Thistle Extract
will taking milk thistle extract raise my estrogen levels?
Milk thistle has been reported to have protective effects on the liver and to greatly improve its function. It is typically used to treat liver cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis (liver inflammation), and gallbladder disorders. The active compound in Milk thistle is silymarin, a mixture of at least 4 closely related flavonolignans, 60% to 70% of which is a mixture of 2 diastereomers of silybin. Silymarin is typically administered in amount ranging from 200-500mg per day. Whether or not these dosages are optimal is not known; no scientific data on which to base effective dosage level guidelines is available.
Research into the biological activity of silymarin and its possible medical uses has been conducted in many countries since the 1970s, but the quality of the research has been uneven.
Reviews of the literature covering clinical studies of silymarin vary in their conclusions. A review using only studies with both double-blind and placebo protocols concluded that milk thistle and its derivatives “does not seem to significantly influence the course of patients with alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C liver diseases.” A different review of the literature, performed for the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that, while there is strong evidence of legitimate medical benefits, the studies done to date are of such uneven design and quality that no firm conclusions about degrees of effectiveness for specific conditions or appropriate dosage can yet be made.
A review of studies of silymarin and liver disease which are available on the web shows an interesting pattern in that studies which tested low dosages of silymarin concluded that silymarin was ineffective, while studies which used significantly larger doses concluded that silymarin was biologically active and had therapeutic effects.
Beside benefits for liver disease and treatment claims include:
* Used as a post cycle therapy for body builders
* Lowering cholesterol levels
* Reducing insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes who also have cirrhosis
* Reducing the growth of cancer cells in breast, cervical, and prostate cancers.
* Used in many products claiming to reduce the effects of a hangover
How Milk Thistle and Dandelion helps liver cells?