Saw palmetto, pygeum africanum, stinging nettle and beta-sitosterol are all effective in dealing with an enlarged prostate and its attendant problems. The ayurvedic ProstaCare formula has been clinically tested and found to be very effective in dealing with both the static and dynamic components of BPH.

Most cases (90%) of prostatitis are non-bacterial in orgin so antibiotics are of limited use. However, I have found Zyflamend, a turmeric-containing anti-inflammatory, to be very effective and extensive research has shown that quercetin, a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, is highly effective in dealing with category III prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Not surprisingly, a vast amount of research has gone into finding medications that will help prevent and treat prostate cancer. At this time, there are no pharmaceutical products that do a good job of this although aspirin and NO-ASA (nitrogen oxide containing aspirin) have shown some promise. Fortunately, there are numerous natural supplements that have been found effective either in clinical trials, epidemiological studies or in cell culture investigations.

Clinical trials have found lycopene effective in both the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. The best sources of lycopene are processed tomato products such as tomato paste and tomato sauce, but supplements based on Lyc-O-Mato are equally effective. About 15 mg/day is the recommended dosage for prevention while double that is suggested for treatment.

Several epidemiological studies have found fish oils to be effective in preventing both BPH and prostate cancer. A daily intake of about 500-1000 mg of EPA plus DHA is needed for maximum benefit.

British researchers have found that men who consume garlic at least twice a week have a 44% reduced risk of prostate cancer.

Chinese researchers have found green tea to be highly effective in preventing prostate cancer and Italian researchers concluded that the active component in green tea (EGCG) may serve as a natural inhibitor of prostate cancer progression.

Several studies have found that that low vitamin D levels are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.

There is strong evidence that a combination of vitamin E and selenium is highly effective in preventing prostate cancer. A large clinical trial (SELECT) involving over 32,000 men is currently underway to investigate this further. The daily dosage used in the trial is 400 IU of vitamin E and 200 micrograms of selenium. NOTE: Vitamin E should always be taken in combination with vitamin C (3x 500 mg/day) in order to avoid undesirable effects.

There is some evidence that zinc supplementation may be helpful in preventing both BPH and prostate cancer, but that amounts greater than about 40 mg/day may be detrimental in the long term. Zinc should always be taken together with copper in a 10:1 or 15:1 ratio.

At least two clinical studies have found red clover (Trinovin) effective in halting the progression of low-to moderate-grade prostate cancer tumours. The dosage used was 40 mg four times daily.

A recent clinical trial concluded that pomegranate juice is effective in slowing the progression of prostate cancer.

The antioxidant resveratrol is found in red wine and at least three studies have found that it inhibits the growth of prostate cancer cells.