Prostate supplements
Prostate Supplements: What They Are and How to Judge Them
Prostate supplements are dietary supplements sold for prostate and urinary support, most often with saw palmetto, pomegranate, zinc or seaweed. They are not medicines and need no approval before sale. Saw palmetto did no better than placebo in large BPH trials. Judge any formula by its printed amounts, its trials and its fit with your health and medicines.
Written by the Prostadine label deskUpdated
The category01
What is a prostate supplement?
A prostate supplement is a dietary supplement sold to support the prostate or the urinary system. Most are blends. Common parts are saw palmetto, pomegranate, zinc, pumpkin seed, lycopene and seaweed.
The law treats them as food, not medicine. FDA does not approve supplements before they are sold and cannot approve their labels (FDA, Information for Consumers on Supplements). A maker may describe how an ingredient supports normal function, but a claim to treat a disease turns the product into a drug (FDA 101: Dietary Supplements).
That is why the bottle front of Prostadine speaks of "normal prostate function" and "bladder control support", and why the sales page is where bigger promises appear. For a plain-language look at one product in this category, see the Prostadine ingredients page.
An enlarged prostate, an infection and cancer can look alike. Read prostate basics for the signs that need a doctor.
The evidence02
Which prostate supplement ingredients are studied most?
Saw palmetto is studied most. Pomegranate comes next, with iodine as a nutrient to watch rather than a prostate remedy. The table sums up what the best trials found.
Saw palmetto has the largest trials. In 225 men followed for a year it did no better than placebo (Bent et al., NEJM 2006). In 369 men on up to three times the usual amount for 72 weeks it did no better either (Barry et al. (CAMUS), JAMA 2011). A Cochrane review of 32 trials and 5,666 men reached the same view (Tacklind et al., Cochrane 2012).
| Ingredient | Study design | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Saw palmetto | Two placebo-controlled trials; a 32-trial review (Bent et al., NEJM 2006) (Barry et al. (CAMUS), JAMA 2011) (Tacklind et al., Cochrane 2012) | No better than placebo for BPH symptoms |
| Pomegranate | Phase II studies, no placebo (Pantuck et al., Clin Cancer Res 2006) (Paller et al., Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2013) | PSA doubling time lengthened after cancer treatment; meaning unclear |
| Iodine | NIH fact sheet (NIH ODS, Iodine) | Adults need 150 mcg a day; 1,100 mcg is the upper limit |
Pomegranate was not studied in BPH, and the study of the extract found no change in testosterone (Paller et al., Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2013). Nobody has tested seaweed, shilajit or neem for the prostate that we could find.
Saw palmetto
Neither dose beat placebo for BPH symptoms.
Pomegranate
Men with rising PSA after cancer treatment; no placebo group in either.
Iodine
Seaweed supplements have measured up to 5,600 mcg in one daily dose.
Bars compare study doses or official limits with each other, not with Prostadine: its amounts are not printed, so its bar stays empty. No trial has tested Prostadine itself.
PSA03
Do prostate supplements change PSA?
Not in the evidence we have. Saw palmetto does not appear to change PSA readings (NCCIH, Saw Palmetto). In the one-year trial of 225 men, PSA did not differ from placebo (Bent et al., NEJM 2006).
That matters for screening. PSA can rise with BPH, prostatitis, infection, a recent biopsy and vigorous exercise (NCI, PSA Test). A lower reading on a supplement would not prove a healthier gland.
Tell your doctor which supplements you take before a PSA test, the same way you would mention a medicine. Do not stop a prescribed medicine to see what happens: finasteride and dutasteride lower PSA, and your doctor allows for that (NCI, PSA Test).
Read the label04
How do I read a prostate formula label?
Read it from the Supplement Facts panel outward. The panel lists the serving size, the amount of every ingredient and any other ingredients. If amounts are missing, you cannot compare the product with any study.
Find the serving
What is one serving, and how many servings are in the bottle?
Check each amount
An amount you can compare with a study dose is useful. A "proprietary blend" total is not.
Look for the base
For a liquid, ask what carries the ingredients: water, glycerin, alcohol or sugar.
Read the warnings
Look for thyroid, pregnancy, children and medicine notes.
Test the claims
A claim with a named, independent source is stronger than a badge with none.
Prostadine's sales page lists nine ingredients with no amounts and shows no panel (Prostadine sales page). Four of the nine are seaweeds, an iodine source, so total iodine per dose is unknown (Teas et al., Thyroid 2004). See the full list on the label page.
Prostadine: from $49 a bottle2 fl oz (60 mL) dropper · 2, 3 or 6 bottles · 60-day money-back guarantee
See packsDrops or capsules05
Are liquid prostate supplements better than capsules?
No evidence says liquid is better. We found no trial that compared forms. The differences are practical.
Liquid drops
- Easy to take in a drink
- No pills to swallow
- Flexible serving size
Watch for
- A full, even dropper each time
- Settling, so shake first
- Liquid base not always printed
Prostadine is a liquid with directions of two droppers (2 ml) a day (Prostadine sales page). The liquid base is not stated, so someone avoiding alcohol or sugar should ask before buying.
Red flags06
What red flags should I watch for in prostate supplements?
The biggest red flag is a promise without a source. Watch for these, and keep them in mind with any brand.
- No amounts for the ingredients, or one blended total.
- A claim to fix, shrink or reverse a disease.
- "Clinically tested" with no study named; the FTC warns the phrase can mislead (FTC, Health Products Compliance Guidance).
- Badges that name no certifier, lab or facility.
- Review counts and customer stories with no way to check them.
- Pressure to buy the biggest pack now.
Tainted products exist in the wider market. The FDA found 776 adulterated supplements from 2007 to 2016, and 353 were sold for sexual enhancement, often with hidden sildenafil (Tucker et al., JAMA Netw Open 2018). That is a fact about the category, not about any one brand. It is one reason to know who sells what you buy.
Screening07
Is a supplement a substitute for prostate screening?
No. A supplement cannot find, rule out or prevent prostate cancer. Screening with a PSA test is a personal decision to make with a doctor (CDC, Prostate Cancer Screening).
For men aged 55 to 69 with no symptoms, US guidance is to decide after weighing the benefits and risks. Men 70 and older should not be screened routinely (CDC, Prostate Cancer Screening). Men with symptoms need an exam either way.
If you still want to try a formula, ask your doctor and pharmacist first, and check the Prostadine testing and quality page for what its badges do and do not prove. NCCIH also reminds readers that "natural" does not always mean safe (NCCIH, Using Dietary Supplements Wisely).
A supplement is never a reason to stop or change a prescription. Same-day care is needed for blood in the urine, fever with painful urination, severe pain, or being unable to pass urine.
FAQ08
Prostate supplement questions, answered
What is a prostate supplement?
A prostate supplement is a dietary supplement sold to support prostate or urinary health, usually a blend of herbs, minerals and extracts. FDA does not approve supplements before sale (FDA, Information for Consumers on Supplements), and a product sold to treat a disease would be regulated as a drug instead (FDA 101: Dietary Supplements).
Which ingredients are studied most?
Saw palmetto is studied most, mainly for urinary symptoms from BPH. Large trials and a Cochrane review of 32 trials found it no better than placebo (Tacklind et al., Cochrane 2012). Pomegranate has been studied in men with rising PSA after cancer treatment, not in BPH (Pantuck et al., Clin Cancer Res 2006).
Do prostate supplements change PSA?
Not in the best evidence. Saw palmetto does not appear to change PSA readings (NCCIH, Saw Palmetto), and in a one-year trial PSA was no different from placebo (Bent et al., NEJM 2006). PSA does fall with finasteride and dutasteride, which are medicines (NCI, PSA Test). Tell your doctor about any supplement before a PSA test.
How do I read a prostate formula label?
Start with the Supplement Facts panel: serving size, amount of each ingredient and other ingredients. A blend with no amounts cannot be judged. Then check for named test results, an adult-use note and warnings. Prostadine's sales page prints none of the amounts.
Is a supplement a substitute for screening?
No. A supplement cannot screen for or rule out prostate cancer. PSA screening is a personal decision with a doctor, especially for men 55 to 69, and men 70 and older are not screened routinely (CDC, Prostate Cancer Screening). New urinary symptoms deserve an exam, not a bottle.
Are liquid forms better than capsules?
We found no evidence that liquids work better than capsules. The real differences are practical: drops allow flexible dosing but depend on a full, even dropper, and the liquid base, often water, glycerin or alcohol, should be printed. Prostadine's base is not stated.
What red flags should I watch for?
Watch for no printed amounts, disease claims, promised results, unnamed labs, fake badges, review counts with no source and urgent pressure to buy. Hidden prescription drugs have turned up in sexual-enhancement supplements (Tucker et al., JAMA Netw Open 2018), so buy only from sellers you can identify.
Who wrote this09
Written and reviewed by
Pages built from the bottle front, the sales page and linked NIH, FDA, FTC and peer-reviewed sources.
Last updated . See our editorial standards and how we check reviews. This website is run by Goprostadine, a USA Authorized Prostadine Retailer, not by the manufacturer. We are paid when you buy through our order links.
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