Milk Thistle herb for your liver health.
The active ingredient of Milk Thistle is silymarin which is known to protect the liver thus this herb has been generally suggested for cure and remedy to liver ailments. Silymarin is really composed of flavonoids silibinin, silidianin, and silicristin which are believed to repair the damage to the liver cells caused by alcohol and toxic substances that enter the body. It also protects the new liver cells from being destroyed also by the same toxins.
Liver and Milk Thistle Herb
The liver has multiple function inside the body which include the production of substances that break down fats, production of urea which is the main substance of urine, manufacture certain amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins and are necessary for the different functions of the body, conversion of glucose as well as the maintenance of the proper level of glucose in the blood and the filtration of harmful substances that enter the body which could prove to be harmful. This includes alcohol, medicines at high doses not easily tolerable by the body and other toxins that are included in the food that we eat. The role of milk thistle in the body is to protect the liver cells from damage from the harmful toxins so that it continues to perform its role at peak performance, thus promoting a healthier body.
Mushroom Poisoning
Traditionally, milk thistle is the emergency antidote for people who have been poisoned by deathcap mushroom or Amanita phalloides. It’s ability to immediately and completely counteract the toxic effects of the mushroom totally remove the negative effects to the body. It is most effective if administered within 10 minutes after the toxic mushroom is ingested. If this antidote is given within 24 hours, the risk of damage to the liver by the poisonous mushroom is significantly reduced and even death could be averted.
Milk Thistle Herb as Anti Cancer
Milk Thistle is also believed to be an antioxidant with its anti-cancer properties. Laboratory results showed that silymarin and the other active ingredients contained in this herb have the ability to stop the cancers cells from replicating and reproducing. The test tube samples also showed that they have the ability to reduce or cut off the blood supply to the tumors thus rendering death to the cancerous growths or decreasing their life span. However, it still needs to be tested on the human body to validate the results and check for other potential effects.
Other Liver Diseases
For those suffering from alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis from of course, alcohol abuse, milk thistle is one of the suggested remedies to increase the survival rate by helping improve the liver functioning. Due to its work on the overall health of the liver, it is also suggested for other related liver ailment such as viral hepatitis particularly hepatitis C. However, the results of tests is not yet conclusive.