Milk Thistle and Benefits to the Body

If you've ever looked into taking supplements to support overall health you've probably heard of Milk Thistle or Blessed Thistle, as some call it. It has been used for centuries to aid in many conditions, especially those related to liver function but did you know about is other uses? 

The seeds of this plant are generally used for their therapeutic and medicinal effects and can be ground as powder for supplements, alcohol extracted for tinctures or used whole in tea as a bitter. 

The benefits of Milk Thistle to the liver are vast and it has been used for chronic liver complaints such as cirrhosis and hepatitis but can aid in overall liver function for those looking to boost healthy detoxification in the body. (1) Some say it has a powerhouse effect in preventing a hang over, but we will leave it up to you to check out that property. :)

It has also been shown to improve the symptoms and pathology in blood sugar control, aiding in the management of diabetes (2) and to aid in managing the symptoms of metabolic syndrome (a condition that has symptoms of weight gain, high blood sugar and imbalance of hormones). (3)

Because of all of these incredible properties we added it to our original Last Shot proprietary blend for all of our hydration drinks. We think you will love it and can bet you feel the difference! 

1. Therapeutic effect of Milk thistle on liver disease. Zhong S, Fan Y, Yan Q, Fan X, Wu B, Han Y, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Zhang H, Niu J. The therapeutic effect of silymarin in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty disease: A meta-analysis (PRISMA) of randomized control trials. Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Dec;96(49):e9061. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000009061. PMID: 29245314; PMCID: PMC5728929. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29245314/
2. Milk thistle helps to control blood sugar in diabetes management. Kazazis CE, Evangelopoulos AA, Kollas A, Vallianou NG. The therapeutic potential of milk thistle in diabetes. Rev Diabet Stud. 2014 Summer;11(2):167-74. doi: 10.1900/RDS.2014.11.167. Epub 2014 Aug 10. PMID: 25396404; PMCID: PMC4310066. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25396404/
3. Milk thistle effectiveness in managing metabolic syndrome. Tajmohammadi A, Razavi BM, Hosseinzadeh H. Silybum marianum (milk thistle) and its main constituent, silymarin, as a potential therapeutic plant in metabolic syndrome: A review. Phytother Res. 2018 Oct;32(10):1933-1949. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6153. Epub 2018 Jul 17. PMID: 30015401.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30015401/
4. Hepatoprotective effects of Milk thistle against toxins. Fanoudi S, Alavi MS, Karimi G, Hosseinzadeh H. Milk thistle (Silybum Marianum) as an antidote or a protective agent against natural or chemical toxicities: a review. Drug Chem Toxicol. 2020 May;43(3):240-254. doi: 10.1080/01480545.2018.1485687. Epub 2018 Jul 22. PMID: 30033764. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30033764/
5. Milk thistle as antioxidant. Abenavoli L, Capasso R, Milic N, Capasso F. Milk thistle in liver diseases: past, present, future. Phytother Res. 2010 Oct;24(10):1423-32. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3207. PMID: 20564545. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20564545/