Saw Palmetto Benefits for Men

Saw palmetto benefits for men have been touted for centuries in Asia and North America. As an herbal medicine, saw palmetto berries are used to treat enlarged prostate, lower urinary tract symptoms, respiratory infections, low sex drive, and fertility issues. More recently, saw palmetto supplements are sold for hair loss.

But are any of these saw palmetto benefits for men backed by science?

Find out if saw palmetto has any proven health benefits for men. We’ll also discuss the side effects of saw palmetto herbal supplements and go over more effective alternatives to saw palmetto for men’s health issues.

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a dwarf palm tree — basically a shrub-sized version of a regular palm tree. It’s sometimes called a cabbage palm and grows in the Southeastern United States.

As noted, saw palmetto has long been used in traditional and complementary medicine to treat reproductive issues and respiratory symptoms in men and women. But these days, saw palmetto dietary supplements are mainly used for hair loss, prostate gland issues, and other ailments.

The plant contains potent antioxidants, flavonoids, and fatty acids, which may benefit men’s health.

But unfortunately, as you’ll see below, saw palmetto might not be as beneficial as some corners of the internet claim it to be.

When it comes to the prostate, the use of saw palmetto has a long history.

Most recently, saw palmetto has been explored as a beneficial treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Commonly known as enlarged prostate, this health condition means the prostate is swollen but not cancerous.

Two studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), each using different preparations of saw palmetto. They found it no more effective than placebos for BPH symptoms. And while other studies have yielded more impressive results, the NIH refers to them as low-quality in terms of how they were conducted.

Other research shows that the anti-inflammatory properties of saw palmetto may help with lower urinary tract symptoms related to BPH, like improved urine flow.

But not all saw palmetto products and preparations are created equal. Products like Permixon^®, a hexane extract that contains a significant amount of the plant’s fatty acids, have been found to be most effective in treating urinary symptoms.

Studies have explored saw palmetto’s ability to combat androgenic alopecia (male pattern baldness), telogen effluvium (hair shedding), and other types of hair loss. As of now, saw palmetto seems to be a promising treatment for hair growth.

In a 2020 review of seven studies, around 60 percent of people who used saw palmetto reported improved hair quality, and nearly 30 percent had an increase in total hair count.

Saw palmetto might help with hair loss because of its effects on a testosterone derivative called dihydrotestosterone (DHT) — a male sex hormone (androgen) linked to inactive hair follicles and prostate issues in men. Fatty acids in saw palmetto lower DHT by inhibiting the 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which converts testosterone to DHT.

Saw palmetto is also an option for people who may not respond well to first-line treatments for hair loss. It can come in topical form like saw palmetto shampoo or a liquid extract that works as a scalp serum. But it might be more effective when combined with other DHT-inhibiting treatments (like finasteride).

Though saw palmetto appears to have anti-androgen effects, the plant doesn’t seem to cause symptoms of low testosterone levels — which is promising for men seeking healthy, symptom-free hormone balance.

So saw palmetto testosterone benefits might be real in this sense.

Are there saw palmetto sex drive benefits? Erectile dysfunction (ED) is when you have trouble getting or maintaining an erection long enough for satisfying sex. There are many causes, including blood flow issues and low testosterone, as well as depression and performance anxiety.

The saw palmetto-erectile dysfunction link is a complicated one. Some research shows that the fatty acids in saw palmetto may decrease the smooth muscle contraction of the prostate and bladder neck, negatively affecting erectile function, sex drive, and ejaculation.

Other research suggests that saw palmetto may help with ED by increasing nitric oxide and lowering phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5), an enzyme found in the smooth muscle cells of blood vessels.

PDE5 is the same enzyme targeted by PDE5 inhibitors, which include popular ED medications like Viagra^® and Cialis^®. However, at this point, only animal studies have shown benefits of saw palmetto extract for erectile function.

Saw palmetto benefits for men may continue to expand in the future. But for now, using saw palmetto for hair loss seems to be the only worthwhile pursuit — and even this link calls for further research.

If you’re interested in using saw palmetto for a medical condition like an inflammatory disease or prostate health issue, seek medical advice from a healthcare professional.

You’re not the first guy to Google “saw palmetto side effects male.” Saw palmetto is generally considered safe and well-tolerated for most users, but side effects like digestive symptoms (diarrhea, nausea) and headaches have been reported.

Still, these adverse effects are considered mild. Some men look at saw palmetto as an alternative to hair loss medications like minoxidil and finasteride because its side effects are much less common.

Luckily, saw palmetto hasn’t been shown to interact with medications or modify prostate-specific antigen screening results — though most research is focused on men, and there are still questions about whether it’s safe for pregnant people or breastfeeding women.

There have been rare incidences of liver damage when using saw palmetto — but usually in cases where other causes of liver disease were present.

Depending on what you want to treat, alternatives are available for pretty much every use case for saw palmetto. And in many cases, these products have better track records.

If you were thinking of using saw palmetto for erectile dysfunction, consider these ED treatments instead:

• Avanafil, the active ingredient of Stendra^®

• Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra

• Tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis

• Vardenafil, the active ingredient in Levitra^®

If you’re looking for a convenient and discreet ED option, consider chewable Hims hard mints.

Learn more about how to increase testosterone without saw palmetto and what to do about hair loss.

With clinical trials happening constantly, saw palmetto may make strides in men’s health research in the future.

But whether palmetto berries or palmetto supplements will ever make it to the pharmacy counter as an FDA-approved treatment for sexual dysfunction or prostate health is unclear.

For now, this is what we know for sure about saw palmetto benefits for men:

• Saw palmetto offers potential benefits for BPH, hair loss, and ED. But the keyword here is potential. Most studies on the herbal supplement are mixed, and saw palmetto isn’t approved by the FDA.

• Proven, FDA-approved hair loss treatments already exist. For many men, products like minoxidil (Rogaine^®) and finasteride (Propecia^®) can save the hair they still have and promote regrowth.

• Sexual function can also be treated with research-backed medications. ED medications like sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil, and avanafil help increase blood flow to the penis safely and effectively. A urology specialist or another healthcare provider can prescribe these if appropriate.

See if you qualify for erectile dysfunction medications by doing a quick online consultation on our telehealth platform.

Palm trees offer a lot — shade, logos for tropical bars — and maybe, one day, a cure for prostate cancer. Until then, stick with what’s proven.