The Prostate Fungi Connection

Exploring the Prostate Fungi Connection

While most people are familiar with prostate enlargement (BPH), many are unaware that prostatitis is the most common urinary tract problem for men under the age of 50 and the third most common urinary tract problem for men older than 50 (1). It has been estimated that up to 16% of men will be diagnosed with prostatitis at some point in their lifetime (2).

The term prostatitis means inflammation of the prostate gland tissue. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has four different syndromes of prostatitis. It is important to know which classification a man falls into since it helps guide the right treatment. The four syndromes include:

• I – Acute bacterial prostatitis
• II – Chronic bacterial prostatitis
• III – Chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS)
• IV – Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis

The first two categories are straightforward. There is a bacterial infection that can be treated with antibiotics and/or natural antibacterial agents, along with diet and lifestyle changes that make infection less hospitable to infection.

Categories III and IV, which make up most of the cases of prostatitis, are more challenging to doctors, especially conventional doctors since there can be many different causes that require a non-antibiotic treatment. Many doctors, including urologists, have difficulty in treating CP and CPPS since they often only focus on bacterial causes. Research shows that doctors are confused and frustrated in treating chronic prostatitis (3).

The frustration of conventional doctors for their results with chronic prostatitis is not surprising since most focus on antibiotic therapy. The fact is that more than 90% of cases of chronic prostatitis are NOT associated with a significant bacterial infection (4).

My experience is similar to what the emerging science-based literature shows in that fungal infections are a substantial causative factor with chronic prostatitis. One should also keep in mind that men who have been given multiple rounds of antibiotics are predisposed to developing fungal infections (gut and prostate). Friendly flora throughout the urinary/prostatic systems is part of the immune system’s protection against the overgrowth of fungi. Antibiotics indiscriminately destroy friendly flora and make organs/tissues susceptible to fungi infiltration. As the Johns Hopkins website notes: “Anyone can get a yeast infection. Those at higher risk for it include….people taking antibiotics….Taking antibiotics can also cause an overgrowth of yeast. That’s because antibiotics kill the healthy bacteria in your body that normally keep the yeast in balance.” (5).

To make the cause consider this important  urological study which involved 1,000 consecutive male patients (average age 34) who did not respond to antibiotic and alpha-blocker therapy for prostatitis, and were experiencing chronic pelvic pain syndrome as part of their chronic prostatitis (6). The men were prescribed a low carbohydrate diet (similar to the Kaufmann diet) since simple sugars fuel fungi. Also, they were treated with urine alkalinization and the antifungal drug fluconazole. An incredible 80% improvement in the patient’s symptoms resulted from this antifungal regimen! I have also observed patients recover well with the use of antifungal supplements such as oregano oil, caprylic acid, berberine, Pau D’Arco, biotin, olive leaf, clove, and probiotics.

Here is another case demonstrating how antifungal therapy addresses the root cause of a chronic condition that mainstream medicine struggles to treat effectively. However, a nutritional approach that starves fungi, along with the use of antifungal agents, has proven to eradicate the fungal organisms causing prostatitis and the accompanying symptoms very effectively.

About the Author

Mark Stengler NMD is a naturopathic medical doctor in private practice in Encinitas, California, and co-host of the syndicated Forever Young radio show (www.americasnaturaldoctor.com). The International Association of Top Professionals awarded him Top Doctor of the Year in 2019. He has been using the Kaufmann diet and antifungal protocols with success for over 25 years.

Research and References:

1. Prostatitis: Inflammation of the Prostate | NIDDK. 2014. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

2. Bergman, Jonathan, and Scott I Zeitlin. “Prostatitis And Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome”. Expert Review Of Neurotherapeutics 7, no. 3 (2007): 301-307. doi:10.1586/14737175.7.3.301.

3. Lee, Kyung Seop, and Jae Duck Choi. “Chronic Prostatitis: Approaches For Best Management”. Korean Journal Of Urology 53, no. 2 (2012): 69. doi:10.4111/kju.2012.53.2.69.

4. Lee, Kyung Seop, and Jae Duck Choi. “Chronic Prostatitis: Approaches For Best Management”. Korean Journal Of Urology 53, no. 2 (2012): 69. doi:10.4111/kju.2012.53.2.69.

5. “Yeast Infection”. Hopkinsmedicine.Org, 2020. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/candidiasis-yeast-infection.

6. Kotb, Ahmed Fouad, Asmaa Mohamed Ismail, Mohamed Sharafeldeen, and Elsayed Yahia Elsayed. “Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: The Role Of An Antifungal Regimen”. Central European Journal Of Urology 66, no. 2 (2013).