This condition is the most common prostate problem, making it the number one reason why men over 50 visit their doctor. Medically the condition is called either benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or benign prostate hypertrophy. The use of the term benign in the name means that it is a condition which is not cancerous. But that's the only good news about it.

BPH can be very distressing and painful. In some rare instances it can lead to a life-threatening situation.

The symptoms of prostate enlargement or BPH, are inconvenient, painful and often debilitating.

1.) A weak stream of urine - even though the urgency is there.
2.) Dribbling after the initial stream subsides.
3.) Frequent nocturnal urination (getting up two, three, or more time per night)
4.) Feeling of fullness in the bladder
5.) Total inability to urinate due to blockage of the urethra
6.) Inability to empty the bladder.
7.) Stopping and starting during urination
8.) Painful orgasm
9.) Impotence or diminished libido
10.) Fatigue

Left unchecked, these symptoms can worsen to the point of misery and result in frequent infections due to the inability to completely empty the bladder of waste matter.

As we mentioned earlier, BPH is one of the most common complaints of men from middle age forward. In the United States alone, 2 million men visit their doctors every year for this condition. These visits result in hundreds of thousands of prescriptions to be written for medications that not only have a fair amount of side effects, but have been shown to be only about 30 percent effective in the long-term management of the problem. Further, these doctor visits result in over 400,000 prostate surgeries annually. It is estimated that conventional medical treatments of BPH exceeds $2 billion annually.

Respond to each statement with either a yes or no answer. We will only be concerned with the yes responses.

1.) Urination has become more difficult than it used to be.
2.) Many times I have to 'push' to start the flow of urine.
3.) I awake two or more times each night to urinate.
4.) When urinating, the stream stops and starts again several times.
5.) I have a feeling that after urination, my bladder is not fully empty.
6.) It is harder to wait, when I have to relieve myself, than it used to be.
7.) My urinary stream is weaker and less forceful than before.

If you answered yes to just one question on this test, you should pay close attention to signs of additional complications. If you answered yes to two or more statements you likely have early BPH. This is not a cause for concern. Most all these are early warning signs and you are still in an excellent position of managing and even reversing this problem through the use of completely natural methods.

As soon as the apparent cause of BPH had been identified, the drug companies wasted little time in coming up with a chemical which could be sold to the many millions of men suffering with this problem. It seemed simple, just find a drug that inhibits the formation of 5-alpha-reductase, and everybody will be happy - and rich!

in 1992 Mercy & Company released a chemical drug called finasteride. It is sold to you as Proscar®. Early clinical trials with the drug seemed to be promising. Proscar® caused considerable decreases in BPH symptoms. What was not celebrated or even talked about in the interviews and press releases were the terrible side effects of Proscar®. Merck never mentioned the tremendously high incidence of impotence and decreased libido as well as numerous ejaculatory disorders in men taking the drug.

To further the sales of their new 'wonder' drug, Merck issued statements to the effect that their new 'pill' could reverse male pattern baldness. Now at last vanity had entered the picture and every guy from age 35 forward was willing to stand in line for the stuff.

Today Proscar® is being taken by over 650,000 men in 25 countries at a cost of $80.00 per month. This means that these desperate men are increasing the revenues of Merck's bank accounts by more than a half billion dollars every year.

Taking a closer look at the side effects and warnings for Proscar® is discomforting at best. It warns that women who are pregnant with a male child could seriously risk the child's health by even touching tablets of Proscar®. These women are also advised, for the same reason, against having intercourse without a condom if the man is taking Proscar®.

The other commonly used drug used for BPH is called terzosin hydrochloride and is made and sold by Abbott Labs under the trade name Hytrin®. This medication was originally used for hypertension. Side effects for this drug are also very annoying. They include erectile dysfunction, fatigue, dizziness, heart palpitations, sinus congestion, and in some cases, severe low blood pressure.

To make matters worse, neither of these drugs do one single thing to help your body reverse BPH. They may help alleviate some of the annoying symptoms, but the cause of the disease remains and the progression continues unabated.

When drugs fail to curtail either the symptoms or progression of BPH, the physician turns to his or her next line of defense, which is surgery.

Between 1984 and 1990 prostate surgery boomed. Today, urologists generate over $5 billion dollars annually by performing over 400,000 prostate operations. It is estimated that there are over 130,000 urologist in the United States that derive 50 percent of their business from the prostate operation alone!

Fortunately there are a number of safe and highly effective supplement available, which in clinical studies and practical applications, have been proven to be far more effective than drug therapy and far safer than surgical intervention.

The toughest part of this whole concept for me to understand is the waste of money, time and compromised health for tens of thousands of men when a safe, natural method of prostate management exists. This program has been clinically and empirically tested over and over again. The results continually show that not only is the natural program safer, but it is at least 50 percent more effective than drug therapy.

You can probably see by now why the big drug companies don't want you to have this information. Yet choice is of utmost importance, especially when you are making choices about your health. These choices, right or wrong, can affect the quality and even the quantity of your life ahead. You have the right to be informed.

In the protocol for BPH, we find benefit from vitamins, minerals, and especially selected herbs. Let's talk about some of the major players in the natural fight against BPH. Then we'll give you the complete protocol.

Herbology is mankind's oldest form of medicine. In our desperate search for answers to many devastating diseases, we are once again returning to nature, seeking plant derived chemicals for the management of sickness. I often wonder what the state of human health might be today is we had not strayed so far away from nature and a natural way of life.

The first herb that must be considered in any prostate program is known as Serenoa repens. You may be familiar with it as saw palmetto.

We actually use the berry produced by this plant for the magical effects it has upon prostate health. If you remember our discussion of the role hormones play in the evolving process of BPH, then you know that testosterone alone is not a bad thing, but when it is converted to dihydrotestosterone we have a problem. Concentrations of extracts from the Serenona repens berry actually block the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone! The herb is not only all natural but it is safe and inexpensive as well. The pharmaceutical industry produces chemicals to try and clock the production of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, causing terrible side effects; nature has given us a natural method of accomplishing the exact same thing with absolutely no side effects whatsoever!

How long has this plant been used for health? Longer than the drug companies have even been in existence! American Indians routinely used the berries from the saw palmetto plant to help with genitourinary tract problems.

Saw palmetto has been used by herbalists, both ancient and modern, for its natural aphrodisiac properties.

In recent years, at least 16 scientific double-blind placebo controlled studies have been conducted on the extract of this ancient plant. Every single study has shown that it improves urination, urine flow, reduces pain, and reduces prostate size.

Despite this overwhelming body of clinical evidence, the Food and Drug Administration concluded that the results were insignificant. Why did they take this position? To answer that, at least in part, we must consider the position taken by drug industry leaders regarding safe, inexpensive, natural substances. Not surprisingly, with billions to loose, the drug companies conducted their own studies with the obvious conclusion that the natural plant extracts were nowhere near as effective as their pharmaceuticals.

Serenoa repens has been in use in many countries of Europe for at least 15 years. Yet despite this lengthy track record of results and satisfaction, drug companies still suppress this information in the United States. According to clinical studies conducted by Merck themselves, less than 50 percent of the men taking the drug Proscar® evaluated it as effective. By the same token, similar evaluation studies conducted with Serenoa repens indicated that 90 percent of the men taking it were completely satisfied with the results!

Nature comes to the prostate rescue once again in the form of another plant called Pygeum africanum. A native of Africa, it too has been used for decades in many places around the world to successfully treat and reverse BPH.

One clinical study involving Pygeum africanum showed that 80 percent of the participants reported significant improvement in their symptoms after just 30 days into the study.

In the United States many physicians have been reluctant to become overly excited about these herbs because the drug companies are spending so much time and money to ensure that they think otherwise.

On the one hand, progress is being made because many nutritional companies are now formulating products containing one or both of these excellent herbs. Unfortunately, in our haste to bring these products to market, many companies have overlooked some of the other important co-factors which not only help the herbs to work better but also contribute healing and preventive properties of their own.

The amino acids Glycine, Leanne, and Glutamic acid have shown to help relieve prostate symptoms such as getting up at night, frequency and urgency of urination, and impaired urine flow. In one clinical study, men using these three amino acids alone, with no other treatment, observed that they had an 80 percent reduction in night time awakenings and over 70 percent of them reported a reduction in the urgency to urinate.

These amino acids have never been shown to help reverse or cure BPH. That's why you need to take them with the herbs we have already discussed. Their importance and contribution, however, lies in the rapid alleviation of annoying symptoms which is why we recommend them.

Although we earlier introduced you to several specific nutrients paramount to the treatment of BPH, they are worth reviewing. The vitamins B-6, C, and E are crucial for several reasons. Vitamins C and E are powerful antioxidants, important in the prevention and mitigation of most chronic disease conditions. Vitamin B-6, the universal catalyst or carrier, helps all other nutrients to work better. Additionally, Vitamin B-6 has a direct effect upon prolactin levels, reducing them safely and naturally. A reduction of prolactin prevents the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.

Lastly, we have a single mineral, but a very important mineral. Zinc has long been associated with male sexual health. This is because zinc is an integral part of hormone structures and a major constituent of seminal fluid and is involved in the production of sperm. When boys hit puberty, their hormone levels rise, oftentimes rapidly. This causes a depletion of zinc in the body, which can lead to a depressed immune system and such annoying side effects as acne.

As we age, a zinc deficiency can lead to impotence and prostate enlargement because the prostate tissue requires zinc to maintain its health and integrity. Further, adequate zinc also prevents the formation of dihyrotestosterone, making it a multi-purpose mineral for total prostate health.

If you have begun to notice some of the symptoms of BPH, you should being the following protocol at once. If you currently have BPH, you may use the same protocol but in higher potencies, at least for the first few months.

Following are our recommendations for the management of BPH.

1.) Serenoa repens extract should be taken daily in doses of about 150 mg for prevention, and 200 mg to 300 mg for treatment of BPH.

2.) Full Spectrum Nutrition providing 100 plus nutrients in a balanced formulation which considers potency and ratio.

3.) Essential Fatty Acids, especially the Omega 3 and Omega 6 groupings, are very important to good prostate health. Take three capsules of these oils daily.

4.) Zinc is the single most important mineral for the prostate. I recommend zinc gluconate. A good dose would be about 30 mg per day.

5.) Amino acids, Glycine, Alanine, and Glutamic acid should be taken daily in dosages of 200 mg each. If you already have BPH, you might want to double that among for the first four to six weeks.

6.) Pygeum africanum should be taken at the rate of 100 mg per day. If you already have moderate to severe BPH, consider 200 mg per day for the first four to six weeks.

7.) Vitamin B-6, over and above the amount found in your Full Spectrum supplement, should be taken daily. We have found that an extra 50-mg, works very well.

8.) Vitamins A, E, and C should also be taken in extra amounts because of their antioxidant properties.

9.) Pumpkin Seed and Stinging Nettle Leaf should also be included at 150 mg or much of each.

Note: While this program has been clinically tested at the Institute and has been used with great success for many years, if you have BPH, you should be working in conjunction with your health care provider to establish a program that is right for you.