Through the progression of my prostatitis and epididymitis conditions, I have tried a number of different foods in an effort to bolster my immunity and get relief from my symptoms. In this post I want to talk about the foods that have helped me, and how they have helped. Specifically, ginger, honey, turmeric and garlic for prostatitis and epididymitis symptom management and immunity building.

RAW GARLIC FOR PROSTATITIS

Back in June 2016, the first symptoms I had were pains in my right epididymis, right flank and right lower back and butt area. Over time, a small lump formed in the epididymis tube, which became a focal point of pain. These pains were caused due to inflammation in the epididymis and the prostate gland, which in turn was caused by the underlying infection in these areas.

Treating the infectious bacteria with phages did help alleviate the symptoms to a large extent, but the most dramatic change in the pains happened when I started having raw garlic in heavy doses.

A doctor I had once met to explore an alternative treatment for my condition had told me to try having raw garlic for prostatitis and epididymitis in as heavy a dose as I could take. He said that it would help with getting rid of the infection, the inflammation, with calcification formation, and also with any heavy metal poisoning I may have. The important thing however was that it had to be had raw, and chewed to a pulp to get all the benefits. You see, when garlic is cut, its enzymes react to form a compound called allicin. This is the compound that gives garlic its antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties, as well as its smell. However, this compound is also unstable and changes quickly into other compounds. This means that chopping garlic into small pieces or crushing it beforehand would lead to its therapeutic properties being lost to a large extent, before one could even put it in one’s mouth.

So the only way to get all its benefits was to chew each clove. And anybody who has chewed raw garlic knows it’s not an easy task. Around May 2017, I started taking the raw garlic. Initially, I would have 1 clove everyday on an empty stomach. It would make the insides burn so it was tough to swallow. A glass of water over it would help the burning. But in a few days I got used to it, and increased the intake of garlic. Eventually, I was having 5-6 cloves everyday. The miraculous thing was that within 2 weeks of starting the raw garlic, my epididymis pains were gone. The lump in the epididymis shrunk to almost nothing. I could not believe the rapidity of my improvement.

From then till now, I continue to chew 5-6 cloves of raw garlic everyday, and I continue to feel its beneficial impact. To anyone suffering from a chronic infectious or inflammatory condition, the first food I would recommend you include in your daily diet is raw garlic.

GINGER AND HONEY FOR PROSTATITIS

This is an age old remedy in India for a sore throat. This is basically the juice of ginger and some honey mixed together in a small bowl, and consumed through the day, or mixed in hot water and had as a tea.

There are 2 reasons why I started having this regularly:

1. Both ginger and honey have anti-inflammatory properties, so they are both very useful to consume when fighting a condition that causes inflammation in the body. Honey also has antibacterial properties, to the extent that it has the capability of even fighting bacterial biofilms. So if one is suffering from a bacterial infection, honey is a must have in their diet.
2. This mix protects as well as heals bad throats and is good for general ENT health. This is especially important for epididymitis sufferers as epididymis issues can arise from infections in the throat. The lymphatic system of the body can carry infection from the lymph nodes in the throat to the lymph nodes near the testicles and epididymis. Though this is not the most common way for epididymitis to happen in adults, it is one of the ways the problem can start. Therefore, protecting the ear, nose and throat from infection, and generally maintaining good immunity levels is important to prevent as well as treat epididymitis.

[Note: Epididymitis, the inflammation of the epididymis tube when caused by an infection, is a condition that is highly correlated to prostatitis. If you get one, you are likely to get the other.]

TURMERIC AND PROSTATITIS

Turmeric is another potent anti-inflammatory and a powerful antioxidant food, and is known to lower the risk of certain cancers. The main active ingredient of turmeric, ‘curcumin’, can naturally lower chronic inflammation, making it a very useful food to consume when trying to overcome prostatitis and epididymitis.

Turmeric is used regularly in our food, but that is not enough for therapeutic purposes. So I have half a teaspoon of turmeric powder mixed with some honey (it forms a thick paste), gulped down with some warm water. I take this mix 2-3 times in the day. You can have a higher dose if you would like as these natural foods rarely have harmful side effects. The only thing to watch out for would be excessive carbohydrate consumption from the honey, if you are also having the honey and ginger mix as described above. If you would rather have the turmeric mixed in milk or water, that could be another way to get the benefits without increasing carbohydrate intake.

There are people who have curcumin supplements for the same purpose. I have not tried this, as I believe the natural source is the best. To that end, I would recommend buying fresh turmeric root, which looks like ginger in fact, and using that for therapeutic consumption. Take the turmeric root, grate it, mix with honey and consume. Or cut thin slices of it, dry it in shade, powder it, and then mix with honey or milk or water and consume. That can depend on you completely. I always prefer this because one doesn’t know what might be mixed in the powdered spice we get in the market, or in the supplements with curcumin extracts. Buying and using the root directly is as natural as it can get.

I can feel the impact of these foods in my general health and wellbeing. My immunity had dipped due to the prostatitis, but now that the infections have been treated, what is important is to ensure that no more opportunistic bacteria can invade the prostate again. For that, I have had to rebuild and maintain my immunity, and these foods have played a big role in that.