How Much Milk Thistle Should One Use to Support Liver Health
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 12:06 pm
One of the reasons that mainstream medical practitioners do not often recommend herbs is because the plants vary in their content. The active constituent of milk thistle is silymarin, but an extract may contain very little silymarin or a great deal. The most concentrated extracts provide 85mg of silymarin per 100mg of extract.
It is impossible to make a suggestion about how much milk thistle should one use, without knowing the concentration. You can only follow the supplement manufacturers' advice or that of a healthcare professional.
With an 85% concentration, most nutritionists feel that 100mg per day is sufficient to provide the health benefits. Those benefits are primarily to the liver, although there may be some benefit to the kidneys and to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.
Like many other plant extracts, silymarin has some anti-oxidant activity. All anti-oxidants have some anti-cancer activity. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that green tea reduces the risk of prostate and breast cancer. Most of the latest studies have concerned the anti-cancer benefit of curcumin, which is an antioxidant found in turmeric. There are currently a number of clinical trials concerning its benefit in treating cancer and Alzheimer's. Because of all of this information about the health benefits of plants, there are many of us that feel daily supplementation is a good idea.
It is impossible to make a suggestion about how much milk thistle should one use, without knowing the concentration. You can only follow the supplement manufacturers' advice or that of a healthcare professional.
With an 85% concentration, most nutritionists feel that 100mg per day is sufficient to provide the health benefits. Those benefits are primarily to the liver, although there may be some benefit to the kidneys and to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.
Like many other plant extracts, silymarin has some anti-oxidant activity. All anti-oxidants have some anti-cancer activity. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that green tea reduces the risk of prostate and breast cancer. Most of the latest studies have concerned the anti-cancer benefit of curcumin, which is an antioxidant found in turmeric. There are currently a number of clinical trials concerning its benefit in treating cancer and Alzheimer's. Because of all of this information about the health benefits of plants, there are many of us that feel daily supplementation is a good idea.