Saw palmetto has long been used in Europe and the United
States for relief of swollen prostate glands, but a
recent study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine suggests that it may be a waste of money.
The study, led by Dr. Stephen Bent of the University
of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans
Affairs Medical Center, followed 225 men with prostate
problems for a year. The men were either give 160 milligrams
of saw palmetto twice a day or a placebo. At the end
of the study, the researchers claimed that they saw
no benefit in the group taking the saw palmetto.
The study's authors are quick to point out, however,
that their research doesn't close the book on saw palmetto's
usefullness in treating enlarged prostate glands. Past
research has come up with different conclusions, and
the researchers of this current study suggest that perhaps
different types of saw palmetto may have different results.
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