Milk thistle should not be used by pregnant or breastfeeding women. People with a history of hormone-related cancers, including breast, uterine, and prostate cancer, should not take milk thistle. DO NOT take milk thistle if you are allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, chamomile, yarrow, or daisies.
Milk thistle can cause an allergic reaction, including a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). An allergic reaction is more common in people who are allergic to other plants in the Asteraceae family, such as ragweed, daisies, marigolds and chrysanthemums.
Adverse effects associated with oral ingestion of milk thistle include: Gastrointestinal problems (e.g., nausea, diarrhea, dyspepsia, flatulence, abdominal bloating, abdominal fullness or pain, anorexia, and changes in bowel habits).
Milk thistle has not been implicated in causing liver injury and is still used widely as a liver tonic in patients with acute and chronic liver diseases.
This is in part because milk thistle is known to interact with several medications, and can actually be dangerous for diabetics who begin using it. The most common side effect of taking milk thistle is mild gastrointestinal upset. However, other side effects may include headaches, joint pain, or sexual dysfunction.
Medical research on milk thistle and liver health has led to mixed results. Studies show that silymarin may help ease inflammation and promote cell repair. This may help ease symptoms from liver diseases like jaundice, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and fatty liver disease.
Preliminary studies have shown that it does have beneficial effects on the kidneys, nerves and retinas. Silymarin may even have anti-cancer properties, but this needs to be studied further in humans. As for the side effects of silymarin, they include abdominal discomfort, headache, muscle aches and fatigue.
Milk thistle and silymarin are generally well tolerated in adults with only mild side effects such as diarrhea, headache, and skin reactions. Mothers taking milk thistle to increase milk supply reported weight gain, nausea, dry mouth and irritability occasionally.
How long to take it for a liver cleanse. The evidence for milk thistle's liver cleansing properties comes mainly from traditional medicine. If you would like to try a liver cleanse with milk thistle, we recommend taking it every day for at least two weeks.
No interactions were found between milk thistle and Optimum Magnesium Gluconate. However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider.
Very few people experience serious side effects of taking milk thistle. Diarrhea, bloating, and other mild gastrointestinal distress are likely to be your most severe side effects. This does not apply if you have a known allergic reaction to other plants that are related to the milk thistle plant.
It may be preferable to take milk thistle tea in the morning because it helps to kickstart your day and provide you with the antioxidant benefits that milk thistle has to offer.
Milk thistle supports not only the liver, but also the gallbladder, bile ducts, and bile flow, which in turn supports detoxification, digestion, and elimination.
Milk thistle can interact with some chemotherapy drugs — check with your doctor before you start taking it. Extracts from parts of the plant other than the seeds may increase estrogen levels in the body. Side effects include stomach upset, allergic reaction, and diarrhea.
Milk thistle can be taken on an empty stomach. Some believe this makes it work faster; however, very sensitive individuals should consider taking milk thistle with a meal instead. Milk thistle can be taken in herbal capsules or liquid extracts.
Improves Brain Function
The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of milk thistle could help protect your brain from age-related diseases like Alzheimer's, Dementia and Parkinsons. Amyloid plaques are a common characteristic in a brain affected by Alzheimer's.
Do not consume alcohol while you are taking silymarin, the active compound in milk thistle. While there is no specific interaction between this nutritional supplement and alcohol, the primary reason people take silymarin is to protect the liver and help it repair itself.
According to the American Liver Foundation, there are no medical treatments – yet – for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. So that means that eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are the best ways to both prevent liver damage from starting or reverse liver disease once it's in the early stages.
Exercise and healthy dietary supplements, including micronutrients, are promising methods to manage NAFLD. Vitamins A, B3, B12, D, and E can serve as targets for NAFLD therapy, although some are linked to adverse effects. Vitamin D status and obesity have an inverse relationship.
Sleep quality also improves. The effect of taking milk thistle by itself is not known. Multiple sclerosis. Early research suggests that taking a combination supplement containing silymarin, a chemical found in milk thistle, can improve mental function and promote disease stabilization in people with multiple sclerosis.