Sunday, Jan 18, 2026 21:30 [IST]
Last Update: Saturday, Jan 17, 2026 15:57 [IST]
What is a prostate gland and what is its function?
Prostate gland is a small, chestnut-sized male reproductive gland below the urinary bladder. Its main job is to produce seminal fluid, which nourishes and transports sperm, making up a large part of semen. As men age (especially after 40-50), hormonal shifts cause it to grow, a harmless condition called “Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia” (BPH) that can press on the urethra, causing urinary problems like frequent nighttime urination, weak flow, or urgency. The primary cause of BPH is age-related changes, particularly shifts in hormones (like declining testosterone) that stimulate prostate cell growth. Prostate cells multiply, making the gland bigger and squeezing the urethra. It's a normal part of aging, not usually a sign of cancer, but requires monitoring as it can impact quality of life by obstructing urine flow.
What are the modern treatment procedures for the patients having enlarged prostate?
Modern treatments on enlarged prostate patients depends upon two important factors viz, size of the prostate gland and the PSA (Prostate specific antigen) value. Patients with more than 60gms of prostate size and PSA value greater than 5 are usually not classified under BPH category and initially PET – CT Scan (Positron Emission Tomography) is recommended for these patients. If the scan indicates carcinoma, the urologist may either recommend ultramodern laser surgery or radiation therapy, chemotherapy or even modern medications are advised. These medications include “Alpha-blockers” like Tamsulosin, Silodosin, and Alfuzosin respectively which relax prostate/bladder neck muscles to ease urinary flow from an enlarged prostate, with few side effects including dizziness (postural hypotension), stuffy nose (rhinitis), and notably retrograde ejaculation (less/no semen during orgasm). These medications improve flow but don't shrink the prostate. Alpha-blockers are the medications that mainly treat high blood pressure. Alpha-blockers prevent cells from taking certain actions, like tightening blood vessels. On the other hand, for BPH patients (prostate size within 50 gms and PSA value is within 3.00) are recommended for soft medications. They may also opt for homoeopathy and ayurvedic treatments provided these patients need to check the size of the prostate gland (USG methodology) an blood serum for PSA value. These patients are also advised for specific exercises to reduce the size of prostate gland.
Recent study to reduce the size and PSA value with Lycopene (main chemical ingredient found in tomatoes & carrots) is drawing attention
Lycopene, the main chemical ingredient found in tomatoes and carrots mainly has created a significant attention to the researcher’s working on prostate glands and its enlargement causes. Lycopene shows promise in supporting prostate health and potentially slowing Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) progression, acting as an antioxidant that inhibits cell growth, with cooked tomatoes (sauce, juice) offering better absorption than raw. It has been scientifically proved with many case studies in Europe (patient age group lies between 55 to 75 years having prostate size greater than 60 gms and PSA more than 6.00) that regular intake of cooked tomato and carrots products can lower BPH risk and slow PSA increase, making it a good dietary addition alongside other prostate-friendly foods. Two important cases as reported by “Elsevier Journals” reflects that regular intake of tomatoes significantly reduces both size and PSA value of prostate gland. The values as reported are: Age 76 years male; Prostate size 70 gms, PSA 6.60 before the regular intake of tomatoes. After the regular intake of tomatoes and carrots for six months, the values sharply came down to 54 gms and 3.75 respectively.
How Lycopene helps?
Lycopene fights against the free radicals developed in malignant prostate glands, reducing oxidative stress in prostate cells. Present research reflects it can slow down the proliferation of normal prostate cells and impact genes involved in prostate growth. It significantly help in lowering Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) levels, often linked to inflammation and BPH.
What are the best ways to get Lycopene?
There are many homemade procedures like heating tomatoes in boiling water and then extracted and can be eater twice a day. This process breaks down cell walls of tomatoes, making lycopene easier to absorb (bioavailable). Consuming tomatoes with olive oil or avocado enhances absorption. We can easily make tomato sauce, paste, juice with tomatoes and make compulsory in our daily food items. In addition to tomatoes and carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, watermelons also reduce the developments of free radicals and detoxify the prostate gland. Fatty fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids also very active in destroying free radicals and help the health of prostate gland. Lycopene shows strong potential as a complementary agent for prostate health due to its antioxidant and anti-cancer properties It's best to increase intake through foods like cooked tomatoes. Advanced research work in this field is going on in the United Kingdom mainly at UCL (University College London). The clinical studies provide a clear image for continuous use of this adjunctive dietary for prostate cancers. In addition, lycopene has been found to effectively suppress the progression and proliferation, arrest in-cell cycle, and induce apoptosis of prostate cancer cells in both in-vivo and in-vitro conditions. Additionally, lycopene showed that it could modulate the signaling pathways and their protein for the treatment or prevention of prostate cancer.
Research study indicates intake of lycopene up to 20 mg/day or more significantly effect in reducing enlarge prostate size. Currently, in the pharmaceutical market, products in the form of tablets, soft gels or capsules containing lycopene with amounts of 5–30 mg of active ingredient are available in United Kingdom and many European countries. Hope in our country we shall get from the chemists soon.
Courtesy: Elsevier Biomedical Research Journals (2025-2026), UK
