Milk thistle is a North American weed, a member of the daisy family that grows all over the United States. It has dark green, shiny leaves with spiny edges and reddish-purple flowers. Known as silybum marianum (milk thistle), it is an extraordinary herb that powerfully protects, assists, and even regenerates the liver. It is so effective that in experiments with mice, if Milk thistle is administered within a few minutes of ingestion of the the deadly Amanita phalloides mushroom, death is not only prevented, but little liver damage is found.

A poor diet is a frequent cause of excess stress to the liver. Any toxins that leave the gut are transported almost instantaneously into the liver, almost as if they'd been beamed up by the starship Enterprise, right through a special vein called the portal vein. The liver immediately has to detoxify this material. The liver produces bile, which is crucial for emulsifying fatty acids. It even produces special substances that stimulate blood clotting. The liver, along with the kidneys, acts as a superb filter for any substance that might be hazardous to the body, from drugs to chemicals, solvents, and pesticides, and even our own hormones and inflammatory chemicals.

Traditionally, when liver disease strikes, such as after an infection with hepatitis B or C, most patients are told to take medications like alpha interferon, which can cause numerous side effects, including bone marrow suppression. When steroids have been used against hepatitis, they have often proven ineffective and damaging to the immune system. Liver transplants can be life-saving; however, reinfection of the new liver usually occurs. Although not a cure, milk thistle, on the other hand, has been found to be not only rapidly effective but also safe and free of debilitating side effects.

Silymarin can protect the liver from a wide range of potential poisons from alcohol to mushrooms to prescription drugs (without interfering with the drugs' potency).

Paperchase ref: 99307437 Zi, X., et al. "Silibinin decreases prostate-specific antigen with cell growth inhibition via G1 arrest, leading to a differentiation of prostate carcinoma cells: implications for prostate cancer intervention." Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1999 Jun 22)

Paperchase ref: 98638766 "Inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) tyrosine kinase activity by silymarin, a polyphenolic antioxidant and potent cancer chemopreventive agent" (Meeting abstract). Pro Annu Meet Am Assoc Cancer Res (1997)

Paperchase ref: 98638460 Zi, X., et al. "Anti-carcinogenic effect of a polyphenolic antioxidant silymarin in breast cancer cells MDA-MB468: A p53-independent inductino of WAF 1/Cip1/p21 and G1 arrest." (Meeting abstract) Proc Annu Meet Am Assoc Cancer Res (1997)

Paperchase ref: 98308109 Ahmad, N., et al. "Skin cancer chemopreventive effects of a flavonoid antiosidant silymarin are mediated via impairment of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling and perturbation in cell cycle progression." Biochem Biophys Res Commun (1998 Jun 18)

For more information on nutraceuticals that prevent and reverse disease read "The Nutraceutical Revolution" by Dr. Richard Firshein.

by Dr. Richard Firshein