Milk thistle is a powerful herb, a favourite amongst herbalists and trusted by generations
for its benefits to the body but what are these benefits, and what is the best way to consume it
and are there any concerns. Find out all that on this video.
Let’s go
Milk thistle or holy thistle or mary thistle is a flowering herb native to
mediterranean countries and is now widespread throughout the world. It has these destructive
purpose flowers and white veins, it’s actually a great looking herb.
Fun fact: It gets its name holy thistle or mary thistle as the white markings on its leaves,
historically where thought to be the markings from the virgin mary's milk. But the name milk
thistle comes from the fact milk thistle produces a milky white sap when broken off from the stem
Right now, people are searching for milk thistle to help with hangovers,
fatty livers and for skin health. One thing I can say for now is that this herb is powerful
and it’s one of my favourite herbs, actually, in my first ever instagram post from early 2013,
one of the herbs within the post was milk thistle. If you aren't following me there,
go follow me, maybe once we get to 100k subscribers ill turn it to an NFT lool
It’s obvious from the name that milk thistle has been revered through history, and there
is evidence it has been used for over two thousand years. In fact, It was mentioned by
a Greek physician in an encyclopedia of plant remedies from the first century AD and this
is for its healing qualities. Historically, it was used for many ailments including liver,
kidney and gall bladder problems but this gives the question as to
what is the best way to take it, what are its benefits for the everyday person, and
is it better to take the seeds, leaves, powder, tea or capsules.
These are the questions that people are asking and will continue asking as this herb
climbs in popularity. I’ve been using this plant for over 10 years and I swear by it.
I’ll discuss all of these points in this video but without further ado, let’s get into the benefits
The first benefit of milk thistle is its protective benefits to the liver
This is the main reason why a lot of people take this herb or at least reach
towards it. The function of our liver is filtration, digestion, protein synthesis,
storage of vitamins and minerals, metabolism and detoxification.All key things, and there's more,
but some things stand out, like detoxification, helping rid the body of allergens, toxins. So,
it’s a tough job that the liver has, and a lot of our modern habits can be damaging to the liver,
for example, overconsumption of alcohol can have an impact on the liver and its other functions
and the protective nature of milk thistle
can help, so healing from the effects of alcohol is why a lot of people take it.
Other reasons for this is its strong antioxidant component known as silymarin
In general I believe this is a powerful herb to have in your herb cabinet, especially if you're
an athlete or high performing individual. This can be in the corporate world too.
That brings me to my second benefit of milk thistle
Milk thistle might help improve performance
I mean it makes sense from a logical standpoint.
If milk thistle can aid with liver health and the liver is responsible for precursors
to sex hormones, actually, men with liver disease have testosterone levels that progressively fall
as the disease ggets worse. This could be to do with the liver's role in vitamin D
and creating cholesterol, both are important for testosterone and estrogen.
Also, The liver is one of the most important organs for making proteins.
So there could be a knock on effect here.
One study found that milk thistle’s active component,
known as silymarin is may enhance physical performance, recovery, and muscle hypertrophy
The next benefits of milk thistle is the sharpening of the brain
Firstly, milk thistle contains the powerful antioxidant silymarin,
antioxidants can help prevent oxidative stress to the brain,
essentially helping keep the brain younger for longer. To learn more about anti aging
in general and herbs role in it, click the I and watch the antiaging series.
One study found that milk thistle helps prevent the potential protein plaque
build up that leads to brain related issues like alzheimers. One study in rats found silibinin,
another powerful antioxidant in milk thistle,
can improve learning and memory,and have a beneficial effect on the central nervous system,
Also, milk thistle has a positive effect on inflammation
and brain inflammation which can impact brain function.
The fourth benefit of milk thistle is its impact for women
For one, it’s said to help with breast milk production for mothers, although be sure to speak
to an expert before trying but also, it’s said to help reestablish the correct balance of hormones.
So it’s useful for targeting estrogen dominance,
reducing post menopausal symptoms such as hot flashaes, helping with PCOS as liver problems can
lead to a backup of hormones making these issues issues like PCOS and menstrual problems worse.
There are other benefits too as it’s really a powerful herb for general wellness.On this channel
we focus on optimising wellness and daily life, not healing, that’s a more dedicated approach. So
if you’re currently suffering from something like diabetes, definitely speak to an expert
But, what other concerns are there of milk thistle? Well generally speaking
milk thistle is considered safe and well tolerated. I’ve noticed people who tend to
speak about side effects from taking milk thistle are using very concentrated versions like extracts
and tablets. I’m more an advocate for lose leaf or 100% ground powder. But it’s worth being
mindful of some of the side effects noted anyway, these are digestive issues, nausea and skin
reactions and if you’re already on medication be mindful of drug interactions or contraindications
With that being said, should you consume the seeds or the leaves. Well the seeds
tend to be more powerful but both have positive effects on the body. There is more silymarin
in the seeds but you can easily get powders that contain the seeds and the leaves
and ill link one in the description. Also, it’s easy to create a tea using the seeds
and or the leaves, a simple herbal infusion or decoction to pull out the compounds
and start benefiting. I believe in going closer to nature if you're trying to
optimize life with minimal side effects that tend to come sometimes from higher doses.
So hope you enjoyed that video, will you out milk thistle? Let me know in the description