By AJ Keillor
Considering a Cleanse? Don`t Forget Milk Thistle
A key ingredient in detoxing
"Cleansing" or "detoxing" are trendy words for a natural, bi-annual tradition that has been practised for thousands of years. Each spring and fall, similar to how you clean out your house, many also clean out their bodies by doing a cleanse. Cleansing helps your body eliminate built-up toxins. If you think you’re “pure” and clean because you live a healthy lifestyle, you may be surprised to find out just how "dirty" you really are.
Toxin overload
There are harsher chemicals, more air and water pollution and increased levels of radiation today than at any other time in the history of mankind. Toxins are in the air you breathe, the food you eat, the water you drink and the cosmetics you use. Toxins enter your body through your mouth, nose and skin. They end up in the blood, where your body has to somehow sift between toxins and nutrients. More than just a nuisance to sift through, toxins also cause damage to your blood vessels, organs and skin. As a result, your body works hard to eliminate these toxins from the blood. So which body organ has the daunting task of sorting toxins from nutrients? The liver is your main detoxing organ, but it may need some help.
The liver
The liver is the largest organ in your abdomen, and also one of the most impressive. In addition to filtering one litre of blood each second, your liver also pulls toxins out of your blood, neutralizes toxins, produces hormones, metabolizes fats, and much more. It’s one of your most important organs for daily survival. However, if your daily routine exposes you to processed and refined foods, excess amounts of sugar, pesticides, cosmetics containing heavy metals or other toxins, your liver may be overworked.
An assistant
Your overworked liver needs a helping hand. Just like an assistant can help you to get through the many file folders piling up on your desk, a natural herb called milk thistle can help your liver handle an overload of toxins in your blood. Milk thistle is well known as a liver supporter, particularly due to its active component called silymarin. Silymarin causes a change in liver cells, making them less penetrable to toxins. In other words, silymarin prevents the toxins that your liver is filtering from causing damage to your liver cells. Silymarin also has the ability to stimulate healing of the liver. Did you know that your liver can regenerate up to one half of itself? If over half of the liver is removed, due to cirrhosis for example, it will grow back in the same shape and form within two to three weeks! If your liver has been working overtime trying to deal with prescription drugs, alcohol, pesticides, excess sugar or any other toxins, it may need the helping hand of milk thistle extract.
Tough seed to crack
Silymarin, the active compound in milk thistle, is found mostly in the seed of the plant. This is where most supplement manufacturers get their sources from. However, some products have less potent levels of silymarin than others due to the difficulty in extracting it from the seed. According to clinical trials, the most effective milk thistle extracts contain 80 percent silymarin. Therefore, look for cleansing products that contain a good quality milk thistle extract containing 80 percent silymarin to ensure that your liver is getting the most reliable and efficient helper.
There are many different cleansing programmes and kits available in health stores. Some will focus on one or all four of the main detoxification systems in the body: liver, bowel, skin and kidneys. Regardless of which one you choose, include a good quality milk thistle extract to properly support your main detox organ.
Think you’re pure?
If you think that your body doesn’t have any toxins, consider the following:
1) Your body naturally generates toxins (including free radicals) as by-products of normal, everyday metabolic processes and reactions. Though you need certain amounts of free radicals to survive, excess free radicals can damage your cells and can lead to inflammation, joint or blood vessel damage, disease and wrinkles.
2) Microbes (bacteria and yeast, for example) live on and in your body all of the time. Even salmonella and E. coli are present in healthy bodies, but in manageable amounts. These and other "bad" microbes can build up in your body, causing inflammation and disease.
Still feeling pure? Clean up this spring – both inside and out.
Here are some signs and symptoms of toxicity:
- Headaches
- Joint pain
- Wheezing
- Sore throat
- Frequent colds
- Immune weakness
- Irritated eyes
- Insomnia
- Mood changes
- Fatigue
- Skin rashes
- Bad breath
- Constipation
