Milk Thistle
For Professional Use Only
Although it has been used for thousands of years as a digestive aid, milk thistle’s beneficial effects on the liver have been known only since 1564, when the physician, Lonicerus crushed the seeds and used them to treat liver disorders. However, milk thistle should not be confined to the realm of medieval folk medicine because its powerful, yet non-toxic active ingredients, and their efficacy in all sorts of livers disorders, are being confirmed today through laboratory studies and extensive clinical trials. The active ingredients in milk thistle are flavonoids comprised of silybin, silydianin and silychristin--collectively known as silymarin. It is these flavonoids that are receiving such rave reviews by scientists and researchers.
How Does Milk Thistle Work?
Milk thistle is used by many for numerous digestive disorders but it stars in protecting the liver from toxins and diseases. There are four primary ways it protects:
It is a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger, joining that select group of nutrients which primarily includes vitamins A, C, E and selenium.
It increases the glutathione content of the liver. Glutathione detoxifies drugs and chemicals, so more of it gives the liver more ability to detoxify. "Silymarin has also been shown to increase the glutathione content of the liver by over 35% in healthy subjects."
The active ingredient, silymarin, inhibits the formation of leukotrienes. When formed, these substances damage the liver.
Milk thistle can stimulate protein synthesis which results in the production of new liver cells to replace damaged ones.
Therapeutic Research
"Extensive clinical trial have clearly substantiated the ability of milk thistle to reverse the symptoms of many liver disorders, both acute and chronic, ranging from acute viral hepatitis to cirrhosis."
When the liver is damaged by alcohol, drugs or disease its regenerative capacity slows down or even stops. Milk thistle’s incredible restorative ability is vital.
If my liver works well, why do I need Milk Thistle?
The liver is our prime defence against toxins, and life in the industrial age with its environmental hazards has exposed us to many more toxins than ever before--whether we’re sitting in traffic, breathing second-hand smoke, or working in a big city office complex. Milk thistle effectively counteracts the effects of pollutants from workplace chemicals, auto exhaust, pesticides, heavy metals, to other toxins that are a consequence of living in the industrial age. No one can afford not to know about milk thistle’s protective effects.
How Should I Take Milk Thistle?
A handful of crushed milk thistle seeds was the prescription in former times. But with the increase in research, standardized milk thistle extracts are manufactured which guarantee potency. When buying a milk thistle extract look for 80% silymarin in a natural base.
Is it Toxic
Tests in animals showed that even large doses of milk thistle had no toxic effects, nor produced allergic reactions or side-effects. Human tests show that milk thistle is also very well tolerated.
Gahler Milk Thistle Capsules
Gahler Milk Thistle capsules are unique in that they contain 80% silymarin in 250mg of milk thistle extract, one of the highest potencies available in the marketplace.
Researchers at Gahler Herbs have gone an extra step and included dandelion and turmeric, as well as milk thistle in their capsules. Historically, both dandelion and turmeric have been used to treat liver disorders. According to Michael Murray in The Healing Power of Herbs: "Dandelion is regarded as one of the finest liver remedies, as both food and medicine. Studies in humans and laboratory animals have shown that dandelion enhances the flow of bile, improving such conditions as liver congestion, bile duct inflammation, hepatitis, gallstones and jaundice." Turmeric also contains components which prevent liver damage and has been widely used for centuries.
To include these two ingredients into a milk thistle capsule guarantees a powerful herbal remedy which protects us from environmental and lifestyle damage.
Gahler Herbs adherence to strict quality control standards, as well as using the most sophisticated extraction methods, guarantee that the active ingredients in their milk thistle capsule are available to you.