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 nut - shaped sloping leaves and abundant berries. Native Americans used these berries for the treatment of various urinary problems in men. Succeeding, European physicians began using it to relieve the symptoms of BPH ( kindly prostatic hyperplasia ) by:

* Spreading urinary flow
* Evolution ease of urination
* Facilitating a more complete emptying of the bladder
* Decreasing frequency of urination *

Though some recent studies report antagonistic results, a review of 18 randomized trouble conducted between 1983 and 1997 and involving approximately 3, 000 participants buttoned up that saw palmetto herbal products provided some benefit in controlling lower urinary tract symptoms and flow measures in men with BPH. * The mechanism of ball game of saw palmetto is scrutiny to be through its bent 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 original 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 plain medications for BPH have no event on prostate size. Saw palmetto may also power a role in the management of non - bacterial prostatitis, but it does NOT bent a role in the treatment of prostate cancer. *

Routine prostate screenings, including digital rectal comp ( DRE ) and blood tests for prostate especial antigen ( PSA ), should be conducted on a general prelude, as advised by a know onions physician. Opportune to its expertise to hurdle hormone receptor sites, it should not be taken by patients taking hormone therapy, nor should it be taken by those receipt anticoagulant medication.

* REFERENCES
1. Tyler VE. " Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals, " Pharmaceutical Products Press, Binghamptom, NY, 1994. p. 82.
2. Wilt TJ, Ishani A, Rutks I et al. Phytotherapy for kindly prostatic hyperplasia. Public Health Nutr 2000; 2 ( 4a ): 459 - 472.
3. Braeckman J. The extract of Serenoa repens in the treatment of amiable prostatic hyperplasia: a multicenter unbarred study. Curr Ther Res. 1994; 55: 776 - 785.
4. Romics I, Schmitz H, Frang D. Forbearance in treating kind prostatic hypertrophy with Sabal serrulata for one month. 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 native genial prostatic hyperplasia. J Urol. 2000; 163: 1451 - 1456.
6. Kaplan SA, Volpe MA, Te AE. A unborn, 1 - life span trial using saw palmetto versus finasteride in the treatment of shooting match III prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome. J Urol. 2004; 171: 284 - 288.