Participants: Agatha Thrash (Host), Don Miller
Series Code: HYTH
Program Code: HYTH000198
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00:01 We concentrate so much on women's disorders because
00:04 women tend to go to doctors more than men; 00:07 but actually, men have some very common and some very serious 00:11 problems as well. 00:13 So in this program, we'll be talking about 00:15 men's health issues... so we hope you will join us! 00:37 Welcome to "Help Yourself to Health" 00:39 with Dr. Agatha Thrash of Uchee Pines Institute 00:43 And now, here's your host, Dr. Thrash 00:46 Some of men's health issues are of a serious nature. 00:52 I'd like to start out talking about one of those 00:55 and that's the subject of prostatitis. 00:58 Prostatitis can be of 2 kinds; 01:01 it can be acute, or it can be chronic. 01:04 The acute form can be really quite serious... 01:08 so that it can cause high fevers and chills, loss of appetite, 01:14 backaches, perineal pain, the floor of the pelvis 01:19 can be really quite severe... 01:22 And such a man may be actually prostrate, just so weak 01:27 and so sick that he can't get out of bed. 01:30 There are a number of things that can be done for him, 01:32 and he needs to work diligently on applying these 01:37 because if he's careful in applying them, 01:40 it will be less likely that he will get a chronic prostatitis. 01:44 Some men describe the hot, tender, very painful 01:52 prostate with acute prostatitis as being 01:55 a hot stone in the rectum, 01:58 and that certainly could be a way to describe it. 02:03 Now since there are a number of germs that can be involved 02:08 in acute prostatitis, we almost always get something like 02:12 the colon bacteria that are so common in the colon. 02:17 We almost always get those. 02:20 Sometimes we need to massage the prostate in order to get 02:24 secretions to culture... 02:25 But most of the time, if we just wait a day or so 02:28 we can get from the urine, the same bacteria, 02:33 even sometimes from the very beginning, 02:35 we can get the pathogenic bacterium that's causing 02:39 the problem with the prostate from the urine... 02:43 which means that we don't have to massage the prostate 02:46 which, by massaging, can release germs into the 02:50 bloodstream which could cause the germs 02:54 to go all over the body. 02:55 Of course, we're always concerned in people who have 02:58 some kind of heart problem, that if the germs 03:01 go all over the body, then the individual has the possibility 03:06 although it's not very great, but it is a possibility, 03:10 that they will grow on the abnormal place in the heart. 03:15 Now, with prostatitis, there are certain antimicrobials 03:20 that are of a herbal nature that I'd like to tell you about 03:24 Of course, everybody is familiar with goldenseal, and Echinacea 03:29 as herbal antimicrobial agents, and I can recommend these 03:34 for people who have acute prostatitis. 03:39 Garlic is another antimicrobial, along with elderberry. 03:43 Myrrh is a very good antimicrobial. 03:48 Calendula is very good for the prostate. 03:52 And, one that I like very much is also grapefruit seed extract. 03:57 It's a very good antimicrobial substance that can be 04:02 used in acute prostatitis. 04:05 Now if one is very careful to treat oneself during the 04:09 acute phase, then there is a much less likelihood 04:13 that it will go on to the chronic phase of prostatitis. 04:17 The chronic phase gives a little pain, 04:20 sometimes a little pus in the urine, 04:23 sometimes a little sense of fullness in the pelvic area, 04:29 and often, it just sort of subdues the man's sense of 04:34 well-being somewhat. 04:35 So we want to avoid that if it's at all possible. 04:38 Now along with prostatitis, there is another topic that 04:45 men often suffer from, and I have asked Dr. Don Miller 04:49 to talk with you about that one, and that is the subject of 04:52 impotence in men. 04:54 It's getting to be a more common problem, 04:57 and I think that some of the issues that are involved 04:59 would be well to discuss at this time... Dr. Miller 05:02 Okay... You know, I get my VFW magazine, 05:07 and in every issue, there will be a whole large page 05:11 advertisement for this particular problem 05:13 They usually either cause it impotence, 05:15 or erectile dysfunction. 05:18 And this is a major problem usually having to do with 05:21 a man when he gets a little bit older. 05:24 And, I would say, probably it's not so much a 05:27 problem of itself, although it is a problem, 05:29 but it's more of a symptom of another problem... 05:32 And there are some rather simple things you can try 05:36 to take care of this problem. 05:38 Basically, the thing is going to be a circulation problem 05:43 For some reason, the circulation of the blood down in that 05:46 part of the body has been somehow impaired, 05:50 and when you have the impairment of the blood flow, 05:52 you have impotence. 05:54 There are various things that keep us from having good 05:56 circulation, and some of them we've done other programs on 06:00 ...something like diabetes. 06:02 A person who is diabetic is far more likely to be impotent 06:05 than the person who is not diabetic. 06:07 And so what should you do? 06:09 You should do the things in your life that will keep you 06:11 from being diabetic... 06:13 Eating the right foods, getting the exercise... 06:17 But also, another thing that keeps us from having good 06:20 blood flow in any part of the body... 06:22 We're not just talking about impotence here, 06:23 we're talking about the whole body! 06:25 Let me go back to one of the foundational health principles 06:29 I always... whenever I teach health principles, 06:32 I teach 2 foundational principles... 06:34 #1 is the life is in the blood, but the second one is... 06:38 Perfect health requires perfect circulation. 06:41 Anything that impairs circulation is going to cause 06:44 us not to be as healthy as we could be... 06:46 which is the problem with impotence. 06:47 So, drinking more water... a person who is impotent 06:52 maybe the fact that they just don't drink water enough... 06:54 their blood is too viscous 06:56 and, therefore, they're not getting the good blood flow 06:58 in that part of the body. 07:00 Another thing can be... tobacco 07:02 We realize that tobacco damages peripheral blood circulation. 07:07 You'll see many people who are really hooked on the tobacco 07:10 and if they go there long enough, they start to have 07:13 amputations because they started losing the 07:15 circulation in their periphery. 07:17 ALCOHOL certainly can be a potent cause of impotence 07:21 ...that's a funny way of putting it... 07:22 "a potent cause of impotence" 07:24 So, we need to stay away from the alcohol. 07:26 As a matter of fact, anything stimulating along those lines 07:29 are bad for the prostate, bad for the impotence. 07:33 Another thing you need to do is make sure that 07:36 you stay away from over-stimulation. 07:39 A person sometimes is impotent because they have, 07:42 for SO long stayed so over-stimulated 07:45 in the sexual areas. 07:47 Basically, you're talking about people who are into 07:50 let's say pornography, in any of its forms 07:54 A person so wears out their apparatus, that it just 07:58 doesn't work anymore. 07:59 It's best to sit there, and make sure you have a pure mind. 08:03 I would recommend to a person who is impotent... 08:06 and I've ran into these people in India 08:08 I want them to stay completely away from anything stimulating 08:12 for at least a month. 08:13 Stay away from their wives... 08:14 Stay away from anything that might stimulate them 08:16 Keep their minds in a higher level, 08:18 and perhaps sometimes through this time-out, 08:22 your body can recover enough. 08:23 But then I also recommend the other things 08:25 ...keep the blood flowing well. 08:28 You can do things called hot and cold sitz baths 08:31 Basically, sitting in a contrast bath. 08:34 You sit in hot water for 3 minutes, 08:36 go into cold water for 30 seconds, back to hot water 08:39 for 3 minutes, 30 seconds into cold. 08:41 This vasoconstriction vasodilatation can help to 08:45 increase blood flow. 08:47 We have them do that for things 08:48 like arthritis to the hand, and other things. 08:50 It can work the same way in the pelvic area. 08:52 It's also good for the prostate while you're at it. 08:54 So doing the hot and cold sitz baths 08:57 would be very beneficial for the person having this problem. 09:01 There are certain herbs that a person could take 09:03 And, almost anything to do with the prostate, 09:05 saw palmetto berries is extremely good. 09:08 So I would recommend a person try saw palmetto berries, 09:11 because sometimes impotence... some people consider that 09:15 also along the lines of male infertility... 09:18 saw palmetto berries will help that. 09:21 Ginger will help that. 09:22 Dr. Thrash has mentioned ginger for the woman. 09:24 Ginger for the man could also be quite beneficial. 09:29 And then, I've read recently that people who are into 09:35 REALLY into bicycling, I mean getting on to the little 09:38 banana seats, and doing long term bicycling 09:41 they can become impotent because of the damage being done 09:44 to the vascular system leading into the area 09:49 that's under question here. 09:51 Also, any type of injury to that area. 09:53 You find many young people today out there playing 09:56 the soccer... They get kicked in the wrong places 09:58 THAT itself can lead to impotence in the future 10:01 because of damage to the vascular area. 10:04 So we need to protect EVERY part of our body, 10:07 and if you're concerned about impotence, protect that part 10:10 of your body. 10:11 Stay away from those little narrow seats. 10:14 Don't sit on hard surfaces. 10:15 You need good blood flow at all times 10:17 REMEMBER, perfect health requires perfect circulation 10:21 ...And that goes for your prostate, 10:22 that goes for EVERYTHING that you have, your eyes, 10:25 EVERYTHING needs to have good circulation. 10:26 I think as we keep the circulation going, Dr. Thrash, 10:29 we'll be a lot better off. Yes! 10:30 Now circulation is so important that it involves not only 10:35 the impotence thing, but it also involves infertility. 10:39 So if a man has impotence, it's probable that he will also 10:45 have infertility. 10:46 Now, infertility is fairly easy to study in a man, 10:51 not so with a woman. 10:53 It's much more difficult with women to study infertility, 10:56 but with men, usually a sample of the semen is 11:01 all that's needed and the answer is evident pretty shortly. 11:08 But there are some things about impotence that may be 11:11 correctible even surgically that a man should know about 11:15 and those are varicoceles, little tumors of the testes, 11:19 wearing tight pants, wearing tight shorts 11:24 ...taking hot baths as a regular thing. 11:28 A single hot bath can, after a few days, actually enhance 11:33 the production of spermatozoa, 11:36 but if these are regular, every day, every day, every day, 11:40 hot baths for 1/2 an hour to an hour, 11:43 then that can reduce the production of spermatozoa 11:47 and can make it so that the man is more or less impotent. 11:52 Then such things as smoking, and drinking... 11:55 they have their influence not only on impotence, 11:57 but also on infertility. 12:00 The influence of drugs is quite enormous; 12:03 that's even over-the-counter types of drugs. 12:05 These things can make so much of an influence on the man's 12:11 health, or on his fertility, that the couple can be infertile 12:17 Now a couple of things that don't directly deal with 12:21 infertility, but should be considered... 12:23 One is that it's child abuse to continue any kind of 12:30 indulgence that makes a problem in the prenatal area 12:35 for the child... such things as smoking. 12:38 A woman, and a man as well, because smoking in a man 12:42 can also involve the unborn child in an atmosphere 12:47 that makes it so that the child is less likely to be able to 12:50 develop a good blood vessel system. 12:53 And so, the man, as well as the woman, should not be 12:57 smoking during the pregnancy time, or ideally, for some time 13:01 PRIOR to the onset of the pregnancy. 13:06 And, the lifestyle does have a great influence on the 13:10 unborn child and should be carefully studied. 13:14 Probably the commonest affliction of older men 13:17 is that of benign prostatic hypertrophy. 13:20 This condition is not universal but nearly so, 13:25 as a man gets older... 13:27 And so, Dr. Miller is going to talk with you about some things 13:30 having to do with benign prostatic hypertrophy. 13:34 You know, sometimes when we study how not to get a disease 13:37 we like to study populations that don't have that disease. 13:40 If you want not to get osteoporosis, 13:44 find a population that does not get osteoporosis, 13:46 find out how they live... you won't get osteoporosis, 13:49 or at least-wise, you greatly lessen your opportunities 13:52 and your chances of getting osteoporosis. 13:54 So I read an interesting study not long ago about a 13:58 certain class that do not get prostate problems, 14:01 especially this one that Dr. Thrash has just mentioned 14:04 and that is "wild dogs" 14:07 Wild dogs are found not to have this enlargement 14:11 of the prostate. 14:13 But domestic dogs almost all have the enlargement 14:18 of the prostate... What's the difference? 14:20 Well, I've been down in Africa, and I've seen the wild 14:23 dogs, the real wild dogs. 14:25 And basically when a wild dog gets the urge, 14:28 the wild dog takes care of the urge. 14:30 But a domestic dog, locked up in that house all day long, 14:34 he feels the urge... saying, "I've really got to go to the 14:37 bathroom," but he remembers when he was 3 months old 14:41 having his nose pushed down into the carpet where he piddled 14:47 and being beat by a newspaper, and told... 14:49 "You've got to do it over here" 14:51 And that dog will hold itself the entire day long. 14:54 I remember I used to come home when I was a child, 14:57 and take our dog for a walk, and wondering why 14:59 that dog would go to the bathroom 27 times from 15:02 our house to the corner and back. 15:03 It's because that dog was retaining it's urine, 15:06 and the retention of the urine has been placed with 15:10 the problem with benign prostate hyperplasia, 15:13 or hypertrophy... however you want to put it. 15:16 And so, we need to make sure that when we get the urge 15:18 we go to the bathroom right then. 15:21 But we're in a society right now that we hold it, and we hold it, 15:24 and hold it, and it's the holding of it that's going 15:26 to cause lots of different types of problems. 15:33 Well, let's talk about what's causing this problem... 15:35 it's over-engorgement of the prostate on a regular basis. 15:39 Again this gets back to the point of over-stimulation 15:43 A person who continually keeps himself sexually aroused 15:48 will have an engorgement because basically, the prostate 15:51 is a part of the reproductive system. 15:54 It provides some of the fluids, that propels the semen, 15:58 and so it becomes engorged every time a man gets aroused. 16:03 It's sort of like a balloon... 16:04 You know, when you take a balloon, and you blow it up 16:08 for the first time, it's pretty tough to blow up 16:10 but every time you blow it, it gets a little bit easier. 16:13 And, it gets a little bit distended, 16:15 it sort of stays larger as you're doing this. 16:17 The same thing with the prostate. 16:20 The prostate is about the size of a walnut, 16:22 and basically, it's an organ that has a hole 16:27 through the middle through which the urethra comes. 16:29 And, when you start to get this engorgement, it swells. 16:34 Now when it swells, much like the appendix, 16:37 it swells out, and it swells in, and it pinches down, 16:41 and that's why many people who have this problem 16:43 have the process, or the problem of urgency... 16:47 They feel like they've got to go to the bathroom, 16:49 but they're not able to produce much urine. 16:51 They've got frequency because they're not voiding all the way 16:54 their bladder is staying full. 16:55 They have many, many trips to the bathroom, 16:58 but only void a small amount... 17:00 So the frequency and the urgency are signs that you've got 17:03 prostate problems. 17:04 So what can you do about this? 17:06 #1... Don't become over-stimulated all the time. 17:09 Stay away from those things that stimulate you, or arouse you. 17:12 ...they're very bad. 17:14 As a matter of fact, even taking stimulating foods, 17:16 spices, alcohol, taking tobacco, 17:20 ALL will affect that prostate gland. 17:22 It's in a very innocuous place, BUT it's down there where 17:25 it's going to get into some problems with your lifestyle. 17:28 You can also make sure that your blood flow is good... 17:32 keeping the blood less viscous by drinking plenty of water. 17:36 But there are some good things you can do to take care of it. 17:39 I've already mentioned... saw palmetto is probably 17:41 one of the best things you can do for the prostate. 17:45 Eating red and orange fruits and vegetables... extremely good 17:49 prostate food. 17:50 Zinc is a food that the prostate needs a lot of. 17:54 So where do you get the zinc? 17:55 Well, you can buy the little pills, but you can also 17:58 take things like popcorn, and you can take things like 18:01 pumpkin seeds both of which are very good forms of zinc. 18:04 And, there are other herbs that you can take, 18:08 and you can look up in a herb book, and try to find 18:11 some of these whatever herbs are available in your area. 18:13 Herbs that will help you diurese a little bit more 18:16 would also be good for the prostate. 18:18 And, trying to eliminate the congestion in the prostate area 18:22 I would recommend again the hot sitz baths... 18:24 sitting in the hot water, and in the cold water... 18:27 this fluxion of the water in and out. 18:29 Now, I've had patients before that needed, basically 18:32 on a daily basis, while they were under my care, 18:36 a prostate massage. 18:37 Basically, inserting a digit into the anus, 18:42 and then into the rectum, and massaging that prostate 18:46 to try to expel some of the fluid in there, 18:48 and we find that sometimes this is effective in lessening 18:52 the size of the prostate and letting it go down to where it's 18:57 not going to be such a problem with the rest of the body. 19:00 So those are some simple things you can do for the prostate. 19:02 Very simple, very nice things and recently, 19:06 there have been these probes that can be inserted into the 19:10 rectum that deliver heat, and that can help to soothe 19:15 the prostate and sometimes in acute prostatitis, 19:19 in chronic prostatitis, in benign prostatic hypertrophy, 19:23 and in cancer of the prostate, all of these conditions 19:27 will sometimes respond to the heated probe that 19:32 is now available on the market. 19:34 I'd like to talk to you a little bit about cancer of the 19:37 prostate in men. 19:38 This is a fairly common disorder in men, 19:43 and a moderately serious problem. 19:46 There are 2 general types of prostatic cancer... 19:50 One is a fast-growing type, and the other is a 19:53 very slow-growing type. 19:55 Generally, men in the Orient, in Asia, 20:00 they tend to have the slow-growing kind; 20:04 whereas, in the Western world, men generally tend to have 20:10 more the fast-growing type, or the faster-growing 20:14 than that in Asia. 20:16 An Asian man may get cancer of the prostate, 20:19 and may die of something else after 15 or 20 years of knowing 20:23 that he has cancer of the prostate. 20:25 So it grows very slowly... is what we might call 20:29 almost innocuous. 20:30 It CAN pickup speed, and eventually kill the man, 20:34 but most of the time in Asia, the disease is not 20:40 as rapid-growing as it is in the Western world. 20:43 Past the age of 65, the commonest cancer in man 20:48 is prostate cancer. 20:50 Now with proper treatment, most men can expect 20:53 ...or at least 65% of men, can expect that they can survive 20:58 10 years or more. 20:59 They may still have cancer of the prostate, 21:02 but it has been so slow-growing, and the treatment has been 21:08 the kind that can help a good bit with the prostate cancer. 21:12 If a man gets prostate cancer, he should study the kinds of 21:17 treatments that are available. 21:18 There are many different kinds, all the way from 21:21 natural treatments, to VERY high-tech types of treatment 21:25 for cancer of the prostate. 21:27 With most of these, or many of these, 21:30 he can expect a good 10-year survival rate 21:33 without serious problems with the cancer. 21:39 Now, an interesting feature about cancer of the prostate 21:42 is that it can metastasize quite widely throughout 21:46 a lot of the bones, the liver, and other areas, 21:50 and still not cause a lot of symptoms. 21:53 That's an interesting feature about cancer of the prostate. 21:57 The first cancer of the prostate that I ever saw, 21:59 when I was in medical school, was just such a cancer. 22:03 The man had metastases everywhere by the time he died. 22:07 And, he died at quite an OLD age. 22:10 As I recall, he was well into his 80s, and still had good 22:17 function and very few symptoms. 22:19 Now, what are the causes of cancer of the prostate? 22:22 Generally speaking, experts in this area will say that 22:26 we don't know what causes cancer of the prostate. 22:29 But inactivity is one of those things that we can feel pretty 22:33 certain is a problem with cancer of the prostate... 22:38 And some people feel that the massaging action of the 22:41 muscles of the pelvic floor, and the muscles of the 22:45 buttocks, may be a part of that that keeps the prostate 22:49 in very good health. 22:51 We know, also, that a high fat diet, a diet high in animal 22:56 products... these are also likely to be a part of 23:00 what we can consider could be a part of the cause 23:05 of prostate cancer. 23:06 Now from a natural standpoint, there are a number of things 23:09 that will enhance the treatment of cancer of the prostate, 23:13 and many of these are what can be called "hormone modulators" 23:18 There are a number of herbal-types of hormone 23:22 modulators, and the best known of these for men is 23:26 saw palmetto berry. 23:29 This herb has a very good ability to inhibit the 23:38 functioning of 5-alpha-reductase which, of course, then gives it 23:43 some inhibition of the growth of prostate cancer. 23:47 Now, there are also some antineoplastic herbs 23:54 and one of those is soy. 23:58 I'm very interested in the new research that's going on 24:02 in many university centers about soy. 24:06 And, one of things that we know about soy is that it has 24:11 antineoplastic properties. 24:14 We know that breast cancer is definitely inhibited by the 24:19 various constituents of soy. 24:22 Some of these constituents, the most common is 24:25 isoflavone, but then in addition to isoflavones, 24:30 there are some others like protease inhibitors, 24:33 and saponins, and inositol phosphohexate... 24:38 all of these are constituents of soybeans that make them 24:42 very beneficial as an antineoplastic agent. 24:47 Now, in addition to the soy, there are other antineoplastic 24:53 or anticancer types of foods, such as flaxseed. 24:59 Now the isoflavones are largely responsible in soy, 25:02 but the lignans are responsible in flaxseed 25:07 for the antimalignancy, or antineoplastic factors, 25:12 and they are phytoestrogens, just like the isoflavones, 25:17 but they work in a slightly different way. 25:20 So, if one mixes both flaxseed and soybeans, and it is soyBEANS 25:25 I prefer the soybeans to any kind of product made 25:28 from soybeans when we were treating cancer, 25:31 or treating any other kind of serious problem. 25:34 So I'd use the flaxseed freshly ground... 25:37 Don't grind a quart of flaxseed and put that in the refrigerator 25:42 even in a dark jar... 25:43 Just wait until the very time that you're ready to eat them 25:46 and then grind the flaxseed. 25:49 With flaxseed, the androgen levels fall. 25:52 Now androgens are male sex hormones, 25:55 and we know for certain that male sex hormones are 25:59 involved in the production of benign prostatic hypertrophy 26:03 and prostate cancer. 26:06 There are a number of other hormone modulators 26:10 in the herbal world, and I'd just like to 26:13 read you a list of some of these... 26:17 Licorice is one of those. 26:19 The glycyrrhiza compounds in licorice root 26:24 makes it so that it's a very good antineoplastic, 26:28 and hormone modulator which can be beneficial in 26:32 cancer of the prostate. 26:34 Skullcap, Asian and American ginseng, both of them 26:38 are very helpful. 26:40 Chaste tree, which we usually think of in dealing with women's 26:44 problems, but chaste tree is also EXTREMELY good 26:47 for men with prostate cancer. 26:50 ...Partridgeberry, false unicorn and vitamin D. 26:56 Vitamin D is almost always low in men who have 27:01 cancer of the prostate. 27:03 So, take a good dose of vitamin D as a supplement 27:07 and that can be helpful in cancer of the prostate. 27:10 Now, anything that will boost the immune system in a man 27:14 with cancer of the prostate is quite helpful. 27:17 Exercise, hydrotherapy... that means hot baths, 27:22 or this probe that I was mentioning, can be helpful. 27:26 And, of course, Echinacea is very good. 27:30 Eupatorium, Venus flytrap, comfrey, and we don't recommend 27:34 taking comfrey more than 3 months at one stretch 27:38 because of the possibility, I'm not sure that it's a probability 27:42 but the possibility of some kind of liver damage. 27:45 And then astragalus, ashwagandha, zinc and selenium. 27:52 Now, I hope with this very brief discussion, 27:55 that you have received some information that will help you 27:58 with prostate cancer 27:59 and all other men's problems. |
Revised 2014-12-17