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| remarkable milk thistle benefits |
The milk thistle, the Great Safflower is known in my country as the donkey’s flower, because donkeys love eating the flower from the plant. It is also known from Greek mythology, as the magical herb with which Centaur Chiron healed Hercules wound. It is proposed by Theophrastus, Dioscorides and Pliny for healing wounds and treating gallstones. The Romans used it as an antidote to poisoning and today is widely used in homeopathy for its antioxidant action and in cosmetology for its anti- aging properties.
It is an annual or biennial plant of the Asteraceae family, native of the Mediterranean and South Europe. There is a saying in Greece that says “milk thistle grows in places you did not seed” and that’s why in many areas is considered as a weed, despite its medicinal properties.
Milk thistle is famous since ancient times for its antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It protects the liver, the kidney and the gallbladder, it has therapeutic effect of insect bites, snake bites and poisoning by mushrooms. It was also used in the early 20th century against the diseases of liver, spleen, varicose veins, against dysmenorrhea and hepatic congestion. Today is generally used for its hepatoprotective action, as an antidote to poisoning, as an antidepressant; we use it because it stimulates the breast milk production too.
The main ingredient of the plant is silymarin, perhaps the most powerful protective agent for the liver. It contains also, flavonolignans, flavonoids, essential oil, sugars, saponins, organic and fatty acids. The combination of these substances is responsible for the antitoxic and regenerative capacity of thistle and its action against cystic fibrosis.
The article is written for your information; for the medicinal use of milk thistle, ask your doctor.
I found milk thistle oil here and it is a virgin oil, cold pressed from the plant seeds. We can add it in our salad or use it in our handmade cosmetics. About its cosmetic use, I can tell that it fights free radicals, removes toxins, it tones the skin and restores the lost shine. It protects your skin from UVB rays and prevents aging. It is particularly effective in the treatment of skin inflammations such as rosacea and it strengthens our hair.
Do not confuse it with safflower oil, it’s another kind of oil.
Stella Crown©
