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Viprosta - Are the Ingredients Dangerous?

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Viprosta is an all-natural prostate supplement that contains the usual complement of prostate herbs, phytochemicals and micronutrients. It also contains a couple of aphrodisiac herbs to improve sexual performance in men suffering from BPH. Is Viprosta effective for relieving the urinary and sexual complications caused by prostate problems? Read on to find out.

Viprosta is a natural prostate supplement formulated to improve prostate health and relieve the urinary difficulties experienced by aging men with enlarged prostates.

The product website is rather sparse and it provides very little information about dosage and side effects. However, there is enough information to indicate that most of the active ingredients of Viprosta are proven to help the prostate and urinary tract.

The combination of natural remedies in Viprosta is also safe and well-tolerated by most users. The only side effects reported for this supplement are mild gastrointestinal discomforts.

This supplement is available as capsules. Each bottle of Viprosta contains 60 capsules.

How Viprosta Improve Prostate Health

Viprosta can help

  • shrink enlarged prostates
  • prevent/reduce the sexual problems (erectile dysfunction etc.) associated with prostate enlargement
  • reduce the frequency of urination especially during the night
  • promote better bladder control
  • relieve the pain and burning sensation some BPH patients experience during urination
  • detoxify the body and clear the urinary tract
  • provide the necessary vitamins and minerals to promote prostate health

The Active Ingredients of Viprosta

Saw Palmetto

Saw palmetto is one of the three most common herbs found in prostate supplements. The extract is taken from Serenoa repens, a small palm.

The bioactive phytochemicals in saw palmetto include fatty acids and sterols. These phytochemicals have been proven to be effective in the treatment of prostate problems especially BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia or prostate enlargement).

The fatty acids and sterols in saw palmetto can lower cholesterol levels in the body. This is important to prostate health because the body makes androgen hormones from cholesterol and these androgens are responsible for prostate enlargement.

The fatty acids in this herb can also prevent/reduce inflammation in the prostate.

The major fraction of the phytosterols present in saw palmetto is beta-sitosterol. Plant sterols can inhibit androgen hormones. They block the conversion of testosterone to DHT (dihydrotestosterone) as well as prevent testosterone and DHT from binding to androgen receptors in the prostate.

Overall, saw palmetto can prevent/relieve prostatitis (inflammation in the prostate) and BPH.

In addition, saw palmetto extract can increase the pressure exerted by the muscles of the urinary sphincter. This ensures that the bladder is completely voided during urination.  Therefore, the frequency of urination is reduced.

Pygeum

Pygeum africanum is an African tree. The traditional remedy known as pygeum is extracted from the bark of the tree.

Pygeum extract is also rich in phytosterols especially beta-sitosterol. Therefore, it shares some of the mechanisms of action described above for saw palmetto.

Besides sterols, pygeum also contains other bioactive compounds such as tannins, ferulic acid, and triterpenes. All of these phytochemicals can improve prostate health. Ferulic acid shares anti-androgen properties with sterols while triterpenes share the anti-inflammatory properties of sterols.

Pygeum is especially effective for treating the urinary difficulties and sexual problems that present in older men with prostate problems.

Stinging Nettle

Stinging nettle belongs in the large nettle family. It is the third most common herb included in prostate supplements.

Like saw palmetto, stinging nettle contains sterols and fatty acids but in lower concentrations. However, it also contains other useful phytochemicals such as lectins, lignans, and flavonoids.

Stinging nettle does not only inhibit androgen syntheses and activities in the prostate, but it also inhibits the activities of estrogen in the prostate. Estrogen protects DHT in the prostate and high estrogen level in the prostate has been confirmed as a causative factor of prostate problems.

Therefore, by inhibiting estrogen, stinging nettle extract speeds up the breakdown of DHT.

Another very important way by which stinging nettle improves prostate health is through the inhibition of SHBG. SHBG or sex hormone-binding globulin is a glycoprotein responsible for transporting estrogen and androgens to their sites of action.

By blocking these hormones from binding to the transport protein, stinging nettle reduces the number of sex hormones reaching the prostate. In this way, it blocks the effects of testosterone, DHT and estrogen on the prostate.

Beta-Sitosterol

Beta-sitosterol is an extensively researched phytochemical. It is the most popular of the phytosterols and it has been conclusively proven to improve prostate health.

Although beta-sitosterol is present in the phytosterol fractions of the herbs discussed above, Viprosta contains even more of this important natural remedy.

The combination of beta-sitosterol and herbs such as saw palmetto has been demonstrated to be particularly effective in the treatment of prostate enlargement.

However, the high content of beta-sitosterol in Viprosta is also a source of concern. First, it makes Viprosta unsuitable for patients with sitosterolemia, a condition characterized by in the inability to properly metabolize sterols.

In addition, beta-sitosterol (and indeed all phytosterols) are structurally similar to cholesterol. Therefore, long-term supplementation of high doses of the phytochemical can cause cardiovascular complications in men who with high risks of a heart attack.

Lycopene

Lycopene is another plant-derived compound. It is the carotenoid responsible for the pigments of fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and red peppers

Lycopene is a very powerful antioxidant, and it can reduce oxidative stress in the prostate by neutralizing free radicals and reactive oxygen species that may destroy prostate cells. In addition to this antioxidant property, lycopene has an anti-inflammatory property and can reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

How Lycopene Protects the Prostate
  • By blocking pro-inflammatory cytokines
  • By reducing the levels of growth factors that promote prostate enlargement and tumor growth
  • By increasing the levels of regulatory proteins to effectively control the growth of prostate cells

Quercetin

Quercetin is also a plant-derived phytochemical. It is a bioflavonoid naturally found in certain fruits, vegetables, and grains including onions, apples and green tea.

It is known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

As an antioxidant, quercetin can mop of harmful free radicals and prevent oxidant damage in the prostate. Even its metabolites have antioxidant properties.

As an anti-inflammatory agent, quercetin inhibits proinflammatory leukotrienes. Its anti-inflammatory property was proven to be useful in the treatment of prostatitis.

As an antimicrobial agent, quercetin is effective against a number of bacteria and fungi. Therefore, it can help prevent/treat infections in the urinary tract.

The combination of these medicinal properties makes quercetin especially useful in treating chronic inflammation accompanied by urinary difficulties involving burning pain during urination.

Muira Puama and Epimedium

Muira puama and epimedium are both natural aphrodisiacs. They are included in Viprosta to help improve sexual performance. More specifically, they increase libido and enhance penile erection.

Muira puama is a flowering plant native to the Amazon forest. It contains sterols and fatty acids too but it is known as a male-enhancement herb.

Epimedium is also a flowering plant but it is found in the forests of Europe and Asia. The phytochemical responsible for the aphrodisiac properties of epimedium is icariin. It increases blood flow to the penis by relaxing its smooth muscles and releasing nitric oxide, a natural vasodilator.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is the most important of the B vitamins to prostate health. Besides promoting cellular metabolism and DNA repairs in prostate cells, vitamin B6 is included in Viprosta for two major reasons.

First, it increases the absorption of zinc, a mineral essential to prostate health.

Secondly, studies have shown that vitamin B6 supplementation can improve the survival rate in men suffering from prostate cancer. Through a combination of different mechanisms, vitamin B6 can prevent a rapid increase in prostate cell population.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant vitamin and its efficacy in the treatment of prostate problems has been confirmed by a number of multi-center, well-designed studies.

Vitamin E can reduce the risk of prostate cancer and studies have demonstrated that it is particularly effective when combined with selenium.

Besides reducing the risk of prostate cancer, vitamin E can also help prevent prostatitis and prostate enlargement. It also has anti-androgen activities and it can reduce the levels of PSA (prostate-specific antigen, a protein found only in very small amounts in healthy prostates).

Zinc

A healthy prostate usually contains 500 – 1,000 times more zinc than the blood. This means that zinc is essential to prostate health. This is further confirmed by the observation that zinc deficiency is a risk factor for prostate problems.

Zinc protects the prostate in a number of ways. It is used to make antioxidant enzymes to protect the prostate from oxidative damage. It can also protect prostate cells from DNA damage.

In addition, zinc has anti-androgen properties. It blocks DHT production in the prostate and also prevents androgens from binding to their receptors.

Is Viprosta Effective?

Viprosta contains most of the proven natural remedies for improving prostate health and treating prostate problems.

Its high beta-sitosterol content is especially commendable even though it can negatively affect cardiovascular health in the long-term. However, studies have shown that combining beta-sitosterol with herbs containing phytosterols delivers even better results.

Each of the ingredients of Viprosta is included for specific reasons. Even epimedium and miura are added to help improve sexual performance.

The only ingredient missing from the Viprosta formula is selenium. Selenium is an antioxidant mineral that studies have shown to provide great results when paired with vitamin E. Given that Viprosta already contains vitamin E, the addition of selenium would have broadened the antioxidant protection provided by the supplement.

In addition, the product website of Viprosta does not inspire much confidence. Not only is information regarding dosage and side effects missing but there is no mention of a manufacturer.

In spite of these faults, most of the reviews available indicate that Viprosta is indeed effective.

Viprosta may not have visibility of most of its competitors, but users and online reviewers agree that it is better than most of the competing products.

Sources


http://www.viprosta.com/ingredients/

http://www.viprosta.com/benefits/

http://www.manrelated.com/viprosta

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