Main image courtesy of Healthline.
It’s important to realize how important your liver is and how it truly works. Many people don’t think too much about what your liver does, but it has a ton of functions, which includes creating nutrients that your body needs, taking the bad toxins out of your body, and helping to metabolize drugs that you take.
Milk thistle is an incredible dietary supplement that can be taken daily to help protect and take care of your liver. Taking supplements proves to have a ton of benefits, and if you feel that certain parts of your body need more attention, such as your liver due to unhealthy habits or genetic conditions, then milk thistle is a great one to invest in.
There is no better feeling than finding a supplement brand that responds to your body well, and Dr. Emil provides a brand that promotes holistic health, no matter what you’re looking to improve within your body. Dr. Emil’s brand brings you some of the best supplements on the market that are high in quality using the best ingredients available. Dr. Emil’s products can help many aspects of your overall health, and his milk thistle supplement can help to protect your liver and other benefits!
Milk thistle has a ton of benefits, including lowering your liver enzymes, so let’s take a deeper look into it and what it can do for you!
In this article, we’re going to talk about:
- Get to know more about your liver
- What is milk thistle?
- How long does it take for milk thistle to lower liver enzymes?
Get to Know More About Your Liver
Your liver is one of the most important and overlooked organs in your body that is important to learn more about!
While every organ should be taken care of and each treated equally, there are many reasons why the liver is oftentimes overlooked. The liver is an essential organ that helps to remove toxins from your body and also also has a ton of other benefits that are crucial to your overall health.
Everyone should know how the liver functions and what a deteriorating one can do to your body.
What is the Liver?
Everyone has heard about the liver, and taking care of it is a necessity. Many people don’t know what exactly your liver is, or even where it’s located— which is in the upper right-hand portion of your abdomen right underneath your diaphragm. It is to the right of your kidneys and your intestines, and there are two direct sources that supply blood to the liver.
The first one is through the hepatic artery and the other one is through the hepatic portal vein. Both of these bring blood to your liver, which carries up to 13% of your current blood supply. The liver also produces bile, which is necessary for the digestive processes in your body.
The Functions of the Liver
The liver has many functions throughout your body that can help to keep you healthy, and the main one is filtering through your blood. By doing this, it eliminates any poisons in your body that could potentially harm you, such as drugs or alcohol. Your liver also has other functions such as producing bile that carries waste through your intestines, and it digests fats.
Some other important functions that show your liver is constantly working to keep you healthy:
- Processing glucose
- Produces albumin (keeps fluids in bloodstream from leaking into tissues in your body)
- Regulates amino acids
- Prevents blood clots
- Protects you against infections
- Stores important vitamins and minerals
- Vitamin A, D, E, K, and B12
- Iron and copper
Can You Live Without a Working Liver?
You only get one liver in life and it’s important to keep it healthy by refraining from drug or alcohol use, which is the main cause of liver failure. It’s important to note that you cannot live without a working liver, and if you start to have the symptoms of liver disease, a transplant may be necessary.
There are many signs and symptoms that point to liver failure that include the following:
- Yellowish skin and eyes
- Itchy and dry skin
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Pale-colored stool
- Dark-colored urine
- Swelling in legs and ankles
- Constant fatigue
- Bruising easily
- Loss of appetite
What Can Cause Liver Disease?
There are many negative factors that can play a role in causing liver disease and affect the overall function and stability of your liver. As we mentioned, drugs and alcohol are a big factor in how liver disease and other infections develop, but what can cause this?
Some of the risk factors that can cause liver disease and other infections can include:
- Family history of liver disease
- Unprotected sex
- Heavy alcohol use
- Sharing needles when injecting drugs
- Obesity
- Type 2 diabetes
- Exposure to blood or body fluids that aren’t yours
- Exposure to chemicals or toxins
- Blood transfusions before 1992
What is Milk Thistle?
A great supplement that can help support the overall health of your liver and more!
Supplements are a great thing to incorporate within your daily lifestyle and in your diet to help support and keep your body in top notch condition. There are a ton of incredible supplements to take, but one of the best ones,especially for your liver, is milk thistle.
Milk thistle is a great supplement that provides a ton of benefits, so let’s continue to get to know how to take care of your liver with this great aid!
Get to Know What Milk Thistle Really Is
Milk thistle is an incredible supplement, but knowing where it comes from first is crucial. It actually is a plant named specifically for the white veins on the large and prickly leaves that it has.
There is one main active ingredient in milk thistle called silymarin, which comes directly from the plant's seeds and it is an antioxidant, which helps to prevent cell damage in your body.
What is Milk Thistle For?
Milk thistle is a great supplement known for helping to treat liver issues. Taking milk thistle can help prevent liver disease, or even help the symptoms of it, and may even help to prevent cirrhosis and even hepatitis C.
This supplement also works to help lower blood sugar in individuals who suffer from type 2 diabetes, and it can also improve symptoms of indigestion. If you are taking medications for your type 2 diabetes, you may want to have caution with milk thistle. Taking both at the same time can cause your blood sugar levels to drop drastically, which can result in many health issues.
Are There Any Side Effects to Milk Thistle?
No matter if you’re taking medications, or even supplements, there are always side effects to them, but most of the time they are very minor. Milk thistle does have some side effects that are important to be aware of.
Some of the side effects of milk thistle include the following:
- Bloating
- Itching
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
What Forms of Milk Thistle Are There?
There are some different options that you have when taking supplements. Many of them come in a capsule form, but others can come in a powder or even a liquid extract that can be mixed in with hot or cold drinks, or even food.
Milk thistle is available in capsules, tablets, and also a liquid extract, depending on what you are most comfortable taking, and what works better for you.
How Much of a Dosage Should You Take?
Another question that you may have on your mind is how much of a dosage should you take in order to start seeing results of milk thistle. Milk thistle is considered a generally safe supplement to take and you can take up to 420 mg per day to start.
How Long Does it Take Milk Thistle to Lower Liver Enzymes?
Since milk thistle can greatly improve the health of your liver, it’s crucial to know when it will lower enzymes too!
Milk thistle can take care of your liver and help to improve the overall health of it by lowering liver enzymes, which can cause inflammation or damage to this organ. Milk thistle is a great component to add into your daily regimen and you can greatly benefit from it.
Knowing when milk thistle will start to lower liver enzymes is crucial, so let’s take a look into how long this process will take!
What Are Liver Enzymes?
The first and foremost important thing to consider when looking into the health of your own liver is knowing what liver enzymes are. Essentially, they are proteins that can speed up the chemical reactions within your body to keep you healthy. This can include producing more bile, creating substances that make your blood clot, breaking down the food that you eat, getting rid of harmful toxins, or even fighting infections.
What Can Elevate Liver Enzymes?
There are many different factors that can go into understanding why your liver enzymes may be more elevated than normal. It could be because of infections or diseases your body is fighting off, or even certain medications.
Some factors that can go into elevating enzymes include:
- Cholesterol-lowering medications
- Liver disease, both alcohol-related and non-alcohol related
- All forms of hepatitis
- Hemochromatosis
- Certain supplements including vitamin A, chaparral, iron, and comfrey tea
How Long Does it Take For Milk Thistle to Lower Liver Enzymes?
You may be wondering how long it will take for milk thistle to lower your liver enzymes, and it can take as little as ten minutes upon your first dose. When you take milk thistle for the first time, it instantly works to counteract all of the toxic effects that are taking your liver a long time to eliminate.
You may not notice right away that the milk thistle is working towards improving your health by lowering your liver enzymes, but know that it is working as soon as your first dose. It is common to start to notice the milk thistle lowering your liver enzymes and working to help make sure you are healthy in a few weeks. Many people who are taking milk thistle due to more chronic issues can start to see these effects take place after several months.
It’s important to work towards being as consistent as possible when taking milk thistle. To receive the full benefits of milk thistle, including lowering liver enzymes, it is crucial to continue to take it on a consistent basis every single day.
Milk thistle is an incredible supplement that can help to lower liver enzymes, along with eliminating toxic substances from your body to help you live a healthier and happy life. Your liver health should be of utmost importance to you, and making sure that you take care of the one that you have is crucial.
Consider looking into milk thistle supplements, no matter the form, and take them to help lower liver enzymes in as little as a few weeks to a few months!
