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Frequently Asked Questions
Question
I have seen saw palmetto at XXXXX XXXXX much cheaper than yours. Why the price difference?
Answer
Saw palmetto is subject to some very deceptive marketing practices by many companies. What you need to remember is that all clinical studies on saw palmetto have used the liposterolic extract at a dose of 320mg daily, with the extract being standardised to not less than 85% fatty acids and sterols.
Many companies use encapsulated saw palmetto powder which has very little of the active ingredients. However, it is marketed deceptively. For example, the average consumer given the choice between a 500mg capsule of powder and a 320mg softgel of standardised extract will probably choose the 500mg product, believing it to be stronger. However, the clinically tested standardised extract contains roughly a ten-fold concentration of the active ingredients. That is, the 320mg standardised softgel contains the equivalent of 3200mg of powder.
Also, be aware that the term ‘standardised extract’ can be employed creatively and deceptively. Do not purchase the product unless you know the standardisation criteria. Is it a weak extract standardised to 10% fatty acids and sterols? Or is it the clinical strength extract that is standardised to not less than 85% fatty acids and sterols?
If you want to achieve benefit from saw palmetto then you must use a daily dose of 320mg of an extract that is standardised to not less than 85% fatty acids and sterols. Androbalance provides such a product. Indeed we have gone to great lengths to source the exact same extract that has been selected by an NCCAM expert committee as the product of choice for the US National Institute of Health's major trial of saw palmetto in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
I hope that this helps clarify the situation regarding price differences between products. As with so many things in life you simply get what you pay for.