Benign prostate hyperplasia affects some men over age 40, but 90 percent of men over age 80 develop it, according to Medline Plus. The prostate starts out the size of a walnut and can grow to the size of a tennis ball over your lifetime. Considered a normal physiologic condition in aging men, this bothersome condition does not pose a health threat. Men often treat the symptoms because their sleep gets disrupted or they become incontinent. One dietary change suggested by some doctors involves a reduction or cessation of caffeine intake.
Symptoms
In BPH, the prostate enlarges because of a benign overgrowth of cells. As the walls thicken, the organ's size increases. The prostate sits under and against your bladder. As it enlarges, it displaces the underside of the bladder, pressing against your urethra, the tube that transports urine out of the bladder. This pressure increases your urge to urinate, causing you to feel a stronger need to urinate and to do so more often. This can disturb your nighttime sleep as your bladder repeatedly beckons to you for relief. You may have a weak urine stream that cuts on and off. In the worst cases, you develop incontinence or even kidney infections as a result of incomplete urination.
Caffeine and BPH
The connection between caffeine and BPH does not demonstrate cause and effect. Caffeine, a known diuretic, stimulates your body to rid itself of fluid and consequently, you urinate more often when you consume it. Caffeine also irritates the bladder. It makes sense that if BPH increases your trips to the bathroom, then caffeine will magnify those effects. Caffeine does not worsen your BPH or make your prostate grow any larger. The only connection between BPH and caffeine is that caffeine's natural effect makes the BPH symptoms appear worse, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Understanding BPH
BPH does not cause inflammation like prostatitis does. It does not increase your chances of having prostate cancer. In fact, according to a study of 50,000 men reported in Nutra Ingredients, a high intake of coffee significantly lowered the incidence of cancer. The effect was not attributed to either the coffee bean or the caffeine. It could mean that drinking decaffeinated coffee will have the same beneficial effect. To date no measures can prevent BPH, because aging causes it.
Recommendations
If you decide to eliminate caffeine from your diet, do so slowly. Years of caffeine consumption will cause a persistent headache if you stop abruptly. Remember to cut back on the other caffeine sources such as tea, cola, soft drinks and chocolate. With some evidence that coffee may lower your chances of prostate cancer, you may want to consider replacing your drinks with non-caffeine versions. You may see an improvement in your BPH symptoms once you get off caffeine. Bear in mind that even though the added effects of caffeine are gone, the symptoms of BPH will linger. Always consult your doctor about concerns about this or any condition.
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