Do You Need Milk Thistle?

Milk thistle is a popular remedy for liver disease. For some it's just a weed, but for many others, it's a well-known medicinal plant that helps lessen the damage of chronic hepatitis. This stout, spiny plant has an excellent reputation among alternative medicine supporters--but does milk thistle earn its two-thousand year reputation in light of 21st-century medical science?

The medical literature is unclear. Milk thistle appears to be very safe for most people, but its benefits haven't been conclusively demonstrated for hepatitis patients. Some studies conclude that milk thistle provides some kind of protection to the liver, but many other studies don't show this. Unfortunately, to complicate matters, many of these studies have design flaws. So, it's difficult to develop strong conclusions (either for or against) from the existing research. Truly, more quality research is needed.

Until this type of research is available, what's a good strategy? Certainly, talk with your doctor if you're thinking about taking milk thistle. Though this may seem like a harmless natural therapy, milk thistle is still a drug that can affect your liver. If you have liver disease, you need to be very careful about the medicines you take, including natural and over-the-counter. And, if you're currently treating chronic hepatitis, you want to be sure milk thistle doesn't interact poorly with your prescribed therapy.

More information about milk thistle is available. Since an informed patient needs to consider the benefits and criticisms of alternative treatments, here is general information about taking alternative medicine. And if you have liver damage, some herbal medicines just need to be avoided completed. Here's a list of seven dangerous herbs for your liver.