| For those on Accutane..take milk thistle!
Hello all!
Just in case some aren't aware of this herb, milk thistle is excellent, and clinically proven, to help protect your liver from damage. Since Accutane is harsh on your liver I've been taking the herb to try and help guard against damage. Perhaps you might wanna add it to your daily regime?
MILK THISTLE
The Liver Herb
• Protects the liver from damage due to alcohol and chemicals
• Assists regeneration of liver tissue
• Detoxifies the blood
• Useful in the treatment of cirrhosis, hepatitis and fatty liver
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From the ancient Greek healers to modern European physicians, over 2000 years of use makes Milk Thistle one of the most consistently effective medicinal herbs on the globe. And with its ability to defend and rebuild the health of the liver, Milk Thistle is poised for a future as blessed as its past.
A THISTLE BY ANY OTHER NAME...
Otherwise known as St Mary's Thistle, Silybum marianum (botanical name), Marian's Thistle, Holy Thistle and Blessed Thistle, the plant's many guises all relate to an old legend. The story tells of Mary (Maria) resting beneath the boughs of a thistle tree so that she may feed the baby Jesus. It is said that a drop of her milk fell on the plant's green leaves and there it stayed.
LONG LIVE THE LIVER
Even before these holy connections were made, the medics of ancient Greece and Rome utilised the herb, as have healers across the ages. And throughout its use as a medicine, Milk Thistle has been most closely associated with the health of the liver. In fact, there is an astounding weight of empirical evidence and research data pointing towards Milk Thistle's use as a liver protector and regenerator.
TREATING SERIOUS LIVER DISORDERS
For over two decades now, study after study has confirmed Milk Thistle's unique abilities with regard to aiding the correction of liver disorders. Conditions including cirrhosis, viral and alcohol-induced hepatitis, and fatty infiltration of the liver have all shown significant improvement when treated with an extract of Milk Thistle. Even the poisons most dangerous to the liver, those contained in the Deathcap mushroom, can be effectively detoxified with Milk Thistle extract.1
HOW DOES MILK THISTLE WORK?
Milk Thistle yields three main active compounds known collectively as Silymarin, which work in a number of ways to restore liver health. Firstly, Silymarin inhibits the factors responsible for causing liver damage. As well, it increases the liver's content of a substance called glutathione which is responsible for detoxifying many chemicals, drugs and hormones. Silymarin also stimulates the growth of new liver cells so that damaged areas of the liver may be regenerated.2
WHY IS A HEALTHY LIVER IMPORTANT?
Beyond the treatment of liver disorders, everyday care of the liver lays a cornerstone for total body health. Naturopaths and others who look beneath the symptoms of an illness to its underlying cause, often discover that the liver has had a role to play. This is true across a vast range of different ailments from headaches to PMT.
The liver has an influence over every centimetre of the human body and it is vital that this organ be allowed to perform its many roles with efficiency because:
Toxins enter the body every day, and the liver has the responsibility of filtering them out of the bloodstream.
Hormones influencing both our physical and emotional well-being are activated and broken
down in the liver.
Many Vitamins, including some in the B complex, rely on the liver to activate them.
The metabolism of fats and carbohydrates depends on a liver that performs well and therefore so do energy levels and the body's ability to use fat for fuel.
So, a healthy liver is important for everyone but especially those who:
Eat fatty foods or have a generally poor diet.
Have a poor digestive function.
Need to lower their cholesterol levels.
Use oral contraceptives, Hormone Replacement Therapy or other drugs containing hormones.
Drink alcohol on a regular basis.
Are exposed to pesticides, solvents or other environmental pollutants.3
Are trying to reduce body fat.
ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-PSORIASIS
Milk Thistle is highly effective as an antioxidant herb, particularly with its ability to protect the liver from free radical damage. Its component Silymarin is at least ten times more potent as an antioxidant than Vitamin E.4
Because psoriasis is associated with toxins in the blood, Silymarin (with its detoxifying action) can be useful in the treatment of this condition. Silymarin also reduces the body's production of substances (called leukotrienes) known to worsen psoriasis.5
CHOOSING A MILK THISTLE EXTRACT
It is essential that the Milk Thistle extract you choose is standardised to provide a minimum amount of Silymarin in each dose. Without this you have no way of knowing how much of the herb's active constituents are present in the supplement.
Milk Thistle is already a commonly prescribed herbal medicine in Europe and, with its ability to protect and restore a healthy liver function, is destined to enjoy increasing growth in use and popularity. Ongoing research continues to confirm the belief that Milk Thistle is a blessed discovery for anyone who cares about the health of their liver.
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