Men's Prostate Health
 Men face a variety of health problems that are unique to their gender, and one of the most common and potentially serious is prostate issues. Men's prostate health should be monitored to ensure that normal inflammation doesn't turn into something more serious.
To understand men's prostate health, you have to understand the way the prostate works. The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine and semen exit the male body. The prostate helps control the flow of urine through the urethra so that urine and semen don't mix. When boys hit puberty, the prostate begins to grow to its normal size. It stays this size until men are in their 40s, when the prostate begins to grow again, and in some cases doesn't stop. This can cause a variety of prostate issues, including:
- Prostatitis - An inflammation of the prostate due to an infection of some kind. There are three main types of prostatitis; bacterial, non-bacterial, and prostatodynia (painful prostate). This condition affects 35% of men over the age of 50.
- Enlarged prostate - Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an enlargement of the prostate that can cause pain and trouble urinating. It has been shown that more than half of men over the age of 60 experience symptoms of an enlarged prostate.
- Prostate cancer - If the symptoms of BPH or prostatitis go unchecked or untreated, it has the potential to develop into prostate cancer. 230,000 men each year are diagnosed with this disease, and 30,000 die from it.
While the issues involved in men's prostate health are considered to be a normal part of male aging, and are often benign and treatable with men's health supplements, medication, and sometimes surgery, it is still important to keep up with annual prostate exams to ensure that normal inflammation doesn't progress into something more serious and to know when to ask for prostate help to stay as healthy as possible.
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