Hi everyone, this month we’re supporting Movember!
Each November, men grow their moustaches and or beards in a charity drive for the Movember Foundation, which raises funds and awareness for men’s health focusing on prostate health and testicular cancer.
If you’re wondering if there are any herbs that can be used to help with prostate health we can start by introducing Saw palmetto.
Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a small palm that grows in the warm climates of the southeast coast of the US from South Carolina right through Florida and beyond to the gulf coast.
Each plant has lush, green, saw-toothed leaves that fan out from a thorny stem, which grows up to 10 feet tall. Its slow growing and can live for over 500 years, The white flowers of the palm produce yellow berries that darken to a brownish-black when ripe and are picked and dried for medicinal use.
The berries were a staple food and medicine of many Native Americans tribes, the Mayans, and it was introduced into western medical practice in the 1870’s.
The active ingredients of the berries include fatty acids, plant sterols, flavonoids and polysaccharides, which may reduce inflammation and bolster the immune system.
How can Saw palmetto help prostate health?
- Some studies have shown that saw palmetto benefits benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate
- Reduces the amount of 5-alpha-reductase, an enzyme that inhibits the conversion of testosterone in DHT, thereby reducing the prostate size
- Reduces muscle spasm in the prostate to widen urinary outlet and relieve obstructive and irritative symptoms
- Inhibits lipoxygenase, cyclo-oxygenase and leukotrienes, having an anti-inflammatory effect on the prostate
- Suppresses activity of genes associated with inflammation
- Reduces the need to urinate during the night
- Improves weak or intermittent urinary flow
- Treats bladder problems
Also, some animal studies have shown that saw palmetto inhibits the growth of tumour cells. The herb is also used by some to treat hair loss and in preparation for surgery.
To learn more please take some time to read some of the links and references and remember to always consult your doctor if you have or think you may have a medical condition.
Next week we’ll get into how acupuncture can benefit men’s health and prostate conditions.
Saw palmetto, University of Maryland Medical Centre
Saw palmetto, Mayo Clinic
Clinical use of saw palmetto, UpToDate
Image thanks to:
Ted Bodner, Southern Weed Science Society, United States, Serenoa repens USDA1, CC BY 3.0
