Milk thistle is a herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Silybum, also known as milk thistle. The flowers appear reddish-purple and have been used as medicinal (seed or fruit parts) for more than 2,000 years and have the title of “Guardian of Liver”
Do you know the benefits of milk thistle supplements?
Among them, Silymarin fat-soluble composite extract is the main component of milk thistle health preparations (and Silybin is the most active). In addition to the most common liver protection effects (relieving hangover, hepatitis, and toxin elimination), it has potential Anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, immune regulation, anti-fibrosis, anti-hyperglycemia, anti-viral, and other effects.
Table of Contents
- What are the benefits of milk thistle?
- Are there any side effects of Milk thistle?
- Where to buy milk thistle extract capsules recommended by most people?
What are the benefits of milk thistle?
1. Good blood lipid regulation
Dyslipidemia is a metabolic disorder that is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular events such as coronary heart disease, cerebral ischemia, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease. Properly treated dyslipidemia can reduce the risk of heart disease by about 30% within 5 years
A systematic literature review and meta-analysis (including 10 randomized controlled trials) pointed out that supplementing milk thistle extract can reduce total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (low-density) and triglyceride, and increase the concentration of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
In addition, Subgroup analysis based on the type of intervention showed that silymarin combined with other treatments had a greater improvement in LDL-C and TC concentrations than silymarin alone.
*Conclusion: Milk thistle extract can have a beneficial effect on blood lipid regulation, especially in combination with other supportive treatments (such as weight loss programs), but it is still limited by the heterogeneity of the included studies and needs more Multiple studies to confirm its effectiveness and safety.
2. Beneficial non-alcoholic fatty liver
Non-alcoholic fatty liver accounts for about 75% of all chronic liver diseases, mainly defined as abnormal fat accumulation in liver tissue (more than 5% of liver volume or weight), and there is no drinking or chronic liver disease (autoimmune and metabolic liver disease).
A large number of studies have found that non-alcoholic fatty liver is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, colorectal cancer, type 2 diabetes, and psoriasis.
A meta-analysis (meta-analysis, including 8 randomized controlled trials involving 587 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) pointed out that compared with placebo or other therapies, the use of milk thistle extract has The effect of reducing liver function index AST and ALT, and the effect of using alone is the best.
*Conclusion: For non-alcoholic fatty liver patients, the use of silymarin/silymarin can help reduce AST and ALT, and have a positive effect on the prognosis of the disease.
3. Improve mucositis (caused by radiochemotherapy)
Mucositis is mainly related to cancer treatment (chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation therapy). Because the treatment is not targeted, both malignant and normal host cells will be affected, causing damage to the mucosal epithelial cells of the cavity and inhibiting growth. Mucosal atrophy and necrosis occur And ulcers, making it difficult to speak, swallow, and eat.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (a 6-week, 27 head, and neck cancer patients) pointed out that the use of milk thistle extract (daily dose 1260 mg) can delay radiotherapy-related mucositis compared to placebo And reduce its severity.
*Conclusion: Oral milk thistle extract can improve the mucositis incident caused by head and neck cancer treatment, but the results still need to be confirmed by more large randomized trials.
4. Beneficial for chronic hepatitis B
Hepatitis B virus is the main cause of acute and chronic hepatitis. It is estimated that more than 2 billion people worldwide have been infected, of which 250 million people have hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).
Hepatitis B virus is mainly transmitted by mother-to-child transmission and comes into contact with the body fluids (blood, semen, and saliva) of infected persons through skin wounds or mucous membranes. The clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic carriers to explosive hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. And hepatocellular carcinoma can occur.
A meta-analysis of literature (including 12 randomized controlled trials of chronic hepatitis B) pointed out that the combined use of silymarin/silymarin and antiviral or liver protection and protection drugs has potential therapeutic value and can improve serum aminotransferase (ALT/AST) And the improvement effect of liver fibrosis markers.
*Conclusion: Silymarin combined with drugs may help improve the therapeutic effect of chronic hepatitis B, but it is limited by the low quality of the included studies, and further studies in the future are still to be confirmed.
5. Good for diabetes
Due to aging, urbanization, changes in diet and lifestyle, type 2 diabetes has become the disease with the highest prevalence rate. It is estimated that by 2040, more than 600 million people will be affected worldwide.
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by decreased islet β-cell function and worsened insulin resistance, increasing the probability of various neurological and vascular-related complications, including diabetic foot, retinopathy, neuropathy, kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc.
A literature meta-analysis (including 5 randomized controlled trials with a total of 270 patients with type 2 diabetes) pointed out that the use of milk thistle extract can improve the effectiveness of blood sugar control (lower fasting) compared to placebo blood sugar, glycated hemoglobin.
*Conclusion: Oral milk thistle extract can help improve diabetes-related control indicators, but is limited by the small sample size and heterogeneity, to be further confirmed.
6. Beneficial for chronic hepatitis C
Chronic hepatitis C is a common cause of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver transplantation, and primary liver cancer. According to World Health Organization statistics, it affects more than 3% of the world’s population (about 170 million people), mainly spread The way is injection drug use, blood transfusion, hemodialysis, organ transplantation, sexual intercourse, etc.
Hepatitis C virus infection can be acute or chronic. About 20–30% of chronically infected patients develop cirrhosis after 10 years. The main factors that affect the progression of the disease are alcohol intake, age, HIV or HBV co-infection, High body mass index, fatty liver, etc.
A literature meta-analysis (including 5 randomized controlled trials, 389 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection) pointed out that oral milk thistle extract failed to produce statistically significant results compared to placebo Improvement effect (relevant indicators include: ALT, HCV RNA/C hepatitis virus nucleic acid and quality of life).
*Conclusion: As of now, oral milk thistle extract has failed to have a beneficial effect on chronic hepatitis C, to be confirmed by more large-scale experiments.
Are there any side effects of Milk thistle?
For most people, oral milk thistle and its extracts are generally considered safe and well-tolerated, but side effects that have been reported include headache, diarrhea, nausea, bloating, musculoskeletal pain, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
Safety Precautions
1. Do not use for pregnant women and lactating women (because the relevant safety is unknown).
2. Do not use Asteraceae plant allergy, may induce allergic reactions, related plants are ragweed, chrysanthemum, calendula, daisy
3. Suffering from hormone-sensitive symptoms (such as breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometriosis, or uterine fibroids), because milk thistle extract may have a hormonal effect, which may cause symptoms to worsen
4. Do not use with drugs that require the action of cytochrome P450 enzymes, which may affect the efficacy of the drug and cause increased side effects. Related drugs include Elavil, Valium, Zyflo, Celebrex, Voltaren, Lescol, Glucotrol, Advil, Motrin, Avapro, Cozaar, Dilantin, Feldene, Nolvadex, Tolinase, Demadex, Coumadin.
Where to buy milk thistle extract capsules recommended by most people?
In recent years, food safety problems in various countries have exploded, and it is not healthy but black-hearted products that everyone spends on. Therefore, European and American products with relatively strict quality control have become popular products.
And iHerb.com is a large-scale medical cosmetics e-commerce company in the United States. It has a high satisfaction rate of 97% in the evaluation of Google customers. It provides global home delivery so that you can buy it without risking buying fakes through purchasing high-quality health products.
