Comment · Fri, February 14, 2025 · ND Owner
Milk Thistle is beneficial to the liver! fact or fiction?
Original post in this thread
Suspicious_Effort161 · 32 points
Looking for somebody with a better understanding of the topic to weigh in here. i’ve seen a lot of conflicting information on whether or not milk thistle actually benefits liver function. please educate me.
What they were answering
Suspicious_Effort161 · 5 points
Thank you for a in depth response I was hoping you would answer. I’ve often wondered if many studies have shown somewhat negligible effects is due to a lack of a standardized extract
u/MisterYouAreSoDumb · ND Owner
That and study design. Milk thistle, through its silymarin content, has multiple mechanism for protecting the liver:
* Antioxidant properties, scavenging free radicals and reducing oxidative stress
* Anti-inflammatory effects, modulating enzymes associated with cellular damage, fibrosis, and cirrhosis
* Membrane stabilization, helping maintain glutathione levels in liver cells
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3586829/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32065376/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7140758/
Combining a high silymarin milk thistle with reduced glutathione is a good way to get a synergistic effect for liver protection.