Milk Thistle , Taken by Many People as Liver Detox is Ineffective as Treatment for Hepatitis C, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily: Silymarin or “milk thistle,” a popular herbal dietary supplement that many people take for liver ailments, works no better than placebo in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.
That’s the conclusion of a multicenter clinical trial published in the July 18, 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Patients ask me about milk thistle all the time,” said Michael W. Fried, MD, lead author of the study, a professor in the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and director of the UNC Liver Center.
“Now I can tell them with great confidence that taking milk thistle, unfortunately, won’t help for chronic hepatitis C,” he said. “I think this information is very important to help patients focus on other ways to maintain liver health and not rely on ineffective remedies.”
Categories: Alternate Medicine, Health
Silymarin is found at the young plant milk thistle itself that stimulates protein synthesis by changing the external layer of liver cells which blocks toxins and removes them from the body.Thus, protecting our liver from damage caused by medication: antipsychotic and chemotherapy drugs.
Thanks for adding this info. Hepatitis C however is a viral infection and needs Antiviral drugs/management rather just detoxification.
i want wnow how u can protect your liver thanks
As a Clinical Biochemist, I know that the liver is not only an organ that synthesizes many substances required by the human body but also act as a storage organ for many. Its other function is detoxification i.e. rendering non-toxic any toxic product that enters the body e.g. alcohol, medicines including antibiotics & other drugs. The best way of keeping the liver working is healthy habits like eating healthy food, abstaining from alcohol & other narcotics completely, least possible use of antibiotics, foods containing hazardous chemicals like color, additives etc.