Milk Thistle

Milk thistle is the common name for the herb Silybum marianum and has been used for around 2,000 years as a natural remedy for a variety of ailments such as liver, kidney and gall bladder problems. The active ingredient in milk thistle is silymarin, which is a flavonoid with powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that protects the liver from certain toxins and may actually regenerate damage done to this vital organ. Milk thistle is used in a variety of liver treatments such as:

• Alcohol-induced liver disease
• Viral hepatitis
• Mushroom poisoning (from the deathcap mushroom)
• Liver cancer

Since the effective ingredient in milk thistle is silymarin, effective milk thistle supplements are standardized to contain 70 to 80% silymarin.