Best Saw Palmetto for Prostate, Hair Loss and other herbal health benefits.

Saw Palmetto - Serenoa repens

COMMON NAME
Saw palmetto

LATIN NAMES
Serenoa repens, Serrulata, S. serrulata

FAMILY
Arecaceae

PARTS USED
Fruit

DESCRIPTION
Saw palmetto is a palm tree that grows up to ten feet tall. Its crown is made up of yellowish green leaves that are more than two feet long. The saw palmetto's flowers are white and fragrant. Its fruit consists of brownish black, wrinkled berries that contain one brown, hard seed. The panicle holding the seed may weigh up to nine pounds.

HABITAT
Saw palmetto is indigenous to the southern coastal regions of the United States and the West Indies.

FOLKLORE AND TRADITIONAL USES
Palm trees are terrific sources of fruit, oil, and fiber. Throughout history, palm trees have had great economic importance. Palm trees and saw palmetto also figure prominently in myth. For example, Ulysses blinded Cyclops with the sharpened branch of a green palm tree. And in the Christian religion, the palm is the rod of life. Various palms, including saw palmetto, were thought to have aphrodisiac properties.

MEDICINAL USES
Saw palmetto has been employed as a diuretic, a sperm stimulant, a breast enlarger, and an expectorant. Saw palmetto is chiefly employed to manage prostatic enlargements or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) - palmetto prostate. A hexane extract inhibits 5-alpha reductase, the enzyme needed for the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Saw palmetto further antagonizes DHT binding at prostatic receptor sites, which increases the metabolism and excretion of DHT. Saw palmetto is also used to treat BPH-related inflammation. Saw palmetto relieves urinary symptoms and flow measures associated with an enlarged prostate; it does not reduce the enlargement. Saw palmetto preparations have been shown to be effective for treating symptoms of BPH in 18 human clinical trials, with several of them indicating significantly safer effects than the leading pharmaceutical drug.

Where can I buy Saw Palmetto?
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