What
To Know Before Taking Milk Thistle Supplements?
How much is usually taken?
For liver disease and impaired liver
function, research suggests the use of 420-600 mg of silymarin
per day from an herbal extract of milk thistle standardized
to 80% silymarin content. According to research and clinical
experience, improvement should be noted in about eight to
twelve weeks. For people with chronic liver disease, milk
thistle extract may be considered a long-term therapy.
For those who prefer, 12-15 grams of
milk thistle dried fruits can be ground and eaten or made
into a tea. This should not be considered therapeutic for
conditions of the liver, however.
Are there any side effects or interactions?
Milk thistle extract is virtually devoid
of any side effects and may be used by most people, including
pregnant and breast-feeding women. In fact, it has been
recommended as a treatment for itching due to poor gallbladder
function during pregnancy. Since silymarin stimulates liver
and gallbladder activity, it may have a mild, transient
laxative effect in some people. This will usually cease
within two to three days.
There is one case report of a 57-year-old
Australian woman experiencing several episodes of nausea,
abdominal pain, vomiting and weakness after taking a milk
thistle preparation. This case is so atypical, however,
that the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee of Australia
questioned whether the product taken might not have contained
other herbs or additives that could be responsible for the
adverse reaction.
Are there any drug interactions?
Certain medications may interact with
milk thistle. Refer to the drug interactions safety check
for a list of those medications.
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