|
What
is a typical daily dose for saw palmetto
Unfortunately it is difficult to give a straight answer. There
is no standard potency for Saw Palmetto. Different brands have different
strengths so while people might claim they are taking x mgs a day,
just how much of that is truely active saw palmetto is difficult
to say.
However, most people seem to take 320mgs a day (2x160mgs). There
are pills up to 500mgs available - at least 500mgs is claimed on
the side of the packet!. Of the few dermatologists that use saw
palmetto, some recommend up to 1000mgs per day in conjunction with
other treatments. A few people take as much as 2000mg a day. However,
there is no evidence that high intake is any more effective than
the typical dose.
There is a law of diminishing returns when taking 5 alpha reductase
inhibitors. A small amount of inhibitor is very effective at removing
up 80% of reductase activity. However, it is difficult to remove
more activity beyond this even with much higher drug doses. Mega
doses do not really help and could potentially increase the chance
of side effects.
When selecting Saw Palmetto for use ignore those products that
contain leaves or other parts of the Saw Palmetto plant. It is oil
extracts from Saw Palmetto berries that contain the active inhibitors
of 5 alpha reductase. Extracts from other parts of the plant do
not contain any of the desired active compounds.
|
