Aa
New study on Milk Thistle and sx
Decided to resume MT after reading this study.
August 15, 2008 Printer-friendly version
Silymarin Improves Quality of Life During Hepatitis C Treatment
Although a large-scale study concluded long-term interferon therapy to be ineffectual for Hepatitis C management, it demonstrated improvements in quality of life for participants supplementing with silymarin.
by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Over the past few decades, thousands of clinical studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of different types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in combating chronic liver disease. As the CAM remedy most often advised and used to support liver health, silymarin supplementation has been the focus of a majority of these studies. Even though there is substantial evidence demonstrating silymarin’s benefits to a person with Hepatitis C, trial inconsistencies have prevented it from being totally accepted by the Western medical community. However, a recent result from a very large Hepatitis C clinical trial presents irrefutable evidence of silymarin’s value.
Silymarin
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been used since Greco-Roman times as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments, particularly liver problems. The active ingredient in milk thistle is known as silymarin. This substance, which actually consists of a group of compounds called flavonolignands, helps repair liver cells damaged by alcohol and other toxic substances. Silymarin also keeps new liver cells from being destroyed by these same substances, reduces hepatic inflammation and has potent antioxidant effects.
Most milk thistle products are standardized preparations extracted from the plant’s seeds. A majority of milk thistle preparations are standardized to contain 70 to 80 percent of silymarin. Since milk thistle products are dietary supplements in the U.S. and therefore not regulated, inconsistencies in concentration, purity and quality are the prime suspects for inconclusive clinical trial results.
CAM Frequency
As the aging population of Americans increasingly strives to take control of their health, their use of CAM rises correspondingly. Surveys show that in 1990, CAM was used by 34 percent of the U.S. population. In 1994, this frequency rose to 42 percent and up to 48 percent in 2004. Estimates show that Americans spend over $27 billion annually on CAM, a total that exceeds the amount spent on conventional medicines.
According to National Institutes of Health researchers, a significant portion of the subjects in the large-scale study evaluating Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) were taking silymarin. Among 1,145 of HALT-C’s participants, the following statistics were noted:
· 56 percent had never taken herbal supplements
· 23 percent were using herbal supplements during the study
· Silymarin constituted 72 percent of the 60 types of herbal supplements used by participants
· Among all participants, 16 percent had used silymarin in the past
· Among all participants, 17 percent used silymarin at the beginning of the study
· Silymarin use correlated strongly with higher education
HALT-C Findings on Silymarin
The large trial investigating the effectiveness of long-term pegylated interferon therapy on Hepatitis C previous non-responders, HALT-C was concluded ineffectual for Hepatitis C management. Even though long-term administration of pegylated interferon did not slow the worsening of liver disease, researchers learned about an advantage of taking silymarin with interferon. With such a large portion of people with chronic Hepatitis C taking silymarin, the researchers looked to see if these individuals demonstrated any differences from their counterparts who were not taking an herbal supplement.
When comparing silymarin users to non-silymarin users in the HALT-C trial, the following was discovered:
1. No beneficial effect of silymarin was found on ALT levels (serum alanine aminotransferases) – an enzyme often elevated with liver injury.
2. No beneficial effect of silymarin was found on Hepatitis C virus RNA levels.
3. Those on silymarin showed significantly fewer liver-related symptoms than non-users.
4. Those on silymarin scored higher on quality-of-life parameters than non-users.
5. After adjusting for age, race, education, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index and smoking, silymarin users showed significantly less fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and improvements in general health over non-users.
Confirming that silymarin has little direct effect on the Hepatitis C virus, the qualitative values generally used to evaluate virus severity were similar in silymarin users and non-users. However, there were other observable benefits to the silymarin users. By reducing the severity of common Hepatitis C symptoms and interferon side effects, silymarin use demonstrated an obvious advantage to people managing this virus.
Quality of Life
In reducing the liver symptoms of fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia and muscle and joint pain, silymarin improves a person with Hepatitis C’s quality of life. In public health and in medicine, the concept of health-related quality of life refers to a person or group’s perceived physical and mental health. Physicians usually reference quality of life scales to measure the effects of how a chronic illness interferes with daily life.
Although quality of life is not a numerical measurement, many believe it to be the single most important factor in illness recovery.
A Pennsylvania study evaluated the importance of quality of life in patients with a specific type of advanced lung cancer. According to lead author Dr. Nicos Nicolaou, an attending physician in the radiation oncology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, “In the past, we've considered the stage of disease or tumor size along with other empirical data to predict how long a patient will survive, but now we know quality of life is a critical factor in determining survival.” Although this study focused on a different type of disease, a growing number of healthcare practitioners believe that enhancing a person’s quality of life improves the outcome of any type of chronic disease.
The most likely reason for CAM’s rising popularity is the increase in quality of life that many receive from its use. Although more research is required to prove that supplementing with silymarin improves the outcome of Hepatitis C infection, the mounting evidence leaves little room for doubt. The quality of life benefits that participants supplementing with milk thistle in the HALT-C trial experienced is enough to motivate most people managing this virus. If supplementing with this popular herb can significantly reduce fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and improve general health – it makes sense for people with chronic Hepatitis C to give it a try.
courtesy of Evangelin
August 15, 2008 Printer-friendly version
Silymarin Improves Quality of Life During Hepatitis C Treatment
Although a large-scale study concluded long-term interferon therapy to be ineffectual for Hepatitis C management, it demonstrated improvements in quality of life for participants supplementing with silymarin.
by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
Over the past few decades, thousands of clinical studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of different types of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in combating chronic liver disease. As the CAM remedy most often advised and used to support liver health, silymarin supplementation has been the focus of a majority of these studies. Even though there is substantial evidence demonstrating silymarin’s benefits to a person with Hepatitis C, trial inconsistencies have prevented it from being totally accepted by the Western medical community. However, a recent result from a very large Hepatitis C clinical trial presents irrefutable evidence of silymarin’s value.
Silymarin
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has been used since Greco-Roman times as an herbal remedy for a variety of ailments, particularly liver problems. The active ingredient in milk thistle is known as silymarin. This substance, which actually consists of a group of compounds called flavonolignands, helps repair liver cells damaged by alcohol and other toxic substances. Silymarin also keeps new liver cells from being destroyed by these same substances, reduces hepatic inflammation and has potent antioxidant effects.
Most milk thistle products are standardized preparations extracted from the plant’s seeds. A majority of milk thistle preparations are standardized to contain 70 to 80 percent of silymarin. Since milk thistle products are dietary supplements in the U.S. and therefore not regulated, inconsistencies in concentration, purity and quality are the prime suspects for inconclusive clinical trial results.
CAM Frequency
As the aging population of Americans increasingly strives to take control of their health, their use of CAM rises correspondingly. Surveys show that in 1990, CAM was used by 34 percent of the U.S. population. In 1994, this frequency rose to 42 percent and up to 48 percent in 2004. Estimates show that Americans spend over $27 billion annually on CAM, a total that exceeds the amount spent on conventional medicines.
According to National Institutes of Health researchers, a significant portion of the subjects in the large-scale study evaluating Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) were taking silymarin. Among 1,145 of HALT-C’s participants, the following statistics were noted:
· 56 percent had never taken herbal supplements
· 23 percent were using herbal supplements during the study
· Silymarin constituted 72 percent of the 60 types of herbal supplements used by participants
· Among all participants, 16 percent had used silymarin in the past
· Among all participants, 17 percent used silymarin at the beginning of the study
· Silymarin use correlated strongly with higher education
HALT-C Findings on Silymarin
The large trial investigating the effectiveness of long-term pegylated interferon therapy on Hepatitis C previous non-responders, HALT-C was concluded ineffectual for Hepatitis C management. Even though long-term administration of pegylated interferon did not slow the worsening of liver disease, researchers learned about an advantage of taking silymarin with interferon. With such a large portion of people with chronic Hepatitis C taking silymarin, the researchers looked to see if these individuals demonstrated any differences from their counterparts who were not taking an herbal supplement.
When comparing silymarin users to non-silymarin users in the HALT-C trial, the following was discovered:
1. No beneficial effect of silymarin was found on ALT levels (serum alanine aminotransferases) – an enzyme often elevated with liver injury.
2. No beneficial effect of silymarin was found on Hepatitis C virus RNA levels.
3. Those on silymarin showed significantly fewer liver-related symptoms than non-users.
4. Those on silymarin scored higher on quality-of-life parameters than non-users.
5. After adjusting for age, race, education, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index and smoking, silymarin users showed significantly less fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and improvements in general health over non-users.
Confirming that silymarin has little direct effect on the Hepatitis C virus, the qualitative values generally used to evaluate virus severity were similar in silymarin users and non-users. However, there were other observable benefits to the silymarin users. By reducing the severity of common Hepatitis C symptoms and interferon side effects, silymarin use demonstrated an obvious advantage to people managing this virus.
Quality of Life
In reducing the liver symptoms of fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia and muscle and joint pain, silymarin improves a person with Hepatitis C’s quality of life. In public health and in medicine, the concept of health-related quality of life refers to a person or group’s perceived physical and mental health. Physicians usually reference quality of life scales to measure the effects of how a chronic illness interferes with daily life.
Although quality of life is not a numerical measurement, many believe it to be the single most important factor in illness recovery.
A Pennsylvania study evaluated the importance of quality of life in patients with a specific type of advanced lung cancer. According to lead author Dr. Nicos Nicolaou, an attending physician in the radiation oncology department at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, “In the past, we've considered the stage of disease or tumor size along with other empirical data to predict how long a patient will survive, but now we know quality of life is a critical factor in determining survival.” Although this study focused on a different type of disease, a growing number of healthcare practitioners believe that enhancing a person’s quality of life improves the outcome of any type of chronic disease.
The most likely reason for CAM’s rising popularity is the increase in quality of life that many receive from its use. Although more research is required to prove that supplementing with silymarin improves the outcome of Hepatitis C infection, the mounting evidence leaves little room for doubt. The quality of life benefits that participants supplementing with milk thistle in the HALT-C trial experienced is enough to motivate most people managing this virus. If supplementing with this popular herb can significantly reduce fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and improve general health – it makes sense for people with chronic Hepatitis C to give it a try.
courtesy of Evangelin
There ia also mushroom in canada that grows only near the ocean coasts...its not the amanita muscaris ,its a small mushroom .looks like a nipple...forget the name.
I'm guessing you are referring to a mushroom which I have seen many times in the forests of sw Colorado---the amanita muscaris aka death cap.. The only known antidote is milk thistle.
ML
ML
You are completely right about the article that was written. Much of it is taken out of context and uses exaggerated points. There are too many considerations ( such as concomitant herbal usage, purity, liver histology, dosage,compliance,etc) that are not addressed in the survey. On the list of herbs from the survey I noticed a few were taking harmful ones like valerian, kava kava, and echinacea. Licorice is not recommended either for those with avanced disease. I wonder if these users were in the group that went to school longer ? ;)
From the HALT-C Trial Group: "In conclusion, silymarin users had similar alanine aminotransferase and HCV levels to those of nonusers but fewer symptoms and "somewhat better" quality-of-life indices. Because its use among these HALT-C participants was self-motivated and uncontrolled, however, only a well-designed prospective study can determine whether silymarin provides benefit to persons with chronic hepatitis C."
From the HALT-C Trial Group: "In conclusion, silymarin users had similar alanine aminotransferase and HCV levels to those of nonusers but fewer symptoms and "somewhat better" quality-of-life indices. Because its use among these HALT-C participants was self-motivated and uncontrolled, however, only a well-designed prospective study can determine whether silymarin provides benefit to persons with chronic hepatitis C."
I have read that milk thistle will protect against poisionuos mushrooms..it actually will conteract the mushroom toxin and cause no harm....ill do a goolge on this again....ive read this somewhere.....so all you magic mushroom lovers out there ...you are forwarned
Got list here from cocksparrow and hepatitisresearcher.
Anything for added protection.
This concerns me a bit. You seem to be asking what else can help protect your Liver.
This is something you should already know.
If you are taking these supps without a full understanding of what each one does then you are risking wasting your money. You do need to be carefull.
If you receive any PPC with an oily film on the pills bin em. They have gone bad and will be prooxidative rather than antioxidative.
Monitor what they are doing with regular ALT tests and dont make the mistake i did by taking them all at once. Titre them up. You cant half tell you are taking them early on.
All the Best
CS
Anything for added protection.
This concerns me a bit. You seem to be asking what else can help protect your Liver.
This is something you should already know.
If you are taking these supps without a full understanding of what each one does then you are risking wasting your money. You do need to be carefull.
If you receive any PPC with an oily film on the pills bin em. They have gone bad and will be prooxidative rather than antioxidative.
Monitor what they are doing with regular ALT tests and dont make the mistake i did by taking them all at once. Titre them up. You cant half tell you are taking them early on.
All the Best
CS
Sorry to hear about Joe's current sides. It is Janay who keeps telling me 16 weeks for treatment, only today just added that last part..if UND by week 4.
I guess if I don't have bad sides, the milk thistle issue won't matter to me too much. Does Joe still take SamE on treatment?
Blessings to you both,
cathy
I guess if I don't have bad sides, the milk thistle issue won't matter to me too much. Does Joe still take SamE on treatment?
Blessings to you both,
cathy
Joe had an Dr. appt. yesterday and I asked the N.P. of a well known Doctor at a teaching hospital about this. They were also involved with the Halt-C trial. Her response was that she didn't see it causing a problem with treatment but it also doesn't seem to help everybody. She said to not waste our money if it doesn't seem to be helping. Joe is looking at having to extend tx and with the current sx it is hard to see how we will make it. We want to try it to see if it helps. The bad sx are so random in their appearance that I think it will take a while to tell if it is helping. I thought it was helping for a while but now I don't know for sure as the last 3 days haven't been good ones.
Ev
Ev
Thank you for the fine discussion once again, this forum is great, and I appreciate all the advice I've received here... I just got back from taking my first shot in front of the NP and she said "no milk thistle" on tx. So all things considered, I will not keep taking it now.
Something I wanted to ask you guys about, that came up again on this visit, is this 16 week number they've mentioned for the 3rd time. (I did get her to write 24 weeks on the first script, but it wasn't easy) I'm geno 2b, and when she gave me my lab schedule, she said that if I was UND by week 4 then they would only treat for 16 weeks.
Does this sound right to you guys? 12 weeks past UND? They do trials at this office, and it concerns me that they are wanting to experiment some more. That didn't come out right really, I'm not paranoid, I don't think. ;-o But I do want to follow up on the things I am told there, since another poster did not have good results with this doctor, and I believe every patient should have a say if they're concerned about any aspect of their treatment!
Any input on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
cathy
Something I wanted to ask you guys about, that came up again on this visit, is this 16 week number they've mentioned for the 3rd time. (I did get her to write 24 weeks on the first script, but it wasn't easy) I'm geno 2b, and when she gave me my lab schedule, she said that if I was UND by week 4 then they would only treat for 16 weeks.
Does this sound right to you guys? 12 weeks past UND? They do trials at this office, and it concerns me that they are wanting to experiment some more. That didn't come out right really, I'm not paranoid, I don't think. ;-o But I do want to follow up on the things I am told there, since another poster did not have good results with this doctor, and I believe every patient should have a say if they're concerned about any aspect of their treatment!
Any input on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
cathy
The problem is we are not basing our comments on a valid scientific article. The article posted at the beginning of this thread is some discussion by somebody. It is not a report of a scientific study. That's the problem with the Internet. Everything carries equal weight and nobody bothers to check anyone's credentials. Then people act on what they read, which is a very bad idea.
Here's the title of the actual study:
Herbal product use by persons enrolled in the hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial
Hepatology
Volume 47, Issue 2, Date: February 2008, Pages: 605-612
Leonard B. Seeff, Teresa M. Curto, Gyongyi Szabo, Gregory T. Everson, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Jules L. Dienstag, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Karen L. Lindsay, Anna S. F. Lok, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, William M. Lee, Marc G. Ghany, HALT-C Trial Group
And here's a section from the conclusion:
An association was noted was between symptoms and measures of QOL among the silymarin users, who, after adjustment for the covariates of age, race, education, exercise, body mass index, and smoking, had lower symptom scores for fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, and muscle and joint pains and a higher QOL general health domain, 1 of 8 domains analyzed. Because these observations do not represent a prospective and randomized analysis of CAM use in the study subjects, a definitive conclusion cannot be reached that the differences encountered in these symptom scores between silymarin users and non-users reflect a clinically meaningful impact of silymarin.
An issue not explored in this survey is whether liver injury might have occurred as a result of use of the herbals. Rich literature exists in regard to herbal hepatotoxicity,[10][56] and indeed, 1 of the herbal products claimed to have been used by a small number of study participants, kava kava, has been clearly implicated as a cause of drug-induced liver injury.[57] The HALT-C trial was, however, not designed to detect evidence of hepatotoxicity. Moreover, there is great difficulty in establishing a diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury when the biochemical abnormalities of chronic liver disease already exist.
In conclusion, in the HALT-C trial, involving persons with chronic HCV infection and advanced liver disease who had failed to respond previously to 1 or more episodes of antiviral therapy and were now willing to embark on a new long-term antiviral treatment trial, approximately one fifth chose also to use herbals concomitantly. There was no evidence, however, that silymarin showed antiviral activity against HCV infection. Moreover, the observation of better scores in a small number of symptoms among silymarin users than in non-users is insufficient to support the value of this alternative therapy. Currently in progress, therefore, is a properly designed prospective, randomized, controlled trial in which a fully characterized, purified, and standardized silymarin formulation is being evaluated.
So you can see how the article quoted at the top of this thread misrepresents the conclusion of these authors. I think you need to be very, very careful about medical claims, especially about herbals, where there is a large industry with a stake in hyping their efficacy.
Here's the title of the actual study:
Herbal product use by persons enrolled in the hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial
Hepatology
Volume 47, Issue 2, Date: February 2008, Pages: 605-612
Leonard B. Seeff, Teresa M. Curto, Gyongyi Szabo, Gregory T. Everson, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Jules L. Dienstag, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Karen L. Lindsay, Anna S. F. Lok, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, William M. Lee, Marc G. Ghany, HALT-C Trial Group
And here's a section from the conclusion:
An association was noted was between symptoms and measures of QOL among the silymarin users, who, after adjustment for the covariates of age, race, education, exercise, body mass index, and smoking, had lower symptom scores for fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, and muscle and joint pains and a higher QOL general health domain, 1 of 8 domains analyzed. Because these observations do not represent a prospective and randomized analysis of CAM use in the study subjects, a definitive conclusion cannot be reached that the differences encountered in these symptom scores between silymarin users and non-users reflect a clinically meaningful impact of silymarin.
An issue not explored in this survey is whether liver injury might have occurred as a result of use of the herbals. Rich literature exists in regard to herbal hepatotoxicity,[10][56] and indeed, 1 of the herbal products claimed to have been used by a small number of study participants, kava kava, has been clearly implicated as a cause of drug-induced liver injury.[57] The HALT-C trial was, however, not designed to detect evidence of hepatotoxicity. Moreover, there is great difficulty in establishing a diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury when the biochemical abnormalities of chronic liver disease already exist.
In conclusion, in the HALT-C trial, involving persons with chronic HCV infection and advanced liver disease who had failed to respond previously to 1 or more episodes of antiviral therapy and were now willing to embark on a new long-term antiviral treatment trial, approximately one fifth chose also to use herbals concomitantly. There was no evidence, however, that silymarin showed antiviral activity against HCV infection. Moreover, the observation of better scores in a small number of symptoms among silymarin users than in non-users is insufficient to support the value of this alternative therapy. Currently in progress, therefore, is a properly designed prospective, randomized, controlled trial in which a fully characterized, purified, and standardized silymarin formulation is being evaluated.
So you can see how the article quoted at the top of this thread misrepresents the conclusion of these authors. I think you need to be very, very careful about medical claims, especially about herbals, where there is a large industry with a stake in hyping their efficacy.
I definitely picked that up along with other suggested supplements. Not treating so it is another matter what I do if I continue to take. The list of things I ordered were all pretty expensive, or at least it was in my book. Got list here from cocksparrow and hepatitisresearcher. Anything for added protection.
You shouldnt be using that study to base your decision on whether to take MT or not.
HALT-C had next to zero svr rates so you have no idea what impact it could have on the drugs based on that study.
silymarin users showed significantly less fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and improvements in general health over non-users
All the other stuff you are taking should be doing that anyway.
Also which sides do you need assistance with.
I cant see low whites being helped by MT.
A generalised comment about MT giving a better quality of life while on Tx doesnt tell you much really does it.
CS
HALT-C had next to zero svr rates so you have no idea what impact it could have on the drugs based on that study.
silymarin users showed significantly less fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and improvements in general health over non-users
All the other stuff you are taking should be doing that anyway.
Also which sides do you need assistance with.
I cant see low whites being helped by MT.
A generalised comment about MT giving a better quality of life while on Tx doesnt tell you much really does it.
CS
My Doctor says its ok to take while on tx....and this guy is spose to the ne oof the top Hep doctors in the world...BUT still why take the chance,,,,these doctore still dont know for sure if it really affects the tx drugs....myself?,....id rather err on the caution side,maybe it your sx are really dragging you down..but BE CAREFUL....these tx drugs are sensititive to other compounds..BTW...my doc is Mr Finnman
The major study that you're citing is the HALT-C study which studied the efficacy of maintenance doses of Interferon to retard liver damage in non-responders. It turns out that more than 1,000 patients in the study were taking milk thistle. That's how they derived this information about its efficacy.
It seems to me that if milk thistle were known to negatively impact Interferon therapy then they would have excluded these people from the study. Also the study did not find any detrimental effects to taking milk thistle. I know this is all speculative, but I conclude that at least some doctors don't believe that it is established that it interferes with treatment.
It seems to me that if milk thistle were known to negatively impact Interferon therapy then they would have excluded these people from the study. Also the study did not find any detrimental effects to taking milk thistle. I know this is all speculative, but I conclude that at least some doctors don't believe that it is established that it interferes with treatment.
...but, if sx could be lessened, then staying on tox would be much easier for many. This paragraph...,
"Confirming that silymarin has little direct effect on the Hepatitis C virus, the qualitative values generally used to evaluate virus severity were similar in silymarin users and non-users. However, there were other observable benefits to the silymarin users. By reducing the severity of common Hepatitis C symptoms and interferon side effects, silymarin use demonstrated an obvious advantage to people managing this virus. "
.....seems too important to dismiss out of hand, but other opinions are definately needed.
"Confirming that silymarin has little direct effect on the Hepatitis C virus, the qualitative values generally used to evaluate virus severity were similar in silymarin users and non-users. However, there were other observable benefits to the silymarin users. By reducing the severity of common Hepatitis C symptoms and interferon side effects, silymarin use demonstrated an obvious advantage to people managing this virus. "
.....seems too important to dismiss out of hand, but other opinions are definately needed.
Well, a lot of docs say it is fine to take, but I see your point. I guess I can handle the sx for awhile longer, although they are starting to pull me down some.
EVERY single doctor I've ever heard of has said not to take MT while ON treatment because it will affect the efficacy of the interferon. I thought you were on treatment????
Gauf - unless you are 100% sure that it won't, is it worth it? I wouldn't even chance it - I don't care how much it claims to help with the sx!
Is it worth it? The doctors all say not to take it for a reason I'm sure.
Gauf - unless you are 100% sure that it won't, is it worth it? I wouldn't even chance it - I don't care how much it claims to help with the sx!
Is it worth it? The doctors all say not to take it for a reason I'm sure.
I read this a few weeks ago and went back to the scientific paper it is based upon. In fact, the study it is based upon does not endorse milk thistle at all for its ability to alleviate symptoms. The only conclusion of the study is that it has no beneficial effect on disease progression. This paper is sort of fraudulent in that it mis-reports the conclusions of the study it discusses.
That being said, there's no downside to taking milk thistle as far as I know. If you're experiencing symptoms from HCV and the milk thistle helps, then I'd take it. If you think it's going to change the progression of the disease, then I'd skip it.
That being said, there's no downside to taking milk thistle as far as I know. If you're experiencing symptoms from HCV and the milk thistle helps, then I'd take it. If you think it's going to change the progression of the disease, then I'd skip it.
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