The milk thistle (Silybum marianum, formerly: Carduus marianus) from the daisy family is not only an important medicinal plant, but also one of the most beautiful and largest thistles. Milk thistle grows up to 1.5 m high and has large, dark green leaves with pointed thorns on the edges. Its few reddish-purple flowers are relatively small in relation to the size of the plant. It can easily be distinguished from other thistle species by the white spots on the leaves.
The name milk thistle has its origin in a legend: This legend probably helped the medicinal plant to get its name. According to the legend, the Godmother Mary is said to have nursed Jesus near a thistle, and a little milk was dripping onto the leaves. The white spots on the leaves are said to be an image of this divine milk. Since then, the Carduus marianus has white-green marbled leaves. Before that, they were green.
Milk thistle is originally native to the Mediterranean region, but is now found on various continents. In Central Europe, it can also be found wild in some places.
Milk thistle was already cultivated in German monastery gardens in the Middle Ages. Today, only the egg-shaped fruits (seeds) of the milk thistle, which are about seven millimetres long, are used for medicinal purposes. They are grey-brown to shiny black marbled. Milk thistle is cultivated on a large scale for medicinal purposes, for example in Austria, Hungary, Argentina, but also in Germany.
Milk thistle is considered the most effective natural liver remedy. It is even superior to synthetic drugs and is used in intensive care medicine in high doses to save lives in cases of poisoning with tuber leaf fungus, which destroys the liver. Studies with mice show that milk thistle is even able to slow down lung cancer.
Milk thistle is already mentioned in old herbal books as a remedy to stimulate the flow of milk in nursing mothers, but also as a medicinal plant for the treatment of “stabbing pains in the belly”. Milk thistle was already known in ancient times and was used, among other things, as an emetic.
Milk thistle was mentioned early in folk medicine as a remedy for liver complaints, for which it is still the preferred remedy today.
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) flowers from June to September.
Milk thistle information on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP3QarfXf0c.
Medicinal and active substances
A mixture of ingredients known as silymarin is primarily responsible for the medicinal effect of milk thistle fruit. Silymarin is a natural substance complex that consists of a total of three different ingredients, all of which belong to the flavonoid group. These components include silibinin, which in turn is composed of silybin A and silybin B, silychristin and silydianin.
In laboratory experiments, researchers have found out what points of attack it has: On one hand, silymarin stabilizes the outer shell (cell membrane) of the liver cells. This makes it less easy for toxic substances to enter the cells. In addition, important cell components such as liver enzymes are not lost if the hepatocytes are damaged. On the other hand, silymarin can cause the liver to recover faster after damage.
This means that the liver cells are still surrounded by a layer of fat cells. This layer normally surrounds and stabilizes the covering (cell membrane) of the liver cells. When toxic substances are ingested, which can include medication and alcohol, this protective layer of the liver cells is often disconnected and the cells get damaged or even destroyed as a result.
Milk thistle can counteract this process. They support the stabilisation of the protective layer of the liver cells, which can prevent toxins to permeate. For these reasons, the fruits can be an effective supportive therapeutic agent for permanent inflammatory liver diseases and liver cirrhosis.
The seeds of milk thistle contain up to 1.5 percent silymarin. Silymarin scavenges free radicals that are produced in the liver during detoxification.
Milk thistle owes its current use as a gentle liver therapeutic agent to the country doctor Rademacher, who recognized its importance in 1848. He also recognized that the active substances are found just beneath the skin of the seed-like fruit.
In 2011, a study on milk thistle was published by the Cancer Center at Colorado State University. It says that milk thistle slows the growth of lung cancer, at least in mice. So milk thistle may still have a successful future in fighting cancer.
Application
Milk thistle is mainly applied to protect the stomach, the intestines and the liver.
It is almost the only, but also unique remedy for diseased liver, spleen, stomach and gall bladder, but also for lung and gynecological diseases. In connection with the liver, tea also cures hepatitis.
- Milk thistle fruit has been proven to help with irritation stomach syndrome. Its symptoms are called dyspeptic complaints in medical terminology. They can be manifested, for example, by increased acid production in the stomach, flatulence up to (cramping) abdominal pain and sleep difficulties.
- Above all, milk thistle is known for its proven protective effect on the liver. Both in cases of inflammation of the liver that are permanent and in cases of severe liver disease in the final stages, milk thistle can support and promote the regeneration of the liver, so that the well-being of those affected can significantly improve.
- The third important effect of milk thistle concerns the protective effect in case of tuberous-leaf fungus poisoning. Consumption of the tuberous-leaf fungus can be fatal for humans. Milk thistle fruits, however, can counteract this highly toxic effect and are therefore an antidote.
Excursus: The liver as a detoxification organ
“In addition to the production of bile, our liver has to cope with the entire digestive metabolism and a multitude of “detoxification reactions”. Alcohol, pollutants from the environment, food additives and medicaments are absorbed and processed by it. This process produces aggressive so-called free radicals, which attack the cell walls of the organ.
If the liver is permanently overloaded, natural cell renewal cannot keep pace. The liver becomes fatty and cannot fulfil its tasks. Sometimes this process is also accompanied by inflammation. The final result is cirrhosis of the liver, in which more and more functional cells are replaced by scarred connective tissue.
Not only toxins, but also rich and fatty food or certain pathogens can cause problems for the liver. Unfortunately, for a long time there are no noticeable signs of illness or pain that could warn the affected person at an early stage. Anyone who thinks their liver may be at risk should therefore consult a doctor in good time.”
Too much makes the liver sick
The liver always gets sick from too much: too much fat, too much sugar, too much food, too much alcohol.
A sick liver shows that a person is taking too much of something that exceeds its processing capacity, shows intemperance – also too much work or excessive ideals.
Lack of energy
The first signs of a disease are not pain, but lack of energy. This is already the body’s own therapy, the reaction of too much, the reaction of excessiveness. The energy loss forces to let go this ‘too much’.
Last resort: tin
If liver values are already above normal, you can turn to a classical metal, in consultation with your doctor: Tin. It is taken in homeopathic form and is a proven remedy for strengthening liver function.
Physicians use milk thistle preparations for the supplementary treatment of chronic inflammatory liver diseases. Especially in the case of damage caused by alcohol and medication, the recovery process is gently supported. This is because, in contrast to chemical remedies, the plant extract does not place an additional burden on the organ. For the therapy to be successful, however, the causes of the disease must always be addressed. Occasionally milk thistle preparations have a slight laxative effect, but otherwise no side effects are known.
The effectiveness of milk thistle for heart and circulatory problems has been confirmed in scientific studies. Responsible for the healing power of milk thistle in these complaints is the tyramine content of the seeds.
Milk thistle tea
Pour 1/4 liter boiling water over a heaping teaspoon of freshly crushed milk thistle fruit and let the tea steep for 15 minutes before straining. By adding some dried peppermint leaves, you can further enhance the liver-strengthening and detoxifying effects of this tea. Drink a cup of fresh tea 3 times a day as a cure for six weeks. For the sake of your liver, you should make this cure in spring and autumn.
A tea made from the fruits of milk thistle, also helps with digestive problems and flatulence. In the case of liver disorders, however, it is important that milk thistle is used in sufficiently high doses. This is the only way it can help detoxifying the liver. For this reason, in most cases it is advisable to use ready-made preparations containing the appropriate dosage of milk thistle.
Since silymarin is poorly soluble in water, the active ingredient of the seeds hardly passes into tea infusions. Therefore, for a tea, the seeds are pounded in a mortar to have the ingredients better opened. Milk thistle extracts are usually packaged in coated capsules or pills. A consistent and sufficiently high dosage is guaranteed by preparations from the pharmacy, as they contain a standardized content of active substances. Experts recommend about 200 to 400 mg of silymarin per day.
Other liver and gall herbs
Celandine: Its yellow milky sap contains toxic alkaloids. A tea is antispasmodic and helps with biliary colic. Celandine is best used in homeopathic form.
Fumitory: Regulates the production of bile and regenerates the liver. One can consult a medical doctor to prescribe ready-made preparations.
Artichoke: Its extremely bitter active substances from the leaves have a stimulating effect on liver metabolism. Artichoke is used either as a tea, juice or as a finished product.
Dandelion: The tea from the dandelion root not only has a strong diuretic effect, but also a strong effect on liver metabolism and also pancreas.
Wormwood: Of all herbs, it has the strongest effect on producing bile fluid, so that it also helps with gallstones that do not need surgery.
Turmeric: To be used primarily as a spice. In Ayurveda, Indian medicine, it has long been considered a bile and liver remedy.
Note: In case of health problems, do not carry out medicinal plant application without consulting a doctor or pharmacist.
Literature:
Pater Simons Haus-Apotheke, Kosmos Verlag
1) http://www.gesundheit.de/medizin/naturheilmittel/heilpflanzen/mariendistel-sanfte-medizin-fuer-die-leber
http://www.apotheken-umschau.de/heilpflanzen/mariendistel
http://www.apotheken-umschau.de/Leber#bildlupe/1/
http://www.gesund-heilfasten.de/mariendistel.html
http://heilkraeuter.de/lexikon/mariendi.htm
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Photo: © Johannes Stasing, www.sta-fotografie.de
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