Saw Palmetto

Saw Palmetto, native to Florida and
surrounding areas of the United
States, is a low-growing small palm
tree with fanlike, fingery fronds and
small berry-shpaed fruits. This plant
grows about 6-10 feet high and forms
what is called the 'palmetto scrub.'
Large leaves form a crown, and it
bears deep reddish-brown
oblong-ovoid fruit. The fruit is slightly
wrinkled and contains one hard seed.

Medicinal Properties &Uses: Native Americans recognized saw palmetto
fruits as a food despite its rather unpleasant taste. They ate palmetto
fruits for at least 12,000 years. Soon, they recognized the plant as
medicinal. People native to Florida used infusions of the berries to treat
stomach aches and dysentery, and for diuretic and sexual tonic. Saw
Palmeto contains volatile oil, fixed oil, glucose, and free acids. The oil
obtained from the fruit is a glyceride of fatty acids.

Saw Palmetto is excellent for treating swollen or enlarged prostate,
commonly called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Symptoms of BPH
include difficulty in urinating, dull aches, impotence, difficulty maintaining
an erection, urgency and waking to urinate. Saw Palmetto inhibits
dihydrotestosterone, the compound that causes prostate cells to multiply
excessively.

Saw Palmetto is a very helpful tonic for men to help maintain their
prostate health as they age. It has been proven to reduce inflammation
and normalize an already enlarged prostate.
As Saw Palmetto is non-toxic, it can be used long term. Most men
achieve some relief of symptoms within the first 30 days after starting to
take Saw Palmetto.

In more than 20 controlled double-blind studies, it was shown that the
lipidic extract of the berries standardized to contain 85-95% fatty acids
and sterols is effective in relieving all the major symptoms of BPH,
including increased nightime urinary frequency, which is the most
bothersome complaint that sufferers report.

In 1908, Saw Palmetto was listed in the United States Pharmacopoeia as
a medicine for urinary tract infections. It is known to be not only diuretic,
but sedative and tonic as well. It is not as much a stimulant as copaiba or
sandalwood oil, but it is effective in treating chronic catarrh. It acts by
reducing catarrhal irritation and relaxing bladder and urethra. It is a
known tissue builder.