Protect your Liver with Milk Thistle and Dandelion
Did you know that all your blood passes through your liver many times each day? It acts as a filter. Even if you are making healthy lifestyle decisions by avoiding cigarettes, alcohol, or recreational drugs, your liver can still be strained by hard to avoid toxins found in prescription medications, food additives, or air pollutants. Considering our car’s oil filter needs to be changed every 3000 miles, we should be thinking about ways to support our primary blood filter, the liver.
This is where Milk Thistle and Dandelion supplements come in, two of the most beneficial herbs for nourishing and detoxifying the liver. In addition to filtering the blood, both of these herbs have been used for many centuries to help the liver perform some of its many important functions, namely:
- converting carbohydrates and proteins into fat, which is stored for later use
- storing important vitamins and minerals until they are needed
- converting sugar into glycogen and storing it for when the muscles need energy
- making and secreting bile for digesting fats
- producing hundreds of enzymes needed for various bodily functions
Benefits of Milk Thistle for the Liver
Milk thistle helps protect the liver from incoming toxins as well as cleanse it of toxic substances already accumulated. Aside from blood and skin, the liver is the only organ with the capacity to completely regenerate itself after damage or injury has occurred. Milk thistle promotes this regeneration and repair by stimulating the growth of new liver cells to replace damaged cells.
Whether your liver is overburdened, stagnant, weak, or deficient, milk thistle has proven helpful for a wide variety of liver conditions. If any of the following conditions apply to you, you may want to consider a milk thistle liver supplement:
- Are you overweight or dieting?
- Do you have problems with digestion or high cholesterol?
- Do you drink alcohol?
- Do you smoke cigarettes or are you regularly exposed to second hand smoke?
- Do you often eat fatty or fried foods?
- Do you live in a big city or drive your car often?
- Do you take an over-the-counter or prescription medication?
Dandelion Root Supplements
Dandelion root is considered to be one of the most effective herbal supplements to aid in detoxification. In fact, practically all herbal formulations for the liver include dandelion root as a major ingredient. The nutrients in dandelion root nourish and mildly stimulate the liver, while promoting a steady and gradual elimination of accumulated toxins.
Studies show dandelion root supplements may have beneficial effects on the liver by:
- Promoting general detoxification and cleansing
- Removing toxins and poisons from the blood
- Helping increase the production and flow of bile
- Reducing the risk of developing gallstones
To promote liver, gallbladder, and kidney health, consider Wai Lana’s Liver Support, which contains a special blend of dandelion root and milk thistle extracts.
While milk thistle and dandelion root supplements are generally safe, it is always advisable to check with your doctor before you embark on any new health regimen or introduce a new dietary supplement. Avoid this product if you are pregnant or nursing or have existing gallstones.
Purchase Wai Lana’s Liver Support supplement or view her other quality vegetarian supplements.