Living in a highly toxic world, our livers are working overtime! This leads many individuals feeling “sluggish” or “melancholy”. At worst, a poor functioning liver can lead to reliance on dialysis machines and/or early death. So, how can we give our live a little tune up? The answer lies in a natural supplement that comes from 1st century Mediterranean regions call Milk Thistle. During the 16th century, the English herbalist John Gerard said the following about milk thistle, “my opinion is that this is the best remedy that grows against all melancholy diseases”.
Several studies have supported the use of milk thistle for liver cleansing and also cancer prevention. Researchers state that it may help the liver by reducing free radical damage in the body and reducing the overall toxic load on the liver.
Some research even indicates milk thistle can help repair liver damage from alcohol or prescription drug abuse. This is because the active compound in milk thistle is called “silymarin”. This is a group of compounds called flavonolignans. These help the cells in the liver regenerate by stimulating protein synthesis.
One particular study looked at workers whom were exposed to toxic chemicals for 5-20 years. After 30 days of use researchers noticed an improvement in overall liver function in a large portion of the test population.
A study from the University of Colorado Cancer Center reported milk thistle it can also prevent skin cancer and photo-aging. Further, Integrative Oncology Essentials notes that milk thistle has been shown to have anti-cancer properties for numerous cancer cell types, including:
- prostate
- lung
- liver
- and skin cancers
- breast
- cervical
- ovarian
- colon
Milk Thistle Tea
Ingredients:
- Dried milk thistle seeds and leaves (find here)
- Hot water
- Raw organic honey (optional)
Procedure:
Crush the seeds and leaves and place in a muslin bag. Let the bag steep in hot water for five minutes. Add a teaspoon of raw honey for flavor.