Saw Palmetto is used in the Men’s Formula of the CardioTrim health supplement line.

Saw Palmetto is a dwarf palm tree found in the United States from the Carolinas to Texas. For centuries, the crude extracts of saw palmetto have been used to improve sperm production and to increase breast size and sexual vigor, but its most effective and only scientifically based use is to improve symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).The premise for using Saw Palmetto is that it maintains normal prostate health by decreasing the metabolism and action of male steroids. Saw Palmetto has been demonstrated to decrease the activity of 5-alpha reductase which stimulates the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), its more active form. Since DHT is necessary for excessive growth (hyperplasia) of the prostate and is elevated in men with BPH, inhibition of 5-alpha reductase, and therefore DHT production, may alleviate BPH and the associated compression of the urethra (the tube that runs through the prostate gland to carry urine from the bladder). Additionally, studies have shown that Saw Palmetto helps to inhibit the production of various inflammatory factors, thus serving to decrease overall prostate inflammation. The prescription medication for treating BPH, finasteride is available as Proscar for BPH and a lower potency version called Propecia for treating hair loss in men (because the same conversion of testosterone to DHT is thought to result in thinning and loss of hair in men).

In one rather large study using over 1000 patients enrolled over the age of 50, Saw Palmetto was found to be equally as effective as finasteride (Proscar) for the treatment of BPH. In a 12-week study of 1334 patients on the Saw Palmetto extract, Talso, over 80% of patients reported good to excellent results. Another study of 40 BPH patients over a 60-day period showed 25% of patients to have "good" results and 75% had "excellent" results with respect to BPH severity and symptoms. In a double-blind study of 27 patients, Saw Palmetto resulted in positive benefits in 43% of people receiving the extract, versus only 15% of subjects in the placebo group. Several recent case reports and small clinical trials have shown a particular combination of saw palmetto and Chinese herbs called “PC-SPES” (chrysanthemum, dyers woad, licorice, reishi, san-qi ginseng, rabdosia, saw palmetto, and baikal skullcap) to be effective in alleviating symptoms of BPH and even in reducing blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker for prostate cancer. Several other smaller studies have shown significant improvements in symptoms of BPH such as improvements in maximum urinary flow rates, reduced trips to the bathroom, a greater ability to fully empty the bladder and an increased quality of life.

Learn More