How to Use Saw Palmetto to Treat Low Sex Drive

The berries of the saw palmetto plant are thought to contain active ingredients that can help treat low sex drive in both men and women. Saw palmetto is believed to affect the hormones that govern the sex drive, raising their levels and stimulating sexual arousal.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Talk to an alternative medicine expert for an explanation of how saw palmetto may work to treat low sex drive. Essentially, saw palmetto boosts your body's natural hormone production, giving men more testosterone and women more estrogen. Testosterone and estrogen are both key contributors to a healthy, normal sex drive.
2. Ingest approximately 160 to 320 mg. of saw palmetto softgels per day. Check how much saw palmetto each softgel contains. Buy saw palmetto in a store with a knowledgeable staff.
3. Continue to treat your condition using saw palmetto if you notice that your low sex drive is beginning to improve. If you notice no change, stop taking saw palmetto. You don't want to risk experiencing side effects without getting the herb's benefits.

Be Mindful of Potential Saw Palmetto Side Effects

4. Pay close attention to how you feel during your first few days of saw palmetto use. The majority of users do not experience side effects, but negative effects occur in a minority of users.
5. Get to know the most common, mild side effects associated with saw palmetto. These include bad breath, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, nausea and vomiting. Usually, these initial side effects go away after a few days, once the body adjusts to the introduction of saw palmetto.
6. Be a smart saw palmetto user. While there is no proof conclusively demonstrating that saw palmetto causes serious side effects, some doctors believe it can trigger potentially serious conditions like irregular heartbeat, liver and pancreas inflammation, breathing difficulties and high blood pressure. You should consider other treatments for your low sex drive if you are in a high-risk category for any of those conditions.

Tips & Warnings

• Saw palmetto is also thought to be useful in treating bladder and urinary disorders, hair loss and pattern balding, enlarged prostate glands in men. It might also present a natural way to enlarge breasts in women.
• Everyone reacts differently to saw palmetto. While some men report it is an effective, natural way to increase sex drive, others report that it causes erectile difficulties. You'll only know how it affects you once you take it. Monitor its effects closely and discontinue use if you find it has an adverse impact on your sexual performance.