The dietetic treatment for prostate enlargement consists of detoxicating the system by proper fasting and diet. To begin with, the patient should forgo all solid foods and subsist on water only for two or three days. The intake of water should be as plentiful as possible.
Nothing should be added to the water except a little lemon juice, if desired. The water may be taken cold or hot and it should be taken every hour or so when awake. This will greatly increase the flow of the urine.
An enema may be taken once a day during fasting to clear the lower bowel of accumulations. After thorough cleansing of the bowels, hot and cold applications may be used directly on the prostate gland and its surrounding parts. The heat relieves the tissues and a brief cold immersion tones them up.
The patient should take alternate hot and cold baths. These are of great value in relieving pain and reducing congestion. While taking hip baths, it should be ensured that the buttocks and pelvis are well covered with water. The hot bath should be taken first for ten minutes, followed by cold bath for one minute only.
After the short fast, the patient should adopt an all- fruit diet for three days. The fruits should include apples, pears, oranges, grape-fruits, grapes, sweet limes, mangoes, melons and all other juicy fruits. This will help to clear toxins from the body and will also enable excess fat to be reduced to some extent.
The exclusive fruit diet should be followed by a diet, consisting of two meals of fruits and one of cooked vegetables for further seven days. The vegetable meal should be taken in the evening and could consist of all kinds of cooked vegetables, preferably steamed. There-after, the following general diet may be adopted :
Breakfast : This should consist of fresh fruits in season such as grapes, oranges, apples, bananas, pears, peaches and grape-fruits. A handful of raw seeds and nuts may be added to the fruit meal which has a cleansing and stimulating effect.
Lunch : This meal should be largely a raw salad which should consist of tender vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, endive, watercress and cucumber. Carbo- hydrates, in the form of whole wheat chappatis or rice may be added to this meal. Fresh lemon juice should be used in salad dressing as it is both rich in vitamins and minerals.
In addition to citric acid, it contains the B-complex vitamins and vitamin C together with calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, choline and sulphur. With lemon juice, vegetable oil and a little sea salt, an excellent dressing can be made that adds taste as well as food value to the salad.
Dinner : This meal should consist mainly of cooked vegetables like green beans, carrots, peas and potatoes which should be combined with protein foods like cottage, cheese, legumes such as dried beans, lentils, peanuts and sweet fruit, fresh or dried.
The short lemon juice fast, followed by all-fruit diet and a further period on fruits and vegetables may be repeated after two or three months , if necessary, depending on the progress being made.
The patient should use, liberally, raw seeds and nuts, especially pumpkin and squash seeds, sunflower seeds and almond. All these foods are rich in high quality protein. Unsaturated fatty acids and zinc are essential to the health of the prostate. The patient should also use liberal vitamin E – rich foods as vitamin E is an important factor for prostate health.
Heavy starches, sweet stimulants and highly seasoned food are entirely forbidden, as they cause direct irritation on the prostate gland and bladder. The diet should also exclude spices, condiments, salt in excess , sauces, red meats, cheese, asparagus, water cress, greasy or fried foods, alcohol, tobacco and too much tea or coffee. The patient should avoid hurried meals and must chew his food thoroughly and slowly. Water should be taken between means and not at mealtimes.
The patient should avoid sexual excesses, irregularities in eating and drinking, long periods of sitting and vigorous exercise. He should guard against constipation by taking plenty of fruits, bran and nuts. All efforts should be made to tone up the general condition of the body.
With a general improvement in health, the condition will be greatly relieved. Surgery should be resorted to only if the condition does not improve even after the dietary treatment and other measures outlines here.