Are over the counter drugs for prostate problems really a good idea?

A £5 million marketing campaign, the brainchild of a pharmaceutical company trying to sell their drug, means that instead of having to visit a GP, who may decide that symptoms warrant further investigation for conditions such as prostate cancer, someone suffering from symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia will be able to visit a pharmacy. This reclassification means that Britain is the first country in the world to allow Tamsulosin to be sold over-the-counter.

Tamsulosin, the active ingredient in Flomax MR, has been used successfully for many years as a first-line treatment to alleviate the symptoms of a very common condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia, which affects around one in four men over the age of 40, and occurs when an enlarged prostate presses on the bladder, obstructing urine flow.

The drug works by relaxing the muscles in the bladder and around the prostate so that the urine can flow more freely.

This reclassification of Tamsulosin is just one in a string of drugs which were formerly only available with a doctor’s prescription. Simvastatin, Naproxen, Sumatriptan, Tranexamic acid and Colefac can now be bought at your pharmacy but is this really such a good idea and is there an alternative to Tamsulosin?

If you are worried about the health of your prostate then your doctor should be the first point of call in order to eliminate any serious underlying problem.
However, having said that there is a lot you can do to help yourself.

Cut milk out of your diet. The strongest dietary risk factor for prostate cancer is dairy consumption. Switzerland, for example, has the highest dairy intake and the highest number of deaths from prostate cancer. This is almost certainly due to a hormone in milk called Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF).

Prostate tissue has receptors for IGF-I and IGF-II. Research shows clearly that men with high levels of circulating IGF-I are at greater risk of suffering from prostate cancer than those with lower levels. Research also shows that circulating levels of IGF-I in the blood correlate with high dairy consumption. A pint of milk a day, or the equivalent in other dairy products, quadruples risk. Switch to soya milk or rice milk.

Switch to organically reared meat, poultry and fish which do not contain hormone-disrupting chemicals. Increase vegetarian sources of protein in your diet using beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Fish, especially if organic or wild, and omega-3 rich eggs, are probably the best of these foods.

Increase omega-3 fats – fish oils may be protective against prostate cancer and reduce the risk by a third.

Eat more fruit and vegetables, the higher your consumption, the lower your risk. Particularly beneficial are tomatoes, rich in lycopene, and kale, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.

Eat shellfish and pumpkin seeds for their zinc content and brazil nuts for the antioxidant selenium.

Drink plenty of water, at least 1 and a half litres a day. Reduce or preferably eliminate caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee.

The herb Saw Palmetto and the mineral Zinc both help to inhibit the action of the enzyme that causes the prostate to grow and help normal hormone activity.
Alkalising the diet also seems to have a beneficial effect. (See the last issue of the My Health Network newsletter.)