Milk Thistle and Dandelion

[handshands_bella]

Hello, I am newbie here. Sorry to disturb you all. I have this problem troubling me for a few months and I dont know where and who should I consult. I live in a not-so-developed country, so I am not able to consult a doctor or specialist easily. I am sorry. I have search on this forum but I cant find the answer in the FAQ session, please forgive me.

I have pimples problems about one year. A few months ago, I started to take"Milk Thistle and Dandelion" supplement daily with the recommended dosage stated on the bottle. (I didnt take overdosage). I didnt have any pimples whenever I take the supplement. If I didnt take the supplement and at the same time if I eat any heat or spicy food, I will have pimples on the next day.

The content of one tablet is as below:

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) dried fruit, equiv 3000mg (as Milk Thistle fruit extract 42.86mg)
Dandelion (Taraxacum afficinale) dried root, equiv 300mg (as Dandelion root extract 75.00mg)

I take 3 tablets daily as recommedned in the box.

I would like to know is it safe to take Milk Thistle and Dandelion in long term?
Is there any bad effects if we take Milk Thistle and Dandelion in long term from your experiences?


Appreciate any opinion, thanks.

[shelley]

Yes, there is a problem with taking it long term. you should only take liver herbs for about 3-4 months at most, then take about a 2-month break. Otherwise, you risk ramping up the cellular metabolism so much that you start creating cancer cells.

There are many many reasons for acne and the liver is just one of them. Now would be a good time to try other things and other liver cleanses that you can easily do anywhere, like eating the cleansing carrot salad and taking a good B vitamin complex.

[handshands_bella]

[shelley]

Yes, you read it right.

Yes, dandelion is pretty safe, but it's still best to take breaks from herbs and really any food from time to time.

Please refer to the FAQ and read as much as you can, starting with VHM System, bowel managemnet and liver management. You have tons of options for supporting the liver and you will find all the options there. Just click on "Faq" at the top of the page then start clicking on the hyperlinks. Also read the sticky posts in each forum.

[handshands_bella]

[handshands_bella]

Hi, Shelley, I read this in the link http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Milk_Thistle.asp?sitearea=ETO

Early studies in test tubes have suggested that silymarin may help with cancer prevention.

So, i dont understand when you said "Otherwise, you risk ramping up the cellular metabolism so much that you start creating cancer cells. "

While the above link suggests that Milk Thistle might help in preventing cancer, but your posts seems to say that taking the liver herbs in long term may lead to cancer cells creation, is this what you mean?

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[shelley]

Like anything, a little bit of knowledge is confusing. Yes, milk thistle will coat and thus protect liver cells and prevent cancer when that cancer is caused by irritation from bad compounds that don't exit quick enough - something that happens often if we don't eat good fats or eat late at night right before sleeping when digestion and blood slows down.

BUT milk thistle also tells the liver to produce liver cells at an accelerated rate, which most articles do not mention - you have to have really studied herbs to know this. The liver is the only organ taht can regenerate itself. If you have only half a working liver, if you take care of yourself you can have a whole one in a few years. It's an amazing organ! But speeding up the process of creation also means you're speeding up the odds on poor RNA and DNA "copying." You're producing more cells but may not have the nutrients required for healthy cells so you produce bad cells which can become compromised and thus cancerous.

[handshands_bella]

Hi, Shelley, thanks for your posts. Please forgive me for my ignorance on this topic as I am really new to nutrition.

1. As you mention in the previous post, we cant take herb in long term, right? How about vitamin such as Vitamin A, C, E, Zinc, EPO, Cod Liver Oil, Zinc? We also cant take these daily in long term?

2. I will take your advice on the Milk Thistle and Dandelion. Actually, after reading your post and some research on that, I think it would be better to replace these herb supplements with food, right? But, I still have supplies of Milk Thistle and Dandelion. So, Is it OK if I take the Milk Thistle and Dandelion for 2 to 3 months, then I stop for 1 month, then continue to take Milk Thistle and Dandelion for another 2 to 3 months, is it OK?

3. I am hoping to find a food that could repalce the functions of Milk Thistle and Dandelion. Wonder what should I try first....


regards
Bella

[handshands_bella]

Hi, Shelley, I read in http://www.askshelley.com/faq.php?p=default&cat=49#a72,
there are many recipes, which one should I go to replace the functions of Milk Thistle and Dandelion?

Is it safe to take your salad recipes in long term? Will there be any bad effects?

[handshands_bella]

Hi, Shelley, I plan to drink pure carrot juice daily as replacement for the herb supplements.


But I have few questions:

(1). The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for carotene is 5,000 IU, but raw carrot daily provides about 13,500 units of carotene. And, in your FAQ, you suggest to take 1 cup carrot pulp leftover from juicing, or freshly grated carrots, so I dont know how much of carrot should I use daily?

(2). Since carrot is a type of vegetable, so means carrot is safe to be taken daily in long term?

(3). Is it safe to take the carrot raw? pestiside?

Thank you very much.

regards
Bella

[shelley]

Oh good you found the right info.

Yes, exactly, replace herbs with just foods for awhile. Yes, if juicing or cleansing they should be organic - at least no pesticides. You can sometimes find stuff that is not organic but IS pesticide-free.

Yes, you can get into trouble with vitamin supplements too! Again, take only the one bottle and don't take it every day, take the smallest dose possible if taking every day. I don't like multivitamin supplements for the most part - I have tons of other recomendations on what to do.

ANYway - you can have the cleansing carrot salad daily for a week like it suggests. Don't worry about the amount of beta-carotene there's no way for anyone to know what the RDA is for that compound, really. Always cycle your foods and take breaks from things. There are a few core things that you can have very often, like basmati rice, eggs, bananas, avocados, but you always need a time out after a month or two of steady use.

Raw carrot, grated fine or pulp from juice, is best for therapeutic purposes.

[handshands_bella]

Hi Shelley,

After about one year trying the carrot juice, I've sort come out with this conclusion. Carrot juice do help to eliminate breakout due to oily food such as fried chicken, pizza.... but, at least in my case, it cant help with breakout caused by sugar or fructose food.

Could you please recommend any thing I can take for this purpose?

Thanks a lot!! You are always the best and the only one I can trust to.

[handshands_bella]

I read that some said Taurine is good for this purpose, how do you think?

[shelley]

Taurine is excellent for aiding the body in making bile, which is key to digesting fats, which is key for most acne people. Since it's just a protein, supplementation is very safe. As always, real food is best, but taurine is hard to get if you're avoiding dairy. You can find it in most meats, but Cottage Cheese is one of the best sources. Probably another reason why Bruddig's cottage cheese and Udo's Oil mix is such a good dietary aid.

It won't, however, help with the sugar issue. If you are sugar-sensitive there isn't much you can except for supplementing GTF Chromium, which truly helps hypoglycemia and adult-onset diabetes, and sometimes helps sugar-sensitive breakouts too. B vitamins do too. So give that a try and see! After judicious supplementation you may find that your tolerance for fructose and sucrose increases to the point where you can atleast enjoy fruits without breaking out.

[handshands_bella]

Thanks Shelley, I will give it a try and I will post my feedback on how my body responses to it maybe some time later.