Milk Thistle

Milk thistle is one of the most potent herbal detoxifiers, and it is a must-have supplement for anyone concerned about blood sugar, liver health, chemical allergies, pollution or cancer.

   It is extracted from the seeds of Silybum marianum, a thistle topped prickly purplish flower containing seeds.

More than 200 experimental and clinical studies suggest that milk thistle is an effective therapy for various liver diseases, including fatty liver, acute and chronic hepatitis, advanced cirrhosis and damage from drugs and exposure to toxic chemicals.

In 1981, a German researcher, Dr G. Vogel of the University of Munich conducted a study of 49 patients throughout Europe, who had been poisoned by a deadly mushroom, amanita mushroom, also called the death cap. They were all given injections of milk thistle's active chemicals daily in addition to their regular treatments. The results ranged from amazing to spectacular. Ordinarily the death rate from these mushrooms would be 30-40%, but the milk thistle reduced the death rate to zero!

In my opinion, during the menopause, the liver is overtaxed, trying to cope with surges of hormones and trying to adapt to the transition that the body is going through. Which is why so many women become oversensitive to chemicals and food. So in addition to reducing the toxic overload by trying to eat sensibly (lots of veggies and organic if possible), I think it's a good idea to supplement with milk thistle to help the liver even more.

The general recommended dose is 420mg in three divided doses during the day, of silymarin (a standardised capsule or tablet of milk thistle would generally contain 70% silymarin) as a therapeutic dose, and 280mg of silymarin to help prevent liver dysfunction and damage.

Milk thistle is very safe to use and only causes mild side effects such as an upset stomach, in less than 1% of users.
High quality milk thistle is very rapidly absorbed and amazingly, improvements (measured by liver function tests) can be noticed in five to eight days of taking milk thistle.