Cleaning the Filter

When you're considering a detoxification, consider your liver. This workhorse of an organ is the transformer through which all toxins pass, including those released by colon cleansing.

What the liver does

The liver is the largest organ in the body and its size reflects its importance. Responsible for over 500 bodily functions, this organ plays a crucial part in detoxification: the liver filters and purifies our blood.

Highly efficient under normal conditions, this organ has the lion's share of the workload. Everything that enters into our bodies passes through this filter where it is processed for energy, cell function and structure, hormone production, blood-clotting agents, blood-pressure stabilizers, and much more.

The liver produces bile to break down the foods we eat and convert compounds into needed substances. The liver converts amino acids into proteins, proteins into other necessary substances and transforms carbohydrates into glucose for energy.

Most importantly, the liver breaks apart toxins, neutralizes them and sends them to various organs for elimination.

Unfortunately, normal conditions today place abnormal stress on the liver. Air, water and soil pollution, antibiotics and hormones in animal products, high levels of free radicals produced by the processed foods we eat, chemicals from cleansing products and household goods, viruses, prescription medications, pesticides, herbicides, microwave radiation, and stress. Today we take in many more toxins on a regular basis than this purifier was ever meant to handle.

Ironically, detoxification methods themselves add stress to the liver. During detoxification, fatty capsules used to encapsulate toxins are broken down. This causes an increase in the level of active toxins in the bloodstream. The liver's workload is increased by fasting and many colon-cleansing methods.

Help for the Liver

Milk Thistle, also known as St. Mary's Thistle, Silybum marianum or Silymarin is a flavonoid that has been found to support, regenerate and help detoxify the liver.

A flavonoid is a naturally-occurring compound in plants that has various health benefits other than simple nutrition. Like other antioxidants, flavonoids neutralize dangerous free radicals in the body but they go above and beyond that work: these plant pigments that have antiviral, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and antioxidant effects.

Flavonoids seem to reverse the cognitive decline related to aging and their intake in inversely related to death from coronary heart disease and heart attacks.

Milk Thistle has been used as a liver tonic for centuries and has been the focus of much scientific research. Silymarin is a group of particular flavonoids that exist in Milk thistle.

Milk Thistle is one of the most powerful protectors of the liver yet known. Silymarin protects the liver by:

*Aiding in digestion

Silymarin improves the solubility of bile and the ability to break down cholesterol, sugars and carbohydrates

*Scavenging free radicals

Free radicals are unstable rogue compounds that steal electrons from other cells. Silymarin neutralizes these free radicals directly, acting many times more powerfully than vitamin E or C as an antioxidant.

*Protecting liver cells

Many studies have found that Milk Thistle blocks toxins and the sites they bind to by altering the outer membrane of the liver.

*Regenerating liver cells

Milk Thistle helps liver cells heal and grow by protecting mitochondria in the cells: their power stations. Milk Thistle also increases the activity of the genetic code needed to grow new cells.

*Boosting the livers antioxidant properties

One of Milk Thistle's compounds improves the detoxifying enzymes in the liver called cytochrome P450 and superoxide dismustase.

Glutathione is the most important antioxidant the liver uses. As the liver is damaged or deluged with alcohol and other toxins, its levels of glutathione fall. Silymarin stops this glutathione reduction and increases levels of glutathione by 35%.

Milk Thistle has been found to reduce and reverse the effects of:

*Chronic hepatitis
*Cirrhosis of the liver
*Bile stagnation
*Fatty Liver Disease
*Other liver damage

Forms, Dosage, Side Effects

Milk Thistle is available in tablet form, capsules, powdered seeds and tincture.

Recommended dosages vary from 200mg a day to over 400mg. The most beneficial effects have been seen with 420mg per day.

Possible side effects include occasional reports of nausea, itchy skin or headache.

Silmarin may interfere with cholesterol-lowering drugs.

A thorough cleansing involves cleaning the filter. Support liver function with a Milk Thistle supplement and you'll boost your colon cleansing and detoxification.