For years, middle -aged men have stored their first aid kit with a certain remedy based on berries promoted in response to nature to bath problems.
Now, Harvard doctors say that this popular pill is actually a ship.
Saw Palmetto: a vegetable extract of marketed as a natural solution for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as a Prostate enlargement – It is believed to imitate the effects of drugs as FINASTERIDAthat are used to fight both BPH and Loss of hair.
But experts say that the scientific evidence of the effectiveness of Saw Palmetto is based on small and defective studies, many of which are funded by colleagues who make dietary supplements.
An important Clinical trial Involving almost 370 men discovered that Saw Palmetto’s triple strength doses did not work better than a placebo. Other men in the trial reported slight improvements, but so did the group of sugar pills, suggesting that it is the ritual, not the remedy, that is the work.
Recently Metanalysis Involve 4,656 participants similarly showed “few or no benefit for men with lower urinary tract symptoms” due to the BPH.
“If the ingredients in herbal products worked well for urinary symptoms, drug colleagues would have already had the topic approved by the FDA as a medication that insurance companies would have to cover,” Dr. Ir. Heidi Rayala, an assistant professor of Urology at the Harvard Medicine Faculty, He told Harvard Health.
“It is unlikely that Saw Palmetto damages him, but he probably won is to provide important benefits. It is fine to take them, but be cautious about spending too much of his own money on these alternatives.”
His colleague, Dr. Marc Garnick, agrees.
“It is easy to understand why so many find that taking a natural supplement to treat urinary difficulties in the attractive environment,” he said.
“However, there is a lack of evidence of effectiveness with Saw Palmetto, and its use for the BPH and other common urinary symptoms without a complete evaluation of the potential cause must be discouraged.”
In 2015, investigations revealed that most Herbal supplements bought in the store He had no grass trace announced at all, and many were full of cheap fillings such as wheat, rice, beans or indoor plants.
“This investigation leaves an abundantly clear thing: the old adage ‘buyer to be careful’ can be a true special for consumers of herbal supplements,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, at that time.
It is estimated that 14 million men in the United States live with a enlarged prostate.
A third of people who buy supplements take Saw Palmetto, according to Harvard Health.
