5 ways to reduce your risk: benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)

Nearly 80 percent of men have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by the time they turn 80, but only about a third develop symptoms. Follow this advice, and you could be symptom-free too.

• If you're a man, your prostate gland will probably enlarge as you age. Since the prostate surrounds part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from your bladder to your penis, this growth could lead to annoying symptoms like having difficulty urinating or urinating too often.
• These five tips could help save your prostate as you age, and avoid all those annoying trips to the bathroom.

• When researchers compared the diets of 6,000 men with BPH to 18,000 men without it, they found those who got about 10 vegetable servings a day were 21 percent less likely to have BPH.
• Ten servings may sound like alot, but if you start with a veggie omelet for breakfast, snack on a dozen baby carrots with low-fat dip and order up a large spinach salad for lunch, you're halfway there.
• Your best bet, the study found, is vegetables high in vitamin C and the antioxidant lutein, such as peppers and spinach. Also pay special attention to onions as they are high in phytoestrogens, which you'll read about next.

• Both are sources of hormone-like plant compounds called phytoestrogens. These help guard against BPH by blocking an enzyme that converts testosterone into a different form—one that triggers prostate growth. Phytoestrogens also counteract the effects of estrogen (yes, men have estrogen, too), which also fuels prostate cell growth.
• Researchers think one reason men living in Western countries have higher rates of BPH than those living in Asian countries is that they eat lower amounts of phytoestrogen-rich foods.
• Flaxseeds: are easy to add to your diet. Buy it ground and keep it in the fridge. You can sprinkle it on practically anything, from cereal to yogurt to salad. You can also add it to meatballs and baked goods.
• Soy: For soy, you don't have to rely on tofu. Try snacking on soy nuts or soybeans in the pods, known as edamame (available frozen) and using soy milk in your cereal.

• A study involving 1,000 men who were followed for nine years found that those who burned the most calories each week through physical activity were half as likely to develop BPH as those who barely moved out of the recliner.
• Two hours a week of swimming laps burns about 1,260 calories—putting you in the 50 percent risk-reduction zone based on this study.
• Other good options include running for two hours or walking for four hours a week.

• Cutting out sugary snacks and simple carbohydrates like doughnuts, white bread and potato chips is a good way to lose weight and also guard against high blood sugar levels.
• Men who are very obese (defined as a body mass index of 35 or higher) are 3.5 times more likely to develop BPH than normal-weight men.
• Men with high blood sugar levels are three times more likely to develop BPH than men with normal levels.

• Finasteride (Proscar) and doxazosin (Cardura) are drugs used to treat BPH. Taking the two together can also prevent early-stage BPH from advancing to the point where it causes symptoms and requires treatment, according to a major study.
• The combination reduced the risk of BPH progression by two-thirds compared with a placebo, while finasteride alone reduced the likelihood of surgery or other invasive therapies for BPH by 64 percent.
• Combining dustasteride (Avodart) and tamsulosin (Flomax) can have similar effects.