Saw Palmetto

Saw palmetto is a perfect example of how marketing tends to create a narrow understanding of herbal remedies. While it is primarily marketed as a remedy for the prostate, it can do so much more. The drupes (fleshy fruits with a stoney seed, not berries) can be used to help both men and women, aid the elderly, reduce wasting conditions, and balance reproductive hormones.

Historical Use of Saw Palmetto

Saw palmetto is a prolific plant in Florida, where it was used as both food and medicine by the indigenous Seminole people. It was one of their principal food sources. They made a flour by grinding up the dried fruits and also ate the hearts of these small palm trees.

The Seminoles also used the fruits as an expectorant for congestion and as an antiseptic for wounds. Saw palmetto was also used to treat infertility in women and urinary problems in men. It was also used as a tonic for the elderly to improve digestion and counteract wasting (loss of weight, especially muscle).

Saw Palmetto’s General Health Benefits

The drupes of the saw palmetto plant are high in fats. About 25% of the fruit is composed of fatty acids, primarily capric, caprylic, palmitic, and oleic acids. Capric and caprylic acid are medium-chain triglycerides that are helpful for both energy production and immune functions. Oleic acid is the monounsaturated acid found in olive oil.

Saw palmetto fruits are a moistening and nourishing remedy best used for conditions of atrophy and dryness. They can also act as an anti-aging remedy for elderly people who are thin and suffer from weak digestion. They help correct the traditional Chinese state of “spleen qi deficiency,” a condition where elderly or ill people are losing muscle mass from the inability to digest and assimilate nutrients.

Saw Palmetto as a Hormonal Remedy

Saw palmetto fruits also contain saponins, which give them a soapy taste. These saponins affect the adrenal and reproductive glands. They can reduce nervous irritation and help to balance male and female reproductive hormones.

In women, saw palmetto can aid fertility due to problems with the female reproductive organs. It may be helpful for polycystic ovarian disease, atrophy of the uterus, and reducing excess testosterone in women and possibly helping hirsutism. It can also help to enhance breast size in thin women, but should not be used by women who are already overweight as it tends to promote weight gain. It should also not be used by nursing mothers as it inhibits lactation.

Saw Palmetto and Men’s Health

For at least 150 years, both European and American physicians considered saw palmetto a valuable remedy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). It has been nicknamed the “old man’s friend” because of its ability to reduce problems like difficulty starting urination, weak urinary stream, frequent urination, dribbling after urination, and waking up several times at night to urinate.

Research and clinical studies suggest that extracts of saw palmetto help reduce BPH and prostatitis by inhibiting the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is believed to be responsible for stimulating the overgrowth of prostate tissue.

Saw palmetto appears to have an anti-estrogenic action in men, which is helpful because the prevalence of xenoestrogens (chemicals that mimic estrogen) in the environment may be a factor in prostate issues in men.

BPH adversely affects the quality of life for a quarter of men over 40 and about 90% of men in their 80s. It is an accepted medical treatment for BPH in many countries, including New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain. In fact, several double blind studies comparing saw palmetto and the drug Proscar found both to be equally effective at shrinking the prostate.

Using Saw Palmetto

For prostate problems in men who are elderly, thin, and have digestive issues, saw palmetto can be used as a remedy by itself. It is not a good choice as a single remedy for men who are overweight. I prefer to use it as part of a formula that contains other herbs beneficial for the prostate, such as nettle root, white sage, pygeum, collinsonia, and pumpkin seeds.

The herb may also be helpful for prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate), urinary incontinence, cystitis, and urethritis. For these issues, it is best combined with soothing diuretic herbs like cornsilk, marshmallow, parsley, pipsessiwa, and kava kava.

A good dose of the powder is 2-6 grams per day, which amounts to above four to twelve capsules or 2-4 capsules two to three times a day. There are also standardized extracts, typically standardized on the fatty acids and sterols. The dose here is one capsule twice daily. The dose for a 1:3 tincture in 70% alcohol is 20-40 drops, three times a day. Saw palmetto needs to be taken regularly for about 4-6 weeks for the effect to be fully experienced.