Milk Thistle

Liver support and Glutathione levels

From: http://www.health-matrix.net/2012/02/20/milk-thistle-boosting-your-liver-function-the-natural-way/

The silymarin complex, particularly the silibinin component of milk thistle, protects the liver in a direct and indirect way. It protects the liver from free-radical damage. It prevents certain toxins from entering liver cells and even neutralizes toxins that have already penetrated the liver. It is able to regenerate liver cells that have been injured, prevent fibrosis and prevent fatty liver.

Silymarin can raise  glutathione levels in liver cells by as much as 50%. Glutathione is the most important liver-protecting antioxidant, becoming depleted if we are exposed to high levels of toxins on a daily basis. Silymarin also increases the activity of another antioxidant known as supraoxide dismutase (SOD).

Supplementing

Milk thistle seeds, ground

Can be made into a tea, but can also be eaten as is, sprinkled over food or added to smoothies.
She tried out a few forms in which to take this herb. She found that for ground seeds:
“Over the last year though, I’ve discovered that if you grind the seed fine enough (to a fine powder) that it tastes really nice, especially in smoothies and apple sauce. This has way upped compliance, and seems more bioavailable when all ground up that way too. As a result, I’ve seen something like a tenfold increase in beneficial therapeutic results from this preparation.”
“… but that the more acute or intense cases really benefit from the ingestion of the actual seed. This also works better than large doses of isolated silymarin (surprise surprise).”
“Current dosage I’m working with is 2-3 Tb per day for an adult male of average size.”

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