Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice, and is just the opinion of the writer(s) and published for informational purposes only. We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to prostate health.
ProstaGenix is a dietary supplement used for prostate health. The brand claims their supplement can shrink an enlarged prostate, which they state will improve urinary flow, improve sleep patterns and reduce urinary urgency (the need to urinate frequently).
In this article we’ll review the ingredients in ProstaGenix based on published medical studies and give our determination on whether this supplement is likely to be effective for treating prostate enlargement. We’ll highlight some issues we have with the health claims made by this brand.
Ingredient Review
ProstaGenix contains a number of active ingredients, but in their marketing they often reference the “sterol content” of their supplement. Beta-sitosterol is an ingredient which has been studied in published medical trials for its effectiveness in reducing prostate size.
A medical review published in 1999 analyzed results from four clinical trials on beta-sitosterol supplementation and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), which is the medical term for an enlarged prostate.
The researchers found that beta-sitosterol did not reduce prostate size. That same study described a 65 milligram (mg) dosage of beta-sitosterol as “high-dosage.” ProstaGenix contains over 800 mg beta-sitosterol, which is concerning to us given that we have not come across much human testing data establishing the safety of such a high dose of this compound.
We located a medical case report published in the Cureus journal which documented a patient that developed pancreatitis as a result of beta-sitosterol supplementation.
We recommend avoiding this ingredient entirely.
Outside of the sterols, the majority of ProstaGenix ingredients are vitamins and minerals like Vitamin D3 and selenium.
We have not come across any medical research suggesting that the vitamin and mineral blend used in ProstaGenix improves BPH or reduces prostate size.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) documented how in 2022 a supplement company had to recall several products due to toxicity caused by the vitamins they added. We recommend that patients get a blood test and speak with their doctor if they believe they have vitamin deficiencies. We do not recommend taking vitamins in a non-targeted manner, or without documented vitamin deficiencies.
ProstaGenix contains a second blend called the “Polyphenol Synergistic Blend” which contains grape seed extract, pomegranate extract and quercetin.
While there is a medical trial suggesting that grape seed extract may be effective at inhibiting prostate cancer growth, we cannot identify any trials suggesting that grape seed extract is effective for BPH or reducing prostate size.
One animal study found pomegranate extract to be effective for BPH. However, the effective dose was vastly higher than that in ProstaGenix. The effective dose was 100 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), which equates to a dose of 9,000 mg for a 90 kg man. The entire “Polyphenol Synergistic Blend” totals 300 mg, which means that the effective dose from this animal study was found to be 30x higher than the entire ProstaGenix blend dose.
We have not been able to locate any medical research suggesting that quercetin is effective for BPH.
Overall we would not recommend this product as we cannot identify any active ingredients we would consider effective at the given dose for reducing prostate size. We are concerned with the beta-sitosterol dosage in this supplement, and we recommend avoiding any supplements containing beta-sitosterol doses this high until more medical research emerges elucidating the safe and effective dosing range of this ingredient.
It also concerns us that there is no inactive ingredients list published on ProstaGenix’s Supplement Facts label on their website. Perhaps the supplement has no inactive ingredients, but typically it’s impossible to formulate a capsule supplement without at least one ingredient for the capsule shell.
Many of our reviews on Illuminate Health highlight questionable inactive ingredients like artificial dye or added sugar, and manufacturers are required to publish both active ingredients and inactive ingredients on their Supplement Facts label. We urge ProstaGenix to share their inactive ingredients if this supplement does contain inactive ingredients.
Questionable Marketing Claims
ProstaGenix claims on their website that they “won the prestigious ConsumerLab.com Prostate Competition.” This is a mischaracterization.
ConsumerLab is an independent testing laboratory that tests supplements for label accuracy and purity. They do not host “competitions” with “winners.” They simply test dietary supplements based on what the supplement claims to contain.
In the case of ProstaGenix, ConsumerLab tested the supplement and found that it contained as many phytosterols as advertised. Here is the page on their site with the testing data.
We strongly disagree with the marketing claims made by ProstaGenix in regard to these ConsumerLab test results, and we find them to be unethical.
ProstaGenix also has a graphic with some prestigious medical institutions on their website, shown above, including Yale University School of Medicine and Cedars-Sinai. This implies that their supplement has been endorsed or tested by these institutions, which has not been the case.
There are zero results for “ProstaGenix” in PubMed, which is one of the largest free medical databases in the U.S. To our knowledge, there have been no medical trials published in scientific journals testing ProstaGenix, and there is no affiliation between ProstaGenix and the medical institutions whose logos they include on their website.
A doctor at Cedars-Sinai named Dr. Dudley Danoff recommends ProstaGenix, according to their website, but that doesn't mean that the institution itself recommends it.
We disagree with this type of implied marketing, and we would recommend that ProstaGenix only use logos of medical institutions that have actually recommended their product (which to our knowledge is none).
Questionable Health Claims
There are a number of health claims made on the official ProstaGenix website that we disagree with or find confusing.
The brand claims that their product will stop the need to urinate at night, improve sleep quality and allow users to “wake up with energy” and improve urinary flow, eliminating “dribbles or stops and starts.”
None of these medical claims listed above are cited, as seen in the image. We disagree with the practice of making uncited health claims, and we recommend that consumers avoid supplement companies making bold and uncited health claims.
Elsewhere on the site, ProstaGenix suggests that the beta-sitosterol in their supplements is more effective than the competition because it comes from “Skinny Pine Trees” from a region in France. At the time of writing this article, there are zero medical citations in this entire section.
We have not come across any medical research suggesting that beta-sitosterol from “Skinny Pine Trees” is more effective than beta-sitosterol sourced elsewhere.
Does ProstaGenix Cause Side Effects?
Given that ProstaGenix is comprised primarily of botanical ingredients at relatively low doses, we don’t believe it’s likely to cause side effects.
The one ingredient we believe may cause side effects is beta-sitosterol, given its relatively high dose. The case report and associated medical review that we linked to earlier in the section about a patient experiencing pancreatitis from this ingredient also documented other side effects from its supplementation.
The Cureus review stated that gastrointestinal side effects like abdominal pain, bloating, nausea and constipation are the most common side effects of beta-sitosterol supplementation, but only occur in around 1.6% of patients. Impotence (inability to maintain erection) was also reported to occur in 0.5% of patients.
ProstaGenix Real User Reviews
ProstaGenix has been reviewed over 5,000 times on Amazon at the time of writing this article. We consider Amazon reviews to be a more objective source of information than reviews on a manufacturer’s website.
The average rating for ProstaGenix at the time of writing this article is 3.9/5, which is relatively unimpressive. The “Adjusted Rating” on FakeSpot is 2/5. FakeSpot is a software tool that detects potentially fraudulent Amazon reviews and issues ratings removing those reviews from the pool.
The top positive review of ProstaGenix from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “John Prentice” who claims the supplement has reduced his prostate pain:
“This product works and it started working in three days. I was suffering for 5 months and almost pain free in 6 days. I expect by the end of the week I will be able to mow my lawn again.”
The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “John Yanyshyn” who claims the product was less effective than another prostate supplement:
“had seen thousands of excellent reviews of Prosta Genix, so I decided to try a bottle. I switched products when the the Super Beta Prostate ran out and within a week of switching, my symptoms returned so I re-ordered the Super Beta Prostate.”
ProstaGenix Price
The price of ProstaGenix varies based on the marketplace. Here are the updated prices at the time of writing this article:
Amazon: $44.08
Walmart: $44.95
Manufacturer website: $49.95
Given that shipping is also free on Amazon depending on plan, it seems like Amazon is the best retailer to purchase ProstaGenix from (though we don’t recommend purchasing ProstaGenix at all).
