Saw Palmetto: Natural Health For The Prostate

Saw Palmetto: Natural Health For The Prostate

Saw palmetto consists of the partially dried, ripe fruit of a low, bushy palm that grows from South Carolina to Florida. The saw palmetto tree grows only about two to four feet high, with peanut - shaped crinkled leaves and abundant berries. Native Americans used these berries for the treatment of various urinary problems in men. Sequential, European physicians began using it to relieve the symptoms of BPH ( benign prostatic hyperplasia ) by:

* Elaborating urinary flow
* Flowering ease of urination
* Facilitating a more complete emptying of the bladder
* Decreasing frequency of urination *

Though some recent studies report inimical results, a review of 18 randomized adversity conducted between 1983 and 1997 and involving approximately 3, 000 participants terminated that saw palmetto herbal products provided some benefit in controlling lower urinary tract symptoms and flow measures in men with BPH. * The mechanism of proposition of saw palmetto is contemplation to be through its might to block hormone ( testosterone and estrogen ) receptor sites and its anti - inflammatory effects.

The recommended dose is one to two grams of the herb per day or 320 mg of an alcohol extract per day. It should be noted that while most researchers believe that saw palmetto is good for inherent relief of BPH only and that it does not shrink the size of the lofty prostate, there is some research to suggest that saw palmetto may actually cause the prostate to shrink slightly, thereby retarding prostate enlargement. *

The drug Proscar does this, too, and to a greater extent than saw palmetto, but other informal medications for BPH have no outgrowth on prostate size. Saw palmetto may also rein a role in the management of non - bacterial prostatitis, but it does NOT free rein a role in the treatment of prostate cancer. *

Routine prostate screenings, including digital rectal experiment ( DRE ) and blood tests for prostate individualizing antigen ( PSA ), should be conducted on a bourgeois kickoff, as advised by a knowledgeable physician. Fit to its endowment to stumbling block hormone receptor sites, it should not be taken by patients taking hormone therapy, nor should it be taken by those obtaining anticoagulant medication.

* REFERENCES
1. Tyler VE. " Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals, " Pharmaceutical Products Press, Binghamptom, NY, 1994. p. 82.
2. Languish TJ, Ishani A, Rutks I et al. Phytotherapy for balmy prostatic hyperplasia. Public Health Nutr 2000; 2 ( 4a ): 459 - 472.
3. Braeckman J. The extract of Serenoa repens in the treatment of balmy prostatic hyperplasia: a multicenter unbolted study. Curr Ther Res. 1994; 55: 776 - 785.
4. Romics I, Schmitz H, Frang D. Background in treating generous prostatic hypertrophy with Sabal serrulata for one past. Int Urol Nephrol. 1993; 25: 565 - 569.
5. Marks LS, Partin AW, Epstein JI, et al. Effects of a saw palmetto herbal blend in men with private cordial prostatic hyperplasia. J Urol. 2000; 163: 1451 - 1456.
6. Kaplan SA, Volpe MA, Te AE. A later, 1 - age trial using saw palmetto versus finasteride in the treatment of party III prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome. J Urol. 2004; 171: 284 - 288.