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For a while now, I have avoided Milk Thistle products. I unfortunately, got my source of information about Milk Thistle from so “not so trustworthy” sites and believed it when they said I should avoid Milk Thistle as it had Oestrogenic Qualities. Now, for anyone who has Endometriosis, we definitely want to avoid anything that has an Estrogenic effect on the body. More Estrogenic, essentially means more Endometriosis growth and ultimately more pain.
I am currently studying Phytotherapy for my Degree in Naturopathy and this week, we had to look at Milk Thistle. I had heard about Milk Thistle’s benefits for the liver many times but this is truly and astonishing herb! For so many years I have been dismissing it!
Here is what Milk Thistle can do:
- It is a Choleretic: This means it stimulates bile production within the liver. Bile producing is really important to help us break down fats in the body.
- It actually repairs the cells found in the liver. This is HUGE. That means, it has the ability to physically repair the liver.
- It contain a constituent called silymarin which has been shown to work like an anti-oxidant for our bodies. This means, it sucks up the “bad stuff” in our bodies.
- This same ingredient also reduces inflammation and has been shown to prevent skin cancers and tumours.
- It actually reduces the formation of prostaglandins (which increase inflammation in the body) and reduced the auto-immune reaction in some patients.
I could go on and on about how fabulous Milk Thistle is but the key thing I wanted to share with you today is that…… I was wrong. Milk Thistle is not completely Oestrogenic! The constituents of the plant making up the leaves and flower are Oestrogenic and should definitely be avoided. As indicated by this website.
However, if we take Milk Thistle in a seed form, it is fantastic for our liver and our ultimate healing with Endometriosis. Now, I ran down to my health shop to discover that most supplements actually only use the Seed Form in their capsules. The big key with this is to note that the SEED IS OKAY but not the plant :)
The good news is that I am researching all this stuff on a very deep level and look forward to sharing it all with you. I also discovered a whole heap more herbs we can use for our liver :) I love healing the liver as a way of healing Endometriosis.
So, just to let you know that if you were ever worried about taking Milk Thistle – think again and just check it is the seed extract and not the leaves or plant :)
