Misc Milk Thistle

[Thomas29]

I heard a lot about this around but can not get any reliable sources. It is supposed to be good for the Liver but I also read it can be bad?

 

[polymath]

Just read the wikipedia articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_thistle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silibinin

The active component, silibilin, has been shown to prevent elevation of liver enzymes caused by chronic alcohol consumption in animal experiments. It also protects against other liver toxins like acetaminophen, carbon tetrachloride or the mushroom amanita phalloides. Silibilin is not toxic even in huge doses.

Here's a more academic paper about it: http://medind.nic.in/iby/t06/i11/ibyt06i11p491.pdf

 

[bow-viper1]

Erowid has a couple of really good pages with a handful of clinical study results.

Hundreds of scientific studies now confirm the therapeutic value of milk thistle. No damaging side-effects have been recorded in its application over the years in Europe to treat a variety of liver conditions. Trials involving more than 2000 patients with some type of liver disorder have shown it to be useful in treating: alcohol and chemical induced fatty liver, cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, cholangitis (inflammation of the bile ducts), pericholangitis (inflamation of the tissue around the bile ducts) and hepatic parenchymal changes (damage to the parenchymal tissues of the liver). All these benefits have been confirmed by clinical, laboratory and histological (tissue) studies. On a less crucial level, milk thistle can be used as a nutritional supplement to promote helath by protecting the liver against the many adverse factors that can cause damage to the vital organ.

Source: Erowid Milk Thistle Vault : Therapeutic Uses

Another great page with a compilation of articles is Erowid Milk Thistle Vault : Abstracts.

As far as side effects, the only I've personally experienced or read about are minor, like upset stomach and vomiting. Almost all findings suggest that Milk Thistle has very low toxicity.

It is thought to interact with some medications though, so you should ask your doctor or pharmacist if that is a concern of yours.

 

[Thomas29]

Just read the wikipedia articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_thistle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silibinin

The active component, silibilin, has been shown to prevent elevation of liver enzymes caused by chronic alcohol consumption in animal experiments. It also protects against other liver toxins like acetaminophen, carbon tetrachloride or the mushroom amanita phalloides. Silibilin is not toxic even in huge doses.

Here's a more academic paper about it: http://medind.nic.in/iby/t06/i11/ibyt06i11p491.pdf

LOL seriously wikipedia IMO is not a valid source NO THANK YOU. But anyways regarding that I read somewhere that Milk Thistle is bad because it stops your Liver from Protecting itself like why does it Lower the Liver Enzymes are they not high for a reason from Alcohol and tylenol and shit etc?