Saw Palmetto: What is it and What Does it Do for You?

I first heard about saw palmetto from my barber while living in Boston. Initially she mentioned that it might help me in slowing down and even stopping my hair loss (more on that later). It was not until I looked into it that I found even better reason, one that hit much closer to home than hair loss, to take it.

Saw palmetto is an herb that has been shown in clinical studies to have an important role in maintaining a healthy prostate. Saw palmetto grows naturally in the southeast United States. It is also found in other countires but thrives the most in a warm enviornment.

Once I learned that saw palmetto promoted a healthy prostate I immediately began taking it. My grandfather passed away from prostate cancer and watching that horrible disease whittle away at him was heart breaking. Additionally my father has had problems with his prostate and colon both. So, needless to say prostate health was on my list thinks to keep in check. When I first went to buy saw palmetto I saw that you can get two different types. The first, the whole berry crushed and the extract. It was recommended to me to take the extract due to the lack of research into the benefits of the crushed berry. You can go online and get page after page of test results for the extract on the other hand. All of which say the same think. Saw palmetto helps reduce mild to moderate prostate enlargement as well as helps to maintain current prostate health. This is by no means an over night fix to prostate problems either. It often takes several weeks or months before you will see the effects of saw palmetto. Additionally there are little to no side effects as a result of taking saw palmetto. The only real side effect, if you want to call it that, are more trips the bathroom.

Now I mentioned earlier that it may help in hair loss. Before I get into what saw palmetto has done for me let me take a minute to explain one reason why men lose their hair. Excess DHT (a testosterone metabolite) in hair tissue attacks the root of the hair and thus kills it. this causes the hiar to fall out. There is some evidence to suggest that saw palmetto can either reduce the effects of DHT or stop it all together.

In my experience saw palmetto is not the ticket to a full head of hair but it will help. After having taken it for about six weeks my barber noticed that my hair was no longer thinning and that there was some new growth. New growth is a term that I use loosely because you will regain a full head of hair as a result of taking saw palmetto.

I have been asked what is in saw palmetto. I am not sure what exactly is in it but a simple search of the internet should be able to provide with a more scientific list of ingredients and how exactly it works.

And finally I have been asked how much a person should take. I personally take two 450 mg capsules every day. I have also read that if you have a diet that is high in red meat to take more than someone who does not. For some reason red meat has a way to reduce the effectiveness of the extract.

I hope that what I have shared with you is a help. I know that like most men prostate health is a growing concern.