Love Your Liver
The function of your liver plays a very important roll in the state of your health. It goes without saying you need to ‘Love Your Liver’. Unfortunately, the world that we live in is filled with so many pollutants in the air and in our environment. Along with the over-the-counter and prescription medications, as well as alcohol consumption, liver disease is on the rise. The liver works really hard to repair itself and keep us healthy from the effects of these toxins in our daily life.
What really is the function of our liver? It is by far the largest organ in our body and acts as a super-filter to remove all the toxins that we are bombarded with daily. When the liver is overloaded, it needs liver support. One of the ways to do this is with the herbal supplement, Milk Thistle.
Benefits of supplementing with Milk Thistle:
- Milk Thistle rebuilds the liver cells and removes toxins. Along with that, Milk Thistle works to increase the condition of the kidneys, spleen, gallbladder, as well as the endocrine and gastrointestinal systems.
- Milk Thistle is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory supplement that encourages cell regeneration. Many people are very surprised to discover that as an anti-oxidant, it is significantly more powerful than both Vitamin E or Vitamin C.
- Milk Thistle is shown to aid in reducing liver damage. As a liver support and liver aid, Milk Thistle can decrease, and in some case, reverse the damage to the liver. This damage can be caused by prescription, as well as over-the-counter medicines, excessive alcohol consumption, and the harmful effects that we face daily with the pollutants found in our water, air and our food supply.
Additional Milk Thistle Benefits:
- Improves bile production and efficiency
- Provides antioxidant immune boosting effects
- Supports decrease of bad cholesterol
- Stimulates digestive enzymes
- Protects liver and helps remove toxins
- Helps to break down fatty rich foods
- Known to increase the synthesis of glutathione
- Helps reduce inflammation in the body
- Potential to decrease hot flashes
- Diminishes risk of gallstones or liver stones
- Helps relieve constipation
- Known to be helpful for hemorrhoids and varicose veins
- Beneficial for PMS
- Can be used as a detox supplement for a hangover
- Good for environmental sensitivities and toxic exposure
- Benefits the health of the skin through the process of detoxification, helping to clear up skin impurities like acne, eczema as well as psoriasis
When purchasing Milk Thistle: You want to look for a product that has been manufactured in the highest quality facilities or a certified GMP U.S. Company. Ideally, you want to look for a supplement with at least 175 mg per capsule for maximum liver cleanse effectiveness. You will also want to look for a Milk Thistle product that is standardized to an 80% Silymarin strength to accelerate the repair of any damaged liver cells. Silymarin exhibits immune boosting and anti-inflammatory qualities. When at all possible, buy from a reputable company. A couple brands that I recommend are the Solgar, here in 150 or 300 count bottles, and the brand, Nature’s Way. What I love about this Herb Extract one by Solgar, it has raw milk thistle powder added, which helps to extract active ingredients. If you are just starting to include Milk Thistle into your supplementation routine, you may want to consider starting with a good liver detoxifier and regenerator. I strongly recommend this product by the reputable brand NOW as your starting point. After finishing a bottle, you then can move on to the other recommendations.
When to take Milk Thistle: It is recommended to take Milk Thistle preferably half an hour before a meal with a big glass of water. I personally don’t pay close attention to this because I am not sensitive to taking supplements. Do what is best for you. If you are sensitive, you may want to follow the recommendation. If you are forgetful when it comes to taking supplements, I recommend setting a reminder on your phone. After a period of time, it will become second nature and you will generally not forget. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it to be resourceful. I am very passionate about having optimal health and I want to bring what I have absorbed through my research to you. Coming soon, I will be sharing another great aid to help in detoxing the liver … Dandelion. I drink this tea almost daily.
Milk Thistle: Solgar 150 or 300 count and Nature’s Way | Liver Detoxifier and Regenerator: NOW | Tea: Traditional Medicinal Dandelion Root I purchase this 6 Box Savings
Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, nor am I registered dietitian. The opinions expressed in this blog post reflect my personal experience and ongoing investigations into functional conditions related to everyday health and nutrition.
Lucy Ladley - Luscious Fibers
01/29/2016Thank you Tracy for educating us about Milk Thistle! I will be picking some up!
tracyhensel
01/29/2016Your welcome, Lucy! Have a nice weekend!
Lisa Hannum
01/30/2016Thank you Tracy for the great information. I have always knew that dandelion tea is great for the liver. I can’t choke down the tea, so i take the supplement. I only take it when I have gone through a time then i was eating really bad- ex. holidays. I am curious to hear how this compares to the Milk Thistle. Are they the same type of treatment? I am not expecting you to be a expert, but thought you may of already did some research.
I would like to hear more about your Vitamin E and Vitamin C. Why you pick these, how they help us? When do you take them and why you take them then.
I will say I am surprised that for how healthy you eat, you still need the supplements that you take. I have never heard you say you take a Multiple Vitamin – do you take one?
Thanks again Tracy, I really enjoy your blog and snap stories. We have a Aldi and I always thought i was a ‘really generic/dollar type store. I assumed the quality was poor. So I am exited to hear and see what you get. I love Trader Joes– crappy Green Bay doesn’t have one of those. I moved here from Omaha which had both TJ and Whole Foods — so it’s been a struggle finding good food here.
Sorry so long – can’t wait to hear more. Thanks again
Lisa
tracyhensel
01/31/2016Lisa, Dandelion is different than Milk Thistle but both aid in liver support. I will do a future post on dandelion … along with all the other supplements I take. I probably could get away with not taking a lot of supplements because you’re right, I do eat healthy. We all know ‘food is thy medicine’. There are some, I clearly don’t need. For example, I don’t take a multi because my diet should provide me with a lot of vitamins & nutrients that come in a multi. I also don’t take Fish Oil, while everyone else is taking or should be … & for good reason. Look at how much omega’s I am getting DAILY through eating fish. This is why I constantly reiterate … you have to do what works for you, individually. I believe everyone should be working with a doctor (practitioner) of functional medicine. That would eliminate a lot of the questions people have on what they should be taking. I strive for ‘optimal’ health …. not blood tests that come back in ‘normal’ range … ‘normal’ range will put you on prescription Med’s. There is a lot of money to be made & the system with blood tests is flawed. I’m on them like a fly! You will not fool me and put my health at stake to get my money!!!! Again, very passionate on this subject. I could go on and on about this. Glad you enjoyed the post and the snap stories. Hopefully you caught yesterday’s grocery hall. And hope this answered a few of your questions. Over a period of time, all my supplements will be on the blog and you can resource back to them, as you wish. Thanks again!!!
Elizabeth Fullerton
02/02/2016Hi Tracy!
This post was super helpful.
Out of curiosity, in one of your more recent snap stories you showed the food target map/poster you have in your pantry. Did you find a good online source where your readers can order from? I’ve looked but have been unable to find a copy in good printing quality. I would love to have that for our kitchen!
Thanks a bunch! Love reading your posts!
Liz 🙂
tracyhensel
02/02/2016Thank you Liz! Here is the website to order the new updated Food Chart: http://www.ontargetliving.com Glad you are enjoying the posts. Thanks for sharing.
Bill
09/27/2017Does anyone know who manufactures Trader Joe’s Milk Thistle ? I ask b/c I believe their product to be good but I’d like to have the option to comparison shop prices.
tracyhensel
10/01/2017I’m sorry Bill. I do not know of a place.