Beta-Sitosterol for Prostate Health

It's not uncommon to see jokes in popular culture ("The Green Mile" and "Game of Thrones" come to mind) about men in their 50s and beyond needing to get up multiple times a night to use the bathroom. And while these may be humorous, they're not without foundation in reality.

That doesn't mean you should take nighttime urination and other prostate annoyances lying down (pun intended). Although it's sometimes overlooked, the health of the prostate is increasingly important for male reproductive and bladder health, especially as you age.

As with many other aspects of lasting health in men, the prostate may benefit from supplementation. And there's one compound that's been studied for years that sets itself apart from the crowd: beta-sitosterol. In this article, we'll discuss exactly what this powerful plant compound is and the role it can play in maintaining a healthy prostate.

What is beta-sitosterol?

To better understand the role this extract plays and how it may fit into a healthy supplementation stack, let's start by defining beta-sitosterol.

Beta-sitosterol is a kind of phytosterol (see also: plant sterols and plant stanols) which is a compound found in plants that's similar in chemical composition to cholesterol. Nearly all plants contain some amount of beta-sitosterol, but it's especially prevalent in stinging nettles, rice, peanuts, soybeans and saw palmetto, among other things.

Once upon a time, our early human ancestors consumed large quantities of plant sterols (in some cases getting up to a gram per day from diet alone!). Today, however, the foods we eat offer much less (only around 150-450 milligrams), which is why so many are taking beta-sitosterol to boost their levels of phytosterols and reap the resulting health benefits (more on this shortly).

Pro tip: Vegans and vegetarians are more likely to regularly consume higher concentrations of dietary phytosterols, but phytosterol supplementing is still a good idea to ensure prostate health with age.

How does beta-sitosterol support prostate health?

Beta-sitosterol offers many benefits for men, playing important roles in supporting various aspects of male health throughout different life stages, among them healthy urinary flow and cholesterol levels along with optimal prostate function.

But let's talk specifically about the effects of beta-sitosterol on the prostate and urinary tract in general. One scientific review assessed a series of double-blind trials, which, in total, covered more than 500 men who were given different kinds of beta-sitosterol supplements, with the goal of better understanding this supplement's impact on urinary health. After carefully reviewing the trials, the study authors concluded that beta‐sitosterol may improve various measures of urinary flow, and by extension, supporting urinary comfort in men.

There's additional supporting evidence. In a controlled study, 200 men were given 60 milligrams of beta-sitosterol over the course of six months. The study was promising, finding that taking this extract over time resulted in improvements in overall urine flow.

Even better, the improvements from taking beta-sitosterol were still present over a year and a half later! It's important to note that this was only the case for those men who were still taking it, suggesting that beta-sitosterol may have long term benefits for men.

And that's not all. Another six-month study looked at 177 men, but this group was given a more substantial 130 milligrams per day of a different beta-sitosterol supplement. It led to similar results, with the study participants experiencing improvements in peak urine flow, as well as overall healthy urinary function when compared to placebo.

On the whole, the evidence suggests that men who are looking for supplements to support their prostate health could benefit from taking beta-sitosterol!

How much beta-sitosterol should I take for my prostate?

Based on what we know from the studies, look for urinary health products that deliver 45-180 mg of beta-sitosterol per day.

Of course, none of this should be considered medical advice. Always follow the instructions on supplement labels to best guide you and be sure to consult your healthcare practitioner before making any changes to your diet or exercise regimen.

What time of day should I take beta-sitosterol?

Many kinds of supplements need to be taken at a particular time of day, but beta-sitosterol is not like that—it works any time of day. It's more important to be consistent with your supplementing. Like we saw in one study, the effects of beta-sitosterol were still going strong after 18 months of consistent use!

That said, men who are primarily interested in supporting healthy nighttime urination specifically should consider taking beta-sitosterol later in the day, as this could help it serve its intended purpose and be more effective for their needs.

Is saw palmetto or beta-sitosterol better for prostate health?

Despite the fact that we've been singing the praises of beta-sitosterol as an all-star option for maintaining prostate and urinary function, saw palmetto also is an excellent source of this phytosterol, so you may be wondering which you should be taking.

The truth is, neither is strictly superior to the other in all cases. A sound course of action would be to take standardized saw palmetto extract in a formula enriched with beta-sitosterol.

And just to complicate things a little more, these two nutrients aren't the only ones that promote a healthy prostate! Look for formulas that combine beta-sitosterol and saw palmetto with boron and nettle, lycopene, pollen extracts and more for comprehensive prostate support.

References

• Wilt T, et al. "Beta-sitosterols for benign prostatic hyperplasia." Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8407049/
• "Phytosterols." Linus Pauling Institute. March 2017. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/phytosterols
• "Sitosterol." ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/sitosterol