Male Pelvis

urine. Your urine stream may be weak or intermittent. You find yourself getting up at night to urinate, or you feel like your bladder is still partly full after you’ve gone. These are all signs of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), an enlargement of the prostate gland.

Statistics suggest that BPH is hard to avoid. More than half of all men over age 50 have significant prostate enlargement, and the rest have at least some. Simply getting older seems to be the main risk factor.

Male Reproductive Tract

The vast majority of men have some degree of prostate involvement as they age; it’s a consequence of aging that’s almost unique to the human species. Enlargement does not inevitably lead to drugs or surgery, however.

The best way to attack the problem early is by getting routine prostate exams every year after age 55. And some doctors contend that it’s possible to slow enlargement enough to avoid surgery and drugs, especially if you take the right steps at the first signs of problems. The steps they recom­mend include dietary changes, herbs, and nutritional therapy.