MILK THISTLE

The medicinal parts of the plant are the seeds & the dried flower, which contains silymarin. This bioflavonoid stimulates the liver to produce healthy liver cells & acts as an antioxidant to protect the liver from damage from free radicals.

Milk thistle can also help protect the liver from damage caused by alcohol, chemicals, drugs, diseases & toxic plants. 

Milk Thistle has been shown to work at preventing liver damage associated with antibiotics, anti-depressants & anti-psychotic medication.
It can also be used as part of a detoxifying health program to tonify & nourish an overworked liver.
Milk thistle can help treat cirrhosis & chronic hepatitis, which can be caused by alcohol abuse, autoimmune disease, or viruses.
Milk thistle, in combination with medical treatment, may help improve blood sugar & cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes.
Milk thistle reverses alcohol damage, speeds recovery in viral & alcohol-induced hepatitis, slows progression of cirrhosis & extends life expectancy.

Milk thistle protects against gallstone formation.
Milk thistle is used to treat gallstones, diseases of the liver & gall bladder & psoriasis.
It may prevent liver damage in people undergoing chemotherapy.

This beautiful herb also boosts the immune system.

Milk Thistle promotes bowel movement via an increase in blood flow & improves kidney function & urination.

Clears the skin of rashes & some skin diseases.

Assists in countering the pain & discomfort of menstrual & premenstrual problems.

Milk Thistle extract is absorbed into the blood very quickly & reaches its full potential one hour after it has been taken.
Depending upon the type & severity of a patients disease, a course of treatment that includes Milk Thistle may start to show significant results in as little as seven days, but in severe cases of cirrhosis & chronic hepatitis, full remission may take two years.
In cases of general debility & biliousness, an improvement will be felt after a week to ten days. 

If the skin has a jaundiced hue, this will eventually disappear.

Milk thistle supplies an antidote to the death cap mushroom (Amanita phalloides), which kills its victims by destroying liver cells.

PRECAUTIONS:

Milk Thistle may cause loose stools in some people, but this effect usually disappears in 2-3 days.
People who are allergic to artichokes, kiwi, ragweed, daisies, marigolds & chrysanthemums are at higher risk at getting the allergic reaction.
Those who have diabetes, endometriosis, breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, or other hormone dependent diseases should check with a doctor before using milk thistle.
Milk thistle is not recommended for children.

RECIPES:

The dried, powdered seeds can be made into an infusion:
2 to 3 tsp steeped in 2 cups of boiling hot water for 10-15 minutes
or added to food
1 tsp 3 times daily.

People sometimes eat the stem & leaves of milk thistle in salads.
The flower heads were once boiled & eaten like artichokes.

Milk thistle tincture:

1:3 extraction ratio 45% alcohol vol.
1-2 ml up to 3 times per day

Standard infusion: 

Collect ripe seeds & cut whole plants when flowering.
All parts are dried.
3 handfuls of fresh plants/30g dried to 2 cups of water.
Take up to 1 cup a day.

Roots, young leaves (remove spines) & young stems (peeled & soaked to remove bitterness) can be used in salads.
Cook leaves like spinach.
Cook flower buds like small globe artichokes.
Cook young stems like asparagus or rhubarb.
Roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

MAGIC:

The Anglo Saxons recorded the fact that if the milk thistle was hung around a man's neck, all snakes in his presence would begin fighting.