How to Use Saw Palmetto to Treat Bronchitis

With more people seeking natural remedies as alternatives to side effects-laden drug treatments, saw palmetto has emerged as a versatile, effective healer. Bronchitis is one of many conditions you can use saw palmetto for, as it may have some beneficial effects on the body's breathing passageways.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Meet with an alternative medicine authority and discuss the potential benefits of using saw palmetto to treat bronchitis. It has anti-inflammatory properties, which can aid the treatment of the irritated bronchioles which cause bronchitis.
2. Consider saw palmetto to treat the causes of bronchitis, but not necessarily the symptoms. You should not expect it to provide immediate, short-term relief from coughing and wheezing. Instead, take over-the-counter or prescription cough medicines to alleviate symptoms.
3. Learn to read labels carefully. You need to take between 160 mg. and 320 mg. of standardized saw palmetto berry extract each day to get enough of the plant's active ingredients. Some capsules will provide a full dosage in a single pill, while others may have smaller proportions of active ingredients.
4. Use saw palmetto according to the directions given to you by your doctor or a natural medicine expert. Though saw palmetto use is considered safe and users frequently experience no side effects, some people complain of mild stomach irritations, bowel movement disruptions and bad breath.
5. Stop taking saw palmetto immediately if you develop irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, liver and pancreatic inflammations or profuse bleeding when you cut yourself. While it is unclear whether saw palmetto can ever cause these conditions, anecdotal evidence suggests there might be a connection.

Tips & Warnings

• Cases of chronic bronchitis should be treated medically by your doctor. You should consider using saw palmetto only to supplement treatments that have been scientifically proven to be effective.

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