Milk Thistle - wonder herb or nonsense?

Milk Thistle - wonder herb or nonsense?

Author
Discussion

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Sunday 12th May
quotequote all
Hi folks. I remember a colleague about twenty years ago swearing by this supplement after a night on the drink.

Just came into my mind this evening and looked up some videos about it online. Seems quite the natural remedy. Has anyone taken it or any recommendations? Is it as good as they claim or placebo?

https://youtu.be/r0qkWUTc8m4?si=MHMgRxU0mCR9ovjw

Cheers

d_a_n1979

8,627 posts

73 months

Sunday 12th May
quotequote all
Read more and you'll see it's mainly tosh...

However a banana (potassium) and electrolytes are much better for you as they replace what you really need

xx99xx

1,940 posts

74 months

Sunday 12th May
quotequote all
It's unlikely to see off or prevent a hangover but it can improve liver health (according to some studies) if taken long term. I suspect those studies didn't factor in a constant supply of alcohol though.

It's cheap supplement so take it for a few months and make up your own mind.

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Monday 13th May
quotequote all
d_a_n1979 said:
Read more and you'll see it's mainly tosh...

However a banana (potassium) and electrolytes are much better for you as they replace what you really need
Just by sheer coincidence I bought a bunch of bananas on the way home last night. Used to regularly eat them but have got out of the habit. I'll try to eat more of them.

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Monday 13th May
quotequote all
xx99xx said:
It's unlikely to see off or prevent a hangover but it can improve liver health (according to some studies) if taken long term. I suspect those studies didn't factor in a constant supply of alcohol though.

It's cheap supplement so take it for a few months and make up your own mind.
Oh I wouldn't be taking it because of hangovers, I don't tend to drink enough to suffer badly from them anyway.

It's the more rounded antiinflammatory properties I'm interested in. Surely that has a positive effect on the whole body and not just the liver but they only major in the liver.

It's something I'm considering in a more holistic approach to improving my health. My iron levels are elevated but apparently lower than previous results which I wasn't informed of. This can affect vital organs especially liver. Total cholesterol is 6.7 of which the bad type is about 4. I got a referral letter from GP for private US scan of liver last October. This showed moderate fatty liver issues. The scanner wasn't a liver specialist but said about 30% of population at my age 50 would be the same, alcohol consuming or not. I don't know if he passed results to GP but I've not been contacted.

I refused the GPs offer of Statins too which scanner and other medics have advised me to reconsider.

Reassuringly he scanned the rest of my torso and said everything else looked healthy.

I'm away for a brisk walk now before being desk bound the rest of the day.

Cheers.


TameRacingDriver

18,117 posts

273 months

Monday 13th May
quotequote all
As a (ex) heavy drinker I've been taking these for years. No idea how much benefit they have really, but I took them as my late dad recommended them and said they were often recommended by doctors to improve liver health (as already mentioned). I'm still here even though plenty have told me I should probably be dead by now, but that's hardly a very scientific recommendation hehe However, I don't think they do any harm and are certainly cheap enough so I continue.

d_a_n1979

8,627 posts

73 months

Monday 13th May
quotequote all
IIRC grapefruit, beetroot and blueberries are excellent for your liver.

Great to eat too...

xx99xx

1,940 posts

74 months

Monday 13th May
quotequote all
I tried drinking beetroot juice for a while. I like the taste. Pissing and stting red coloured stuff though put me off.

d_a_n1979

8,627 posts

73 months

Monday 13th May
quotequote all
xx99xx said:
I tried drinking beetroot juice for a while. I like the taste. Pissing and stting red coloured stuff though put me off.
Haha; part n parcel wink

I juice some of the beetroot I grow, from the boltardy to the golden beetroot etc - that sweetens the flavour a bit too much for me. It's nice mixed with a cloudy apple juice too and weirdly, the wife says; goes great as a savoury gin drink...

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
d_a_n1979 said:
xx99xx said:
I tried drinking beetroot juice for a while. I like the taste. Pissing and stting red coloured stuff though put me off.
Haha; part n parcel wink

I juice some of the beetroot I grow, from the boltardy to the golden beetroot etc - that sweetens the flavour a bit too much for me. It's nice mixed with a cloudy apple juice too and weirdly, the wife says; goes great as a savoury gin drink...
Ha this made me chuckle as a mate and I were talking about beetroot the other day, how nice it was but the side effects. I suppose like anything the takeaway is eat healthy, drink in moderation or ideally not at all and exercise.

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
TameRacingDriver said:
As a (ex) heavy drinker I've been taking these for years. No idea how much benefit they have really, but I took them as my late dad recommended them and said they were often recommended by doctors to improve liver health (as already mentioned). I'm still here even though plenty have told me I should probably be dead by now, but that's hardly a very scientific recommendation hehe However, I don't think they do any harm and are certainly cheap enough so I continue.
Good to hear you're still around mate. Long may that continue. I think I'll give Milk Thistle a try and see. I don't feel or look like I've liver issues so I doubt I'll notice an improvement but it's probably a preventative measure as much as anything.

Cheers.

spikeyhead

17,399 posts

198 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
xx99xx said:
I tried drinking beetroot juice for a while. I like the taste. Pissing and stting red coloured stuff though put me off.
Try peering into the bowl the morning after a very hot beetroot curry

d_a_n1979

8,627 posts

73 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
MercedesClassic said:
d_a_n1979 said:
xx99xx said:
I tried drinking beetroot juice for a while. I like the taste. Pissing and stting red coloured stuff though put me off.
Haha; part n parcel wink

I juice some of the beetroot I grow, from the boltardy to the golden beetroot etc - that sweetens the flavour a bit too much for me. It's nice mixed with a cloudy apple juice too and weirdly, the wife says; goes great as a savoury gin drink...
Ha this made me chuckle as a mate and I were talking about beetroot the other day, how nice it was but the side effects. I suppose like anything the takeaway is eat healthy, drink in moderation or ideally not at all and exercise.
Yeah; I'm drinking lots of it (and eating it too and the beetroot leaves in salads) as I've potential issues with my liver currently which I'm having an mRI for next week - all backlash of having an urgent cholecystectomy last June (after weeks of being heavily jaundiced and in hospital etc) - no booze has passed my lips since 13th Feb when we were up in the Highlands and that's when it started to rear its ugly head etc...

Not sure if the beetroot/beetroot juice is helping but it can't do any harm smile

The fibre in beetroot is good for other things too...! If you like it, deffo keep it in your diet

popeyewhite

20,083 posts

121 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
If you want to flush the liver take TUDCA, it's what cancer clinics use to fortify/replenish parts of the liver after intravenous chemotherapy application. Might be overkill though. The liver is pretty tough actually - think of a lifelong alcoholic and the abuse their liver gets yet cell/enzyme renewal keeps going.

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
d_a_n1979 said:
MercedesClassic said:
d_a_n1979 said:
xx99xx said:
I tried drinking beetroot juice for a while. I like the taste. Pissing and stting red coloured stuff though put me off.
Haha; part n parcel wink

I juice some of the beetroot I grow, from the boltardy to the golden beetroot etc - that sweetens the flavour a bit too much for me. It's nice mixed with a cloudy apple juice too and weirdly, the wife says; goes great as a savoury gin drink...
Ha this made me chuckle as a mate and I were talking about beetroot the other day, how nice it was but the side effects. I suppose like anything the takeaway is eat healthy, drink in moderation or ideally not at all and exercise.
Yeah; I'm drinking lots of it (and eating it too and the beetroot leaves in salads) as I've potential issues with my liver currently which I'm having an mRI for next week - all backlash of having an urgent cholecystectomy last June (after weeks of being heavily jaundiced and in hospital etc) - no booze has passed my lips since 13th Feb when we were up in the Highlands and that's when it started to rear its ugly head etc...

Not sure if the beetroot/beetroot juice is helping but it can't do any harm smile

The fibre in beetroot is good for other things too...! If you like it, deffo keep it in your diet
Glad to hear you're on the mend from surgery. The beetroot juice and cloudy lemonade cocktail sounds great, possibly with a dash if fresh ginger to further aid digestion.

MercedesClassic

Original Poster:

877 posts

98 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
popeyewhite said:
If you want to flush the liver take TUDCA, it's what cancer clinics use to fortify/replenish parts of the liver after intravenous chemotherapy application. Might be overkill though. The liver is pretty tough actually - think of a lifelong alcoholic and the abuse their liver gets yet cell/enzyme renewal keeps going.
Thanks for posting. I'd never heard of TUDCA but I've looked it up and wow, it seems to be a wonder potion. This is basically the man-made equivalent of bear's bile Chinese medics used to drain out of bears in a cruel way.

I see it can be bought with milk Thistle blended in too, amongst other wonder ingredients. I'll give this some consideration. Thanks.

Bernie_78

251 posts

197 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Hi

I've been using Tudca for 3-4 months as Milk Thistle gave me some issues.

Hard to nail down its effectiveness but my liver took a triple hit the last 6 months from immunotherapy so wanted to help if I could.

TameRacingDriver

18,117 posts

273 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Since the OP mentioned using MT for drinking, and then people are now mentioning TUDCA, I did some reading tonight and it seems that you should avoid mixing TUDCA with alcohol, just FYI.

Link: https://gridiron-nutrition.com/2022/06/27/how-long...

It suggests against taking before and only taking after alcohol after a moderate amount.

I'm sure there will be other articles around, but as an example.

Edited by TameRacingDriver on Wednesday 15th May 22:30

xx99xx

1,940 posts

74 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
And there is also N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for liver benefits.

soad

32,936 posts

177 months

Thursday 16th May
quotequote all
Didn’t bodybuilders (on steroids) used to take this?