What do pumpkin seeds and the prostate have in common?

The prostate is a small gland seated near the bladder in the male pelvis. It is responsible for producing a protective fluid (semen) that protects sperm and aids in ejaculation. In order to produce semen, the prostatic cells require a good number of nutrients the most important being zinc.

The study Zinc Deficiency in Men Over 50 and Its Implications in Prostate Disorders provides great information to help you understand the role of zinc in the prostate. Basically, the prostate needs zinc for regulating apoptosis, or "die off" of abnormal cells. According to these authors,

Prostate cells accumulate high levels of zinc. Zinc enters the mitochondria causing cytochrome c to be released from the mitochondria, triggering caspase activation and the induction of apoptosis (left panel). Alternatively, zinc can inhibit aconitase, the enzyme catalyzing the production of isocitrate from citrate in the Krebs cycle (right panel). This leads to the accumulation of high levels of citrate that is characteristic for prostate cells... A decrease in zinc and/or decrease in the ZIP1 transporter in prostate cancer occur as early events in premalignant cells and precede malignancy. Zinc deficiency and/or the downregulation of zinc import proteins subsequently results in a malignant cell.

The prostate does signal when/if zinc levels are low or are becoming low. This is by virtue of the PSA. PSA is a lab that can easily be ordered by your health care provider. I know that if a PSA level is at 1 or higher, zinc is low.

PSA is commonly seen by people as a marker of prostate cancer but that is not true. It is a marker of prostate inflammation. It is elevated in the event of prostate cancer, but it is not diagostic of cancer. I have seen PSA elevated in patients who have cancer, but also those with widespread inflammatory conditions--all of which have a common link of low zinc.

Zinc is an easy deficiency to manifest because we tends to consume foods low in zinc. Foods high in zinc include pumpkin seeds (thus the connection with the prostate), wild rice, grapes, or oysters. The best supplements of zinc are in the form of zinc sulfate or chelated zinc.