Mailbag! END Your Pesky Prostate Problems
By
Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Posted June 8, 2021
I struggle with waking up to urinate multiple times each night because of my prostate. It’s really affecting my sleep. Could you recommend how to deal with this?
–Jim from Little Rock, Arkansas
Hi Jim,
I’m sorry to hear about your struggles with waking up at night and going to the bathroom.
It sounds like you may have a condition called nocturia. It’s something I’ve seen in a lot of my senior male patients.
You’ve mentioned what I think is the key problem with nocturia – interrupted sleep.
Sleep issues impact all parts of your body. It harms your immune system, heart health, long-term brain health (think dementia), and leads to weight gain.
And that’s why it’s so important to get nocturia under control.
The first thing to do is to train your bladder. Once you start urinating often, it sets up a cycle where you are hyper-aware that your bladder is filling (even when you are asleep). You know this might be the case if you frequent the bathroom at night but you don’t have a lot of urine.
Luckily, you can train your bladder by lengthening the time between your bathroom breaks.
Let’s say you urinate about every two hours during the day. Try pushing that out to two and a half hours, then three, then four…. you get the idea. It may sound silly, but it can really help.
Next, you want to look for anything in your diet that is a diuretic. Diuretics are foods that increase urination. This can include coffee, parsley, green or black tea, asparagus, beets, celery, cranberries, and some other herbs like caraway.
You’ll also want to check your medicine cabinet. Many drugs increase urination, including channel blockers, benzodiazepines, ACE inhibitors, antipsychotics, antidepressants, antihistamines, and anticonvulsants. Talk to your doctor to see if there are other medications you can take instead.
You’ll also want to make sure you’re eating plenty of veggies and good proteins. Tomatoes, which contain lycopene, are especially good for the prostate.
Avoid processed or sugary foods as much as you can. Limit drinking fluids later in the day (especially alcohol, caffeine and soda), as well as eating spicy foods, citrus fruits, or artificial sweeteners.
Next add in the following:
- Get plenty of zinc. Foods high in zinc include pumpkin seeds, beef, and spinach. Supplement to make sure you are getting enough.
- Medical mushrooms such as reishi, Coriolus versicolor, maitake, and others give your immune system the boost it needs to fight cancer.
- Herbs that support good prostate health include pygeum and stinging nettles.
- A fiber-like substance called beta-sitosterols are especially good for the prostate.
I think you’ll find that if you take a comprehensive approach, you’ll sleep much better.
P.S. Have a health concern that’s worrying you? Click to submit your questions and get featured in the weekly mailbag!
Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND
Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.
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