Men: Be Prostate Aware

According to recent studies almost 1 in every 7 men suffers from some kind of prostate issues.

What & Where is Prostate

It is a small gland & is supposed to be about the shape and size of a walnut. It rests below your bladder and in front of your rectum. It surrounds part of the the tube in your penis that carries pee from your bladder. The prostate helps make some of the fluid in semen, which carries sperm from your testicles when you ejaculate.

As one keeps ageing the size of the prostate keeps increasing it increases substantially at age of 50 and more so after the age of 85. As it grows it pushes on the urethral tube and creates a problem in the process of micturition.

How is your Prostate Health ???

1. You feel the bladder is not getting empty whenever you are urinating.

2. You feel a burning sensation while voiding urine.

3. Frequent urination especially in night

4. Have to make an effort to start a stream.

5. Blood in semen or urine

6. Trouble in ejaculating or painful ejaculation.

7. Consistent pain in lower back, hips or pelvis

Benign Prostate Hypertrophy (BPH), Prostate cancer or simply enlarged prostate can give you all these trouble. Make sure to check in with your doctor if you are having any of these symptoms. Also men above 50 should follow the below mentioned precautions.

Precautions to take

1. Maintain a healthy weight.

2. Include protein like soy in your diet

3. Avoid Red meat and include fish in your diet ; which has omega 3-6 fatty acid.

4. Green tea & especially tomato which contains lycopene is also very good for prostate health.

5. Breathe out whenever you are voiding urine

6. Do not hold urine for long periods of time.

7. Start doing Kegel's exercises -

How to Do Kegel- While urinating, try to stop the flow. This tightening is the basic move of a kegel. However, don't use this as your regular kegel exercise routine. Doing kegel’s while urinating can actually have the opposite effect, weakening the muscle. Do these exercises only on empty bladder

Given below is a basic protocol to be followed.

Initially - Tighten the pelvic floor muscles for count of six and relax for six seconds. Each contraction cycle should last 12 seconds or 5 contractions a minute. Repeat 25 times. Do these 3 times each day - total 75 contractions.

Week 2 - Tighten the pelvic floor muscles for 6 seconds every 12 seconds (5 per minute) for 10 minutes, 50 contractions. Do these 3 times each day - total 150 contractions.

Week 3 - Tighten the pelvic floor muscles for 6 seconds every 12 seconds (5 per minute) for 15 minutes, 75 contractions. Do these 3 times each day - total 225 contractions.

Weeks 4-24 - Tighten the pelvic floor muscles for 6 seconds every 12 seconds (5 per minute) for 20 minutes, 100 contractions. Do these 3 times each day - total 100 contractions.

After 24 weeks- Continue maintenance at 10 minutes three times a day or 15 minutes twice a day, total of 150 contractions a day.