00:00 Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of putting Dr. G on the spot in the month
00:04 of August, focusing on testosterone and its impact on various parts of the body.
00:10 And today we're focusing on the prostate.
00:20 We all know there is a correlation between prostate and also testosterone levels because
00:27 when we were first born, our prostate is actually quite small, as small as about 2 grams in
00:34 the childhood.
00:36 However, when the testosterone goes up during the first phase of puberty, the prostate will
00:42 grow up to a size of about 20 grams.
00:46 So therefore a lot of assumption is made when someone's testosterone is high, the prostate
00:51 will grow and the prostate growth will result in several symptoms.
00:56 That include frequent urination because you don't empty your bladder 100%, daytime and
01:02 nighttime and urgency.
01:04 On top of that, the urine flow becomes a little bit slower, you have hesitancy, incomplete
01:10 entering and dribbling.
01:13 We all know what it feels like beyond the age of 50 because that is a time when there
01:18 is an almost an exponential growth of the prostate itself and because at the age of
01:24 50, there is one area in the prostate called transitional zone will be enlarged and causing
01:31 constriction and the urine flow.
01:34 Is there a direct correlation with the testosterone with the prostate?
01:41 Not quite.
01:42 We know men who are castrated with no testosterone at all, their prostate don't grow as much.
01:50 But our testosterone level actually drop by 2-3% per year beyond the age of 50, contrary
01:58 to that, our prostate will actually grow.
02:02 What is believed is that there are two possible reasons why the prostate will grow.
02:07 Number one is the actual balance between estrogen and testosterone that is crucial in the growth
02:15 of the prostate.
02:17 Number two, inflammatory changes.
02:20 When somebody has got high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, then
02:27 apart from having higher estrogen level, you also will have inflammatory changes in the
02:33 prostate that may cause it to cause a condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia.
02:41 So therefore, if you worry that your testosterone level is very high, causing you to have high
02:47 libido and worry about in the future you might end up having benign prostatic hyperplasia,
02:53 don't be so worried because healthier lifestyle will reduce inflammation, you will reduce
02:59 your risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity and also diabetes, then your prostate size
03:07 will not grow as fast.
03:09 And contrary to common belief, actually frequent sexual activity will reduce the size of the
03:15 prostate.
03:16 On the following week, we are focusing on testosterone and male behavior.
03:21 Stay tuned for next week's Putting Dr. G on the Spot.
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