From a typical western herbal standpoint we would naturally look to see palmetto as the main herb used to support a patient’s prostate condition. Other herbs like red clover, squaw vine, or hydrangea root can help to strengthen and support the effectiveness of the saw palmetto. While these herbs can be very helpful at keeping a prostate healthy, they aren’t always helpful when a patient has an acute prostate condition.

Is there another way other than medications to think about caring for a patient’s acute prostate condition?

We continue to see positive results each time for a patient’s prostate condition when we use a mixture of Chinese medicine herbals and functional medicine nutritional support. Whether the patient comes to us with a swollen prostate, a cancerous prostate, or somewhere in between we continue to see really effective results when the prostate is supported properly.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO USE CHINESE MEDICINE HERBALS AND FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE NUTRITION TO SUPPORT THE PROSTATE?

In Chinese medicine we first want to know what’s causing the underlying problem in the prostate. Usually prostate problems are due to what we call a kidney deficiency.

When there is a kidney deficiency and the prostate is affected, what we normally need to do first is to bring down the inflammation in the prostate—what we call hormonal heat. We can use specific Chinese herbs directly targeted at bringing down the inflammation—hormonal heat—in the prostate. Once the inflammation is under control, we’ll then begin strengthening the kidney system as a whole so it can function as it’s meant to.

Part of the reason why there’s inflammation in the prostate is because the patient isn’t holding calcium in the blood stream properly. If calcium isn’t traveling appropriately through the patient’s blood stream, then it certainly isn’t getting into the prostate properly either. The prostate needs this calcium to calm the heat down. Getting the patient on a good calcium, such as calcium lactate, can be beneficial.  Sometimes the patient may need a proper phosphate supplement to support keeping calcium in the blood.

Omega 6’s and 9’s can be helpful in this area. Linolenic acid and arachidonic acid are examples which may be found in evening primrose oil or borage oil.

STRONG KIDNEYS CAN MEAN A HEALTHY PROSTATE

Once the heat in the prostate is down, we want to come back and build up the patient’s kidney system so this doesn’t keep happening to the prostate. We’ll focus on building up whichever kidney deficiency is present.

An excess of physical or sexual activity or not enough can be one of the main causes of a prostate issue in the first place. This is why we want these patients to be meeting regularly with a physical therapist to get them into a moderate exercise program. Moderate being the key word. A physical therapist can also talk to and guide a patient through what moderate activity can look like for that patient’s life. Ongoing, moderate physical and sexual activity are both incredibly important for prostate patients.

When we address a prostate condition in this way, other issues often accompanying a prostate condition—such as memory loss, losing mental acuity, light headedness, having low vitamin d status—can come around and improve on their own. Why? Because these symptoms are another way the body is showing a weakness in the kidney system.

Strong kidneys can mean a strong and healthy prostate.

Dr. Brad Molskness
Functional Medicine Chiropractor

Learn more about your health

If you are curious and would like to learn more about how to best support your body, we invite you to visit Dr. Brad’s blog or to come to our next free Hope Class.

Dr. Brad Molskness is a functional medicine chiropractor and troubleshooting practitioner with Hope Clinic.  Hope Clinic is a group of specialists from different disciplines who work together to find answers for people who are not getting the results they would like from traditional care.