Milk-Thistle

Milk Thistle is good for detoxing the liver.

Why would you want to detox your liver? Let me tell you why
I did, and what happened.

I had been living in hydrogen sulfide for a couple of years.
This was because my condo had been built over part of an old
privy pit, but you could have hydrogen sulfide in your home
from an ill fitted toilet, or from a second bathroom which you
seldom use, allowing the water to dry out of the traps, thus
giving the sewer gas free entry to your home. That's one
reason.

Another reason, also one of mine, is that I've been having
medications for many years, cyanocobalamin shots, for
instance, for over a decade. There is in each shot a small
amount of cyano... which is a toxin. It's a tiny amount, really.
But, over time that adds up. I have also had other medications
which have known side affects, so who knows how much of
those are left in some residual measure.

I had heard of Milk Thistle from a man who had his own stock
trading firm, back when I was a Realtor. I forget what he used
it for, but I was sceptical that it could be as good as he said.

Fast forward a dozen years and a woman wrote to me after
she'd had a hydrogen sulfide experience followed by tetanus.
She said that a liver cleanse had made a huge difference to her
and that I should try it. (She'd been to my site, which is how
she came to write to me.)

After I'd read about several different liver cleanse products, I
decided that what all of them did was rely on the Milk Thistle
in their preparations. So, I ordered the Milk Thistle alone.

I was excited to try it, as you probably will be if you order it. I
followed the directions, expecting to be feeling a change for the
better in the not too distant future. But within a day I was not
feeling at all well. I was having a hard time thinking clearly, for
one thing. I felt as if my mind had been bogged down ... it
took me awhile to realize that how I felt was almost exactly the
way I'd felt when I was living in the hydrogen sulfide.

So I realized that the Milk Thistle must have dislodged a lot of
toxins from my liver and set them free in my body to be
eliminated if I drank a lot of water and allowed them to be
flushed out.

Reinforcing this interpretation is the fact I sent some with a
variety of other vitamins to my son in London. He wrote back
that he didn't like the vitamins at all. He said that he had
expected to feel better when he took them, but in fact he was
feeling much worse.

That said, I actually do feel much better since taking the Milk
Thistle and removing at least some of the toxins. Since then I
have a slightly clearer mind more often (except that the on-
going stress makes a mess of my thinking by way of overload.)

(Silybum marianum Gaertn), is a member of the family
Asteraceae. Also known as the Marian, St. Mary's, and Our
Lady's thistle, Milk Thistle should not be confused with the
blessed or holy thistle (Cnicus benedictus), an entirely different
species.

Milk Thistle is a tall herb with prickly leaves and a milky sap
that is native to the Mediterranean region of Europe. Milk
thistle is among the most ancient of all known herbal
medicines, having been used as a folk remedy for centuries for
liver complaints. Recent research has demonstrated that
extracts of milk thistle do indeed protect against some very
nasty liver toxins.

Research has uncovered a host of antihepatotoxic (liver
protectant) compounds commonly referred to as silymarin.
Silymarin has been shown to consist of a large number of
flavonolignans, including silybin, isosilybin, dehydrosilybin,
silydianin and silychristin. Animal studies have shown that
silymarin exerts a liver protective effect against a variety of
toxins, including the phallo toxins of the deadly Amanita
phalloides mushroom.

Amanita phalloides is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in
the world, containing toxins that are particularly destructive to
the liver. Ingestion of this mushroom can lead to severe liver
damage and death if untreated. The active ingredient of the
herb is a bioflavonoid mixture called silymarin, the principal
component of which is silybin. In animal experiments, when
silymarin was given before poisoning by the Amanita
phalloides mushroom, it was found to be 100 percent effective
in preventing liver damage. Silymarin was also found to be
completely effective if given to animals within ten minutes of
exposure to the poison. When given within twenty-four hours
it still prevented death and greatly reduced the amount of liver
damage.

Silymarin also confers protection against the liver damage from
dangerous solvents such as carbon tetrachloride and ethanol
(alcohol). Silymarin has been used in the treatment of hepatic
disorders in humans, and a German medical study found that
liver function in patients with chronic hepatitis improved after
three months of therapy with silymarin. A later study reported
on the use of 420 milligrams of silymarin daily in patients with
cirrhosis of the liver. Of twenty followed up for six to thirty-six
months, ten were definitely improved and four had
deteriorated.

The results of numerous studies suggest that silymarin not only
protects liver cells by preventing the actions of toxic substances
but that it also stimulate protein synthesis to accelerate the
regeneration and production of liver cells.

Silymarin and component silybin function as antioxidants,
protecting cell membranes from free-radical-mediated oxidative
damage. This type of damage is known as lipid peroxidation.
Most liver toxins produce their damaging effects by free radical
mechanisms. Both silymarin and silybin protect red blood cell
membranes against lipid peroxidation and hemolysis (breaking
down of the red blood cells) caused by certain red blood cell
poisons.

Start out slow with it because it releases toxins from your liver;
the effect can be intense if there are many toxins. So don’t
take more than one of them a day for the first two weeks. (I
had two weeks where I felt as if my mind had turned to
cement; it was quite worrying.)

Synonyms:

Bull thistle, cardo blanco, Cardui mariae fructus, Cardui
mariae herba, Cardum marianum L., Carduus marianus L.,
Chardon-Marie, Emetic root, flavonolignans, Frauendistel,
Fructus Silybi mariae, fruit de chardon Marie, heal thistle,
Holy thistle, Isosilibinin, isosilybin, Kanger, Kocakavkas,
Kuub, Lady's thistle, Legalon, mariana mariana, Marian
thistle, mariana mariana, Mariendistel, Marienkr;ouml;rner,
Mary thistle, mild thistle, milk ipecac, natursil, natursilum,
Our Lady's Thistle, pig leaves, royal thistle, shui fei ji,
silidianin, Silybi mariae fructus, silybin, silybinin, silychristin,
silymarin, snake milk, S. marianum , sow thistle, St. Mary's
thistle, Thisylin, Venue thistle, variegated thistle, wild
artichoke. (Taken from a Mayo Clinic page.)

Milk Thistle

by Francine Rainone, D.O., Ph.D., M.S.
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University,
Bronx, New York

Milk thistle has been used as a cytoprotectant for the
treatment of liver disease, for the treatment and prevention of
cancer, and as a supportive treatment of Amanita phalloides
poisoning. . . In an oral form standardized to contain 70 to 80
percent silymarin, milk thistle appears to be safe for up to 41
months of use. Significant drug reactions have not been
reported. (from Am Fam Physician 2005;72:1285-8.
Copyright © 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians.)

Effects of silymarin on the resolution of liver fibrosis - Published April, 2008,
Journal of Viral Hepatitis - Results showed restoration of liver fibrosis in the
therapeutic group was significantly increased as compared to that in the model
group.

Flavonoid, silibinin, inhibits proliferation and promotes cell-cycle arrest of
human colon cancer.
Published November, 2007, Journal of Surgical Research - CONCLUSION:
Silibinin significantly inhibits proliferation. . .

Clinical applications of Silybum marianum in oncology.
Published June, 2007, Integrative Cancer Therapies - Milk thistle is increasingly
used in oncology research and treatment. Possible indications during cancer
treatment include cleansing and detoxification after chemotherapy, preventing
hepatotoxicity during chemotherapy, treating hepatotoxicity after chemotherapy,
and potentiating chemotherapy and radiation therapy as an adjunctive treatment.
Milk thistle may also have applications in ameliorating long-term hepatic and
cardiovascular effects of cancer treatment.

Advances in the use of milk thistle (Silybum marianum).
Published June, 2007, Integrative Cancer Therapies - Silymarin, a mixture of
flavanoid complexes, is the active component that protects liver and kidney cells
from toxic effects of drugs, including chemotherapy. Although milk thistle has not
significantly altered the course of chronic liver disease, it has reduced liver
enzyme levels and demonstrated anti-inflammatory and T cell-modulating effects.

Silymarin, the antioxidant component of Silybum marianum, protects
against burn-induced oxidative skin injury.
Published November, 2007, Burns - Journal of the International Society for
Burn Injuries - BACKGROUND: severe burn is one of the most common
problems faced in the emergency room. Major thermal injury induces the
activation of an inflammatory cascade resulting in local tissue damage, to
contribute to the development of subsequent damage of multiple organs distant
from the original burn wound. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that both
systemic and local administration of silymarin was effective against burn-induced
oxidative damage and morphological alterations in rat skin. Therefore, silymarin
merits consideration as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of burns.

Protective effect of silibinin against isoproterenol-induced injury to cardiac
myocytes and its mechanism
Published March, 2007, in Chinese - Silibinin protects cardiac myocytes against
isoproterenol-induced injury through resuming mitochondrial function and
regulating the expression of SIRT1 and Bcl-2 family members.

Use of Silybum marianum fruit extract in broiler chicken nutrition:
influence on performance and meat quality.
Published June, 2007, Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition -
Treatments reduced lipid content of both breast and thigh and increased muscles
resistance to oxidative stress.

Phyto-Female Complex for the relief of hot flushes, night sweats and quality
of sleep: randomized, controlled, double-blind pilot study.
Published February, 2007, Gynecological Endocrinology - OBJECTIVE: To
determine the efficacy and safety of the herbal formula Phyto-Female Complex
(ingredients: standardized extracts of black cohosh, dong quai, milk thistle, red
clover, American ginseng, chaste-tree berry) for the relief of menopausal
symptoms. RESULTS: The women receiving Phyto-Female Complex reported a
significantly superior mean reduction in menopausal symptoms than the placebo
group. The effect of treatment improvements in menopausal symptoms increased
over time; by 3 months there was a 73% decrease in hot flushes and a 69%
reduction of night sweats, accompanied by a decrease in their intensity and a
significant benefit in terms of sleep quality. Hot flushes ceased completely in 47%
of women in the study group compared with only 19% in the placebo group.

Silybin and silymarin--new and emerging applications in medicine.
Published 2007, Current Medicinal Chemistry - Silybin and silymarin from milk
thistle, used so far mostly as hepatoprotectants, were shown to have other
interesting activities, e.g. anticancer and canceroprotective and also
hypocholesterolemic activity. These effects were demonstrated in a large variety
of illnesses of different organs, e.g. prostate, lungs, CNS, kidneys, pancreas and
also in skin protection. Important findings bring silymarin preparations closer to
respective application in the cancer treatment.