Milk Thistle Is Good For More Than Just The Liver
Darrell Miller
Milk thistle has been used in Europe for over 2000 years for
the treatment of liver problems. It is native to the
Mediterranean regions of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East
and has been naturalized to Australia and California. Milk
thistle has been used for the treatment of liver disease such
as alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver poisoning, and viral
hepatitis. It helps regulate blood sugar, fat metabolism and
helps with the excretion of certain hormones. It’s been known
to help with acne, constipation, crohn’s disease, and irritable
bowel syndrome. The liver produces bile and milk thistle helps
in the production of bile which metabolizes fats in the small
intestines.
Milk thistle can help with atherosclerosis, gallstones, high
cholesterol, iron overload, and some forms of cancer. Milk
thistle helps the liver convert LDL cholesterol (Bad
cholesterol) into HDL cholesterol (Good cholesterol), and milk
thistle helps the liver reduce the amount of cholesterol in the
bile which is dumped directly into the intestines where it can
be reabsorb. Reducing the cholesterol in bile will help lower
the chances of forming gallstones.
Milk thistle can help with some forms of cancer related to the
hormone estrogen. Laboratory experiments demonstrated silybin,
the active ingredient in milk thistle, will fight for estrogen
receptor sites and block the estrogen that is in the body from
landing on cancer cells. Milk thistle would be a good
preventative herb for those at risk for breast cancer and
cancers stimulated by estrogen.
Milk thistle in large doses has shown to protect the kidneys
from damage during chemotherapy. A study done with mice given
milk thistle in very large doses equivalent to 30grams per 110
pounds in adults completely shielded the kidneys from damage
during chemotherapy. The two drugs used were doxorubicin and
cisplatin; milk thistle actually increased the effectiveness of
these two drugs. With liver cancer, milk thistle will protect a
special immune system cell called kuppfer cells which destroys
bacteria, toxins, and other foreign matter that enters the
liver. Milk thistle has also shown to help fight prostate
cancer.
Milk thistle can help the liver become less insulin resistant
which would be a benefit for diabetics. The liver helps remove
insulin from the blood stream with type 2 diabetes and can help
with diabetes caused by liver damage from excess alcohol
drinking. When there is excess insulin in the blood stream
weight gain can occur, milk thistle can help fight weight gain
by helping the liver remove insulin from the blood.
Milk thistle is best used with phosphatidylcholine, when taken
together can boost the absorption by 95% that means more of the
milk thistle makes it into the blood stream then with out
phosphatidylcholine. Phosphatidylcholine is also known as soy
lecithin which can be picked up at any health food store. If
you are currently a diabetic, you should monitor your blood
sugar carefully while you on milk thistle. Women who are using
the birth control pill should not take milk thistle because it
helps the liver remove hormones from the blood stream and may
render the birth control pill ineffective. Anybody who starts
taking milk thistle might experience loose bowels because
gallbladder activity will increase, but after a few days this
will subside.
The statements in this article are not intended to diagnose,
treat and cure or prevent disease please consult your health
care physician before discontinuing medication or introducing
herbs into your diet if you are currently on medication of any
kind.
About The Author: Visit VitaNet® Health Foods at
http://vitanetonline.com/ . VitaNet
sells high quality vitamins
and herbs at discount prices and name brands like Source
Naturals and Planetary Formulas. Call Toll Free 1-800-877-8702.
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