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Dr. Oz talks about saw palmetto for enlarged prostate, or BPH
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Saw palmetto. Photo: Richard Carter, Valdosta State University, Bugwood.org
No doubt you’ve heard about saw palmetto for prostate health. Advertisements for specific supplements and drug combinations are prolific. But what’s the truth about this herbal supplement?
Saw palmetto extract is an extract of the berry of Serenoa repens, or fan palm, and is rich in fatty acids and phytosterols. It appears to work by inhibiting male hormones by reducing the conversion of testosterone to dihyudrotestosterone (DHT). DHT stimulates prostate growth and is essential to men as they go through puberty, but can cause issues later in life by causing excess tissue to accumulate in the prostate.
Though saw palmetto has been used in prescription form in Europe for over 20 years, it is only available in the U.S. as a supplement. The most widely recommended dose is 320 mg of extract per day. The amount used in most studies is usually 2 doses of 160 mg each.
As Dr. Oz explains in an article on enlarged prostate, saw palmetto is the most studied of herbal substances used for enlarged prostate and has the most evidence to support its use. In recent studies, saw palmetto had a similar effectiveness as finasteride (Proscar®), the drug most commonly prescribed in the U.S. Though it can take 4 to 6 weeks to see beneficial effects, saw palmetto has minimal unexpected side effects so there are generally no real restrictions on the duration of its use.
Dr. Oz does caution that the saw palmetto products currently on the U.S. market are not regulated by the FDA. And as always, he encourages you to talk to your doctor before initiating or discontinuing any medical regime.
For more information on saw palmetto and enlarged prostate:
MayoClinic
WebMD
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