I disagree with you brutha-man:
From Dr. M:
Large amounts of milk thistle, can help the liver - findings of the early studies eventually lead to the product LIV-52, which is european, and has milk thistle in it. Overdosing on the stuff (4x or so I believe it was) brought back someone in 1 single day who was beginning to show signs of jaundice I believe (yellowed skin).
There are some good stories out there of people who have recouped with this, better to be preventative and take the stuff regularly before you hurt your liver with dbol/abombs or whatever your on, alcohol etc.
Stock up on the stuff, its cheap insurance. Take regular dose through the off time if you want, and dose up on it extra when your on the 17aa.
Yes the liver can regenerate itself, to a point. HGH makes things grow, but I don't know that it would help recoup as much as a more direct method. Milk thistle is actually directly injected in the liver in extreme cases (hospital stuff).
From DrVeejay:
Bro, I disagree! In Germany (where excessive beer-drinking is considered "normal" German life) Milk Thistle is widely used! It is readily prescribed by the doctors for liver problems.
I too have read the discouraging statements lately myself regarding the product! I can't help but believe that a country, such as Germany, who country-wide uses this as a staple in their diets for protection from Cirhosis for years---would be wrong!
From Nandi12:
There is a lot of research out there on silymarin. Much of it is positive. If I were concerned about liver damage (there have been numerous posts here with studies showing the effects of AAS on the liver are overstated) I would take ALA and silymarin.
Phytother Res 2002 Mar;16 Suppl 1:S78-80
Extrahepatic biliary obstruction: can silymarin protect liver function?
Hagymasi K, Kocsis I, Lugasi A, Feher J, Blazovics A.
2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Semmelweiss University, Szentkiralyi u 26, H-1088 Budapest, Hungary
The hepatoprotective property of silymarin is well known. However, it is not known whether the antioxidant silymarin might have a beneficial effect in extrahepatic cholestasis in common bile duct ligated rats. Malonaldehyde property concentrations, the hydrogen-donating ability and reducing power were measured in liver homogenates by spectrophotometry, as well as free SH-group levels and glutathione-reductase activities in sera. The total scavenger capacity of the livers was quantified by a chemiluminometric method. The elevated lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant capacity of liver homogenates and sera could be observed in ligated rats. Silymarin pretreatment improved the antioxidant capacity of the liver, diminished the direct bilirubin concentration and caused an increase of liver enzyme activities compared with the groups without treatment. These effects of silymarin suggest that it may be a useful agent for improving the antioxidant defensive system in extrahepatic cholestasis, but its choleretic property should be considered. Copyright 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Am Clin Lab 2002 May;21(4):19-21
The use of alternative medicine in the treatment of hepatitis C.
Bean P.
Rogers Memorial Hospital, Oconomowac, WI, USA.
[email protected]
More than one-third of Americans use herbs for health purposes, yet patients and physicians usually lack accurate information about safety and efficacy of herbal remedies. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the use of so-called complementary and alternative therapies by patients with liver disease. Medical professionals and laboratorians need to be informed about popular alternative therapies and be open-minded to the possibility that some benefit may come from some therapies currently regarded as alternative. Silymarin extracted from the milk thistle is most widely subscribed to as a remedy for liver diseases. The beneficial effects of silymarin are most often seen in the patients who had cirrhosis as a result of alcohol abuse. An ongoing clinical trial will provide some insight as to whether milk thistle directly affects HCV. Silymarin has a good safety record and only rare case reports of gastrointestinal disturbances and allergic skin rashes have been published. The active component of licorice root, glycyrrhizin, has been shown to reduce alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase values in the serum. This protective function has recently been explained as the inhibitory effects of glycyrrhizin on immune-mediated cytotoxicity against hepatocytes and on nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B, which activates genes encoding inflammatory cytokines in the liver. Finally, some patients with hepatitis C take St. John's Wort and ginger to treat the side effects caused by interferon therapy. An excellent review of this subject was recently published by the NCCAM.
Gastroenterol Nurs 2001 Mar-Apr;24(2):95-
Milk thistle and the treatment of hepatitis.
Giese LA.
Gastroenterology nurses and associates will find it helpful to be informed about milk thistle (silybum marianum), a popular, safe and promising herb used by patients with liver disease. Silymarin is a derivative from the milk thistle plant with few side effects that has been safely used for centuries to treat liver ailments. Since the 1970s, there has been a reemergence of the marketing and use of silymarin. Research results of some small studies suggest silymarin has hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, and regenerative properties producing a beneficial effect for some types of hepatitis. It is unclear, however, whether silymarin might interfere with the effect of interferon or ribavirin. A well-designed, placebo-controlled study of a larger population is needed. It is certainly encouraging that a large collaborative study is currently underway for milk thistle therapy in hepatitis C. This study is funded by NCCAM, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Research updates are available online at
www.nccam.nih.gov and through the NCCAM Clearinghouse at 1-888-644-6226.
From DrVeejay:
Please understand this. There is always the inherent risk for organ destruction when abusing any of your bodily functions when doing things to the point that we know are risky BUT here's the deal: the inherent risk of organ (liver) degradation from AS may still exist even while on all these liver protectants (still in agreement here). The paramount DIFFERENCE (from people who use protectants and those who don't) is this: these supplements help us rejuvenate our organs either directly or indirectly. I do believe that there is damage but the damage remains only "acute" in nature! For example: let's say the body is suddenly bombarded with a great deal of toxins. Acutely, due to the liver's stress of eradicaticating; it will be compromised or "acutely damaged". It WILL in fact regenerate itself (ESPECIALLY WITH THE AID OF SUPPLEMENTS)with new cells after it has managed to get control of the situation. Permanent damage (as oposed to acute) is the damage we need to concern ourselves with. The liver can handle a great amount of stress in a lifetime and recover and regenerate for years after abuse! BUT----IT WILL SLOW DOWN AFTER AWHILE. Supplements aid in the recovery so well that the injury is masked as "minor" and the liver rejuvenates successfully as a result. It has the proper nutriton it needs to BE ABLE TO heal itself as well as other factors essentially doing it's job (so "less liver" is needed to do the job).