An enlarged prostate that has been found to be negative for cancer is called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). The enlargement of the prostate gland is a common occurrence as males age.
BPH rarely causes symptoms before age 40, but more than half of men in their sixties and as many as 90 percent in their seventies and eighties have some symptoms of BPH.
You are correct in your beliefs concerning pumpkin seeds and saw palmetto.
Pumpkin seeds provide you with high levels of the essential nutrient zinc which is involved in male reproductive health, tissue health and hormone production. Saw palmetto is a herb which has been utilised in the treatment of BPH to reduce the symptoms caused by the prostate enlargement eg; nocturia (night urination), frequency, ineffective urination and urgency. It is believed that the sterol and fatty acid content of the herb are responsible for a large part of its action.
I would suggest that you increase your intake of pumpkin seeds and other nutrient rich and fatty acid rich nuts and seeds. Incorporating seeds into your diet has far reaching health benefits that can improve your overall wellbeing. Ensuring adequate water intake is also important in BPH.
Many companies now produce prostate specific formulas as a response to the amount of people experiencing BPH. These formulas usually incorporate zinc and aw palmetto in combination with other herbs and nutrients that have been shown to have a positive effect on the BPH.
These nutrients and herbs include lycopene (obtained from tomatoes), Epilobium, Pygeum and selenium. I particularly like the Nutralife product Prostate Complete which features 4000mg of Saw palmetto, Epilobium, lycopene, Zinc and co-factors.
You may also like to try Prostate Eze Max by Totally Natural Products which features Pygeum 15000mg, Saw palmetto, Epilobium, lycopene and pumpkin seed oil. Both of these products are available at Flannerys. To determine dosage for these products please ask one of the instore Naturopaths.