Saw Palmetto is a small plant native to the coastal areas of Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. It has been an important food source for native Americans for at least 12,000 years. Saw Palmetto has not lost its value since then, because all parts of this plant are known to have important health benefits.
The most prized part of Saw Palmetto is the berries, which are harvested, dried, and ground for preparation as a tea or in capsules. The Berries has a pungent, sweet taste, and has a warming affect on the body.
By the native Indians, Saw Palmetto has been used as a tonic for nutritional supplementation. They used the Saw Palmetto’s seeds as food and they believed that the fruits had special health benefits. Early American settlers used the juice from Saw Palmetto berries to gain weight, to improve general disposition and as a sedative. They used it also to treat problems associated with the genitals and reproductive system.
Nowadays, Saw Palmetto is used to treat a variety of ailments. It is believed to fight coughs, bronchitis, dysmenorrhea, and asthma. It is still used to stimulate appetite, balance the metabolism, and aid digestion.
Saw Palmetto is also known as an aphrodisiac for both men and women and as a popular treatment for an enlarged prostate both in Europe and the United States. It also appears to have anti-inflammatory and mild antiandrogenic effects.