About Healing the Prostate

The prostate gland, located just below the urinary bladder, secretes thin fluid to neutralize the acidic seminal fluid upon ejaculation. The main diseases affecting the prostate are inflammation (prostatitis), benign prostate hyperplasia, also known as BPH, which is an enlarged prostate, and prostate cancer. An enlarged prostate can be very painful because it can prevent or reduce the flow of urine from the body. Treatments range from pharmaceutical products to nutritional and holistic approaches.

• Cancer Research Laboratory

Common Cures

• In First World countries such as the United States, prostate healing traditionally comes from the services of a physician, usually a urologist for non-cancerous lesions such as BPH and prostatitis. There are standard pharmaceutical products that work effectively on BPH and prostatitis. Constant urges to urinate are a frequent complaint of both ailments.

  Holistic, nutritional and spiritual therapies also have a long history of healing. Albeit outside of established Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMEA) data-reporting requirements, these therapies are not regulated or accounted for.

  Progress, efficacy or proficiency of these methods is strictly judged by those who undergo the therapy of choice and those who provide it. Due to lack of reporting on the results of spiritual and holistic practices, scientific accountability is extremely difficult to come by. It should be noted that these methods are practiced around the globe; Chinese holistic medicine, for instance, has existed for millennia.

The Holistic Approach

• While many people discard the probable benefits of holistic medicine, its practitioners believe man-made pharmaceuticals do provide some relief, but they generally disagree that pharmaceuticals alone will cure the prostate. Dr. Peter Matthiessen, chief of medical service in Germany, stated, "The FDA should leave holistic medicine to the holistic practitioners, and acknowledge the wealth of research and outcome data supporting claims for vitamin and herbal treatment." Without proper documentation, however, it is difficult for governmental agencies to ascertain the effectiveness of herbal treatments. Other physicians, such as Frederick Klenner in 1949, documented success at reversing the affects of polio using very high doses of intravenous vitamin C, and in 1970 he reported that it had reversed his Lyme disease.

  In Peru, dried branches called "Uña de Gato," or cat's claw, are brewed as a tea. Folklore has it that cat's claw has cured prostate problems for many. It should be noted that it has been used for hundreds of years by people native to the rain forest of South America, where it grows naturally.

Spiritual Healing

• Even among spiritual healers themselves, there is conflict as to the definition of spiritual healing. According to some writings in CR Magazine, physicians are necessary for the healing of the prostate but followers should search for a physician who believes in spiritual healing.

  But this rift does little to curb spiritual healers' belief system. Chanting, using herbs and, of course, a belief in divine love are all tools to the trade of spiritual healing. There are large groups of spiritual healers throughout the world and followers come with a feverish desire for wellness, cures, dissociation from their real lives, and an overwhelming sense of self.

Nutritional Therapy

• The prostate is man's primary area for cancer formation, and nutrition plays a vital role. Much like the old saying, "You Are What You Eat," choosing what we choose to eat can help or harm the prostate. According to Laurance Johnston, Ph.D., a former regulatory scientist for the FDA, the prostate is a nutritional disease. Herbal remedies are widely used and accepted in Europe to treat prostate disorders. In most western countries, it is believed that animal-derived foods such as eggs, red meat, milk and other dairy products accumulate environmental toxins that can affect the prostate. On the other hand, men who consume guavas, watermelon and pink grapefruit are reportedly less likely to get prostate cancer or other prostate ailments.

A Final Word

• There are many treatments available from spiritual to pharmaceutical, and many others in between. Take a good, hard look around and surely there will be something out there that is right for you.