BPH is one of the most common diseases, affecting about half of men over the age of 50. The prostate is a hormonal organ that surrounds the urethra under the bladder, and the normal size of an adult male is about 20 g of chestnut. As the prostate enlarges, it compresses the urethra and stimulates the bladder, which is called an enlarged prostate.
What are the symptoms that suggest an enlarged prostate?
If you are unable to urinate, feel a sense of residual urination, or frequently wake up to urinate during sleep, you may have an enlarged prostate. Interrupted or weak urine streams and an increase in the number of visits to the toilet than usual are also suspicious symptoms.
How to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia?
Treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia includes surgery and drug therapy. If symptoms are not severe, first treat with medication. Drug therapy is a treatment that improves urine output or reduces the size of the prostate by reducing tension in the urethra and bladder neck, which are surrounded by the prostate.
Saw palmetto extract is known to be effective in prostatic hyperplasia among health functional foods. Saw palmetto extract, a saw palm tree native to the Atlantic coast, has been approved as a health functional food by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety because it can help maintain prostate health by slowing the growth rate of prostate cells. The sales ranking ranks 13th to 15th among health functional foods.
Is Saw Palmetto Extract Effective for BPH?
The NECA research team confirmed its effectiveness using indicators such as prostate symptom score, maximum urine rate, nocturia, residual urine volume, and prostate size.
There was no difference in most of the results, such as improvement in prostate symptom score, prostate size, and residual urine volume, in the control group taking saw palmetto extract and a placebo. However, in the control group who took the BPH treatment, the number of urination at night improved and the size of the prostate decreased.
Side effects of saw palmetto extract are known to include side effects related to sexual function, such as erectile dysfunction and ejaculation disorders, as well as headache, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal disorders. However, serious side effects did not appear in the control group taking saw palmetto extract, and most of the side effects that occurred were recoverable with minor side effects.
The Korea Institute of Health and Medical Research’s Medical Technology Reevaluation Committee said that there are no safety concerns about the use of saw palmetto extract, but the scientific evidence to support that saw palmetto extract relieves the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia is uncertain.
If you arbitrarily take saw palmetto extract in the hope that the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia will improve, the exact cause and diagnosis of the disease will be delayed, and there is a risk of starting treatment after symptoms worsen. If you have difficulty urinating or if you suspect that you have an enlarged prostate, you should consult a specialist and seek treatment.
By Choi Seung-sik, staff reporter [email protected]
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