeir & Hussein. “The Urology of Pharaonic Egypt.” BJU International. 2001. 84(7):755-761.
4. Berges R, et. al. “Treatment … with b-sitosterol: an 18-month follow-up.” BJU International 2000;85, 842±84.
5. Berges R, et. al. “Treatment … with b-sitosterol: an 18-month follow-up.” BJU International 2000;85, 842±84.
6. Klippel K, Hiltl D, Schipp B. “A multicentric, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of beta-sitosterol (phytosterol) for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia. German BPH-Phyto Study group.” Br J Urol. 1997 Sep;80(3):427-32.
7. Gorritti A. “Updating the Monograph – Sacha Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.).” Perúbiodiverso Project II, 2013.