Saw Palmetto For Kidney Health

In recent years, saw palmetto started to raise hopes for aged men suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) – an enlargement of the prostate. BPH results in impaired urination due to a blocked urethra. Several studies had been conducted since the mid-1980's to scientifically prove the admonitions on saw palmetto's efficacy. However, studies, including clinically controlled double-blinded trials, are coming up with contrasting results.

The Native Americans were the first people to deem the medicinal uses of the herb. Saw palmetto is a dwarf palm that grows in southeastern U.S. During winter, Native Americans used saw palmetto as staple but it was also during this time that elderly men felt an improvement in their nighttime urination. For centuries, saw palmetto was used to treat diseases associated with the bladder, urinary tract, fertility, hair growth, breast enlargement, and bronchial problems. Additionally, the effectiveness of saw palmetto for kidney health was likewise admonished.

All these claims up to today are yet to be confirmed by scientific clinical studies. Saw palmetto's wide popularity in Europe particularly in countries like Germany, Austria, and Ireland led to more research some of which cannot be deemed scientific or precisely controlled. There is no available conclusive data on saw palmetto for kidney health, along with its other uses but other claims include the effectiveness of the herb in flushing out kidney stones. Nonetheless, all these notions are not yet proven by science.

The active constituents of saw palmetto are contained in its berries. The extract of saw palmetto berries contain concentrated amounts of lauric acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, phytosterols (plant sterols), polysaccharides, and other elements in lesser concentrations. There is no explanation from previous studies on how saw palmetto affects BPH. However, saw palmetto seems to inhibit the actions of the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase from signaling the male hormone testosterone to convert into the compound dihydrotestosterone (DHT). In BPH, saw palmetto inhibits DHT from binding into receptor cells, hence, symptoms of BPH are alleviated but there is no significant change in the prostate's size, at least according to the researches made.

Saw palmetto is a $50 million business. Every year, about 2,000 tons of saw palmetto berries are exported to Europe. People, mostly the elderly, take saw palmetto supplements to hopefully alleviate symptomatic BPH or use saw palmetto for kidney health.

The best way to maintain kidney health, as studies suggest, is to lose weight and avoid fatty and processed foods, which has high amounts of oxalates – the main culprit in kidney stones than take saw palmetto for kidney health.