How is Naturopathic Medicine Used to Treat Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)?
The challenge for a naturopath in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is to adjust conditions in a man’s body that have led to the development of BPH, and to find ways of enhancing the body’s ability to protect itself from and to recover from abnormalities in the prostate. The single most common treatment for BPH is the use of saw palmetto extract. Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a plant native to North American believed to reduce the growth of the prostate gland, thus eliminating the basic cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). It has been used for a variety of therapeutic purposes for centuries and has long been recognized as a kind of “magic cure” for prostate problems. The herb is thought to produce its effect on the prostate by interrupting the conversion of the male hormone testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, a form of testosterone that is about five times as efficient in promoting the growth of prostate cells as is testosterone itself. Saw palmetto is also though
