Can Milk Thistle Cure Cirrhosis

Cirrhosis means severe liver damage. Lliver tissue could be scarred by the effects of alcoholism, drugs or liver infections like hepatitis. When blood tests show high liver enzymes, it’s an indication that liver scarring or cirrhosis has possibly occurred. In a well-controlled study of 105 people with cirrhosis, researchers compared hose who took 420 mg of silymarin with people who (unknowingly, of course) were taking a placebo. After around 41 months, it was found those in the placebo group had almost twice the mortality rate as those in the silymarin group. Even though the researchers acknowledged that milk thistle does not cure cirrhosis, this study provided compelling evidence that silymarin can increase the survival rate of people with this disease.

Everybody is able to take advantage of detoxification. A month or two of milk thistle supplementation “does a liver good” and, of course, the effects are even greater when supplementation is combined with a good program of dieting and exercise. There are benefits for the immunity mechanism, as well since it is much less burdened with toxins. In fact, I’d be skeptical of any detoxification formula that doesn’t contain milk thistle, It does such a superior job that, most high-quality detoxification supplements will include it as one of the main ingredients in a formula.

Since milk thistle increases bile flow, it minimizes the saturation of cholesterol in bile. (High cholesterol saturation in bile is exactly what causes gallstone formation.) Having said that, I’d advise caution for people diagnosed with moderate to large gallstones. Use milk thistle or another bile-stimulating herbs under the advice of a healthcare professional.

Milk Thistle Protect Liver
I recommend milk thistle supplementation to people who require long-term use of prescription drugs. Such drugs can harm the liver, and milk thistle appears to provide some defense against this side effect. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 60 people, researchers discovered that silymarin protected against the long-term use of drugs used for mental illness. The advantages came with doses of 800 mg per day of silymarin. There was evidence that these doses reduced the blood levels of MDA (malon-dialdehyde), the particular “marker” that shows the liver has been damaged by long-term use of psychotropic drugs.

I also recommend milk thistle to anyone who’s exposed to toxins at work. A well used example would be a welder, who is exposed to smoke and other contaminants. Those who can’t quit smoking could probably limit the liver damage by supplementing with milk thistle, I commonly recommend milk thistle extract for people undergoing chemotheraphy or radiation treatments for cancer. Metabolic waste material are created by these treatments, and the liver must process the waste before it can be safely eliminated.