Article 124: Dietary Considerations and Daily Prevention for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and an Overview of Prostate Cancer

◇A Guide to Caring for Your Husband's Health as a Good Wife◇

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Treatment and recuperation of common diseases

What should we pay attention to in our diet?

1. Avoid strong alcohol, spicy and fatty foods, coffee, citrus fruits and orange juice, and refined sugar and flour.

2. Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and soy products, eat more honey to keep your bowels regular, and eat moderate amounts of beef and eggs.

3. When consuming seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc., can be chosen and consumed daily in any quantity.

4. Cook mung beans, in any quantity, until they are soft and porridge-like. Let them cool and eat as desired. This is especially suitable for those with heat in the bladder and painful urination.

5. Do not reduce your water intake due to frequent urination. Drinking more water can dilute urine and prevent urinary tract infections and bladder stones. Cool boiled water is best, and avoid strong tea.

Prevention of benign prostatic hyperplasia

1. Regarding sexual activity, one should neither indulge in excessive sexual activity nor abstain from it; the appropriate approach depends on age and health condition. However, those with a history of urinary retention should exercise caution and ideally abstain from sexual activity altogether.

2. Avoid cycling as much as possible, as the bicycle seat can compress the prostate area above the urethra and worsen the condition.

3. Avoid holding your urine for extended periods, as this can damage the detrusor muscle and worsen your condition.

4. Maintain a cheerful mood, avoid worry and anger, and avoid overwork.

5. Treat urinary tract infections promptly and actively prevent urinary retention.

6. Moderate physical activity can help enhance the body's resistance and improve local blood circulation in the prostate.

7. Every night before going to bed, massage acupoints (Yongquan, Huiyin, Guanyuan, Zhongji, etc.) and repeatedly perform Kegel exercises.

How to prevent

1. Sexual activity should be moderate; avoid both excessive indulgence and abstinence: Frequent sexual activity can cause the prostate to remain in a state of congestion for extended periods, potentially leading to or worsening prostate enlargement. Therefore, it is especially important to moderate sexual activity during the sexually active years of youth to avoid repeated prostate congestion and allow the prostate sufficient time to recover and repair.

2. Maintain cleanliness: The male scrotum is highly elastic and secretes a lot of sweat. Combined with poor ventilation in the genital area, it easily traps dirt and grime, allowing bacteria to easily invade. This can lead to prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and decreased sexual function. If not addressed promptly, it can even be dangerous. Therefore, consistently cleaning the perineum is an important step in preventing prostatitis.

3. Prevent catching a cold: Autumn and winter weather is cold, so you should pay attention to keeping warm and preventing colds and upper respiratory tract infections; do not sit on cold stones for a long time, because cold can increase the excitation of the sympathetic nervous system, leading to increased pressure in the urethra and causing reflux.

4. Do not hold your urine: Holding your urine will cause the bladder to become overfilled, weaken the bladder detrusor muscle tone, make urination difficult, and easily induce acute urinary retention. Therefore, you must urinate whenever you feel the urge.

5. Avoid prolonged sitting: Prolonged sitting can worsen conditions such as hemorrhoids and easily cause congestion in the perineum, leading to difficulty urinating.

6. Drink enough water: Insufficient water intake can lead to dehydration, hinder the flushing effect of urination on the urinary tract, and easily cause urine concentration, which can lead to the formation of stones. Therefore, except for appropriately reducing water intake at night to avoid excessive bladder fullness after sleeping, you should drink more water during the day.

7. Use medications with caution: Some medications can worsen urinary difficulties, and high doses can cause acute urinary retention. These include atropine, belladonna tablets, ephedrine tablets, and isoproterenol. In recent years, calcium channel blockers and verapamil have been found to promote prolactin secretion and weaken the detrusor muscle, thus worsening urinary difficulties. Therefore, these medications should be used with caution or preferably avoided altogether.

8. Timely treatment: Prostatitis, cystitis, and urethral stones should be treated promptly and thoroughly.

9. Massage for Health: Self-massage can be performed before bedtime for health maintenance. The procedure is as follows: Lie on your back with your legs straight. Place your left hand on the Shenque acupoint (navel) and rotate it using your middle, index, and ring fingers. Simultaneously, use the three fingers of your right hand to rotate and massage the Huiyin acupoint. Repeat 100 times. Then switch hands and perform the same movements. The area around the navel contains acupoints such as Qihai, Guanyuan, and Zhongji, which are considered the location of the Dantian in Traditional Chinese Medicine. This massage is beneficial for bladder recovery. Slight massage after urination can promote bladder emptying and reduce residual urine. The Huiyin acupoint is considered a vital point, connecting the Ren and Du meridians. Massaging it accelerates blood circulation in the perineum, reducing inflammation, pain, and swelling.

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a malignant tumor that occurs in the prostate gland. It is one of the most common malignant tumors in men, and its incidence increases with age, being more common in the elderly. The incidence rate in my country is relatively low, but it is showing a trend of increasing year by year.

Causes of disease

1. This disease has a clear familial tendency, suggesting that it is related to genetic factors.

2. Removal of the testicles during puberty does not lead to prostate cancer. The use of androgens can accelerate tumor development, while estrogens can slow tumor growth, indicating that it is related to an imbalance of sex hormones.

3. Many patients with prostate cancer have a history of urinary tract infections, suggesting that chronic inflammation may also be a cause of the disease.

4. Among environmental factors, cadmium has an impact on the incidence of prostate cancer, which seems to be related to the fact that cadmium can easily replace zinc, while zinc is extremely important for lipid metabolism and function in prostate cancer.

In addition, a high-fat diet and obesity may also be contributing factors to prostate cancer.

Classification of prostate cancer

1. Latent prostate cancer: This refers to adenocarcinoma of the prostate gland that is discovered during autopsy and pathological examination in patients who did not present with symptoms or signs of prostate disease during their lifetime. Latent cancer can occur in any part of the prostate, but it is most common in the central and peripheral areas and is often well-differentiated. Statistical studies suggest that the development of latent prostate cancer may be related to environmental and genetic factors.

2. Incidental prostate cancer: Clinically, it presents primarily as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Histological examination of the excised prostate tissue reveals prostate cancer. Histologically, it presents as well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, mainly tubular and cribriform adenocarcinoma, with a minority being poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma.

3. Occult prostate cancer: Patients present with no symptoms or signs of prostate disease, but pathological examination of lymph node biopsy or bone marrow aspiration specimens confirms prostate cancer, which can be further confirmed by prostate biopsy. These patients have elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostate acid phosphatase (PAP) levels. Immunohistochemical staining of biopsy tissue for PSA and/or PAP is positive.

4. Clinical prostate cancer: Clinical examination (digital rectal examination, ultrasound, CT, or MRI, etc.) diagnoses prostate cancer, which can be confirmed by biopsy. Elevated serum PSA and PAP levels can also aid in diagnosis. In most patients, a prostate nodule can be felt during a digital rectal examination. Ultrasound examination reveals irregular prostate nodules with heterogeneous and hypoechoic echoes.