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Better Vitality

Ingredients, one at a time

Supplement labels list ingredients; they rarely tell you which ones have human trials behind them or at what dose. These pages do. Same five questions for every ingredient, so you can compare.

Prostate

  • Saw palmettoSerenoa repens

    The most used herbal for urinary symptoms in men, with a trial record that is genuinely split. Standardized lipid extracts at 320 mg a day helped in several European trials; the largest US trial found nothing over placebo.

    Mixed evidence
  • Pumpkin seed oilCucurbita pepo seed oil

    A widely used, well-tolerated oil with a small number of decent trials showing modest improvements in urinary symptom scores and nighttime urination. Often mentioned on forums as the supplement men noticed something from.

    Moderate evidence
  • Beta-sitosterol

    A plant sterol with some of the better trial results in the category: improved symptom scores and flow in several randomized trials, though none measured prostate size changes and the trials are old.

    Moderate evidence
  • PygeumPrunus africana bark extract

    African cherry bark extract with a long history in European urology and a Cochrane review that found modest symptom improvement. Frequently named in forum threads about nighttime urination.

    Moderate evidence
  • Rye grass pollen extractCernilton, Graminex flower pollen

    A standardized pollen extract used in Europe and Japan for prostate symptoms since the 1960s, with trial data showing fewer nighttime trips and better symptom scores.

    Moderate evidence

Blood sugar

  • BerberineBerberine HCl

    The best-studied supplement for fasting blood sugar, with meta-analyses showing reductions in fasting glucose and HbA1c comparable to low-dose oral medication. It also has the most side-effect discussion of any supplement in the category.

    Strong evidence
  • Gymnema sylvestreGurmar, 'sugar destroyer'

    An Ayurvedic leaf extract with a handful of small trials showing lower fasting glucose and HbA1c in type 2 diabetics, plus a well-documented effect of blunting sweet taste for about an hour after chewing it.

    Moderate evidence