What are the different milk thistle side effects? How dangerous are they? Before we get into such details, you should know first a little about this herb.
The Benefits of the Milk Thistle to Your Body
Eastern medicine tells us that the majority of the “drugs” we need today for healing can be provided by herbs and plant extracts. Milk thistle seed extract is one of them. It has been known to provide plenty of benefits for health.
For one, you need it to stimulate the colon. There are times when you suffer from constipation, and you need a little “push” to get rid of the toxic buildup. However, its best use will be for the liver.
The liver can become overworked or damaged because of medications and alcohol. It can also be filled with too much toxin. Milk thistle can be taken for detox. In fact, it’s so effective you can take milk thistle for liver diseases, such as cirrhosis and hepatitis.
Milk Thistle Extract Side Effects
However, not everyone is going to like it, simply because they are going to experience certain side effects. For example, if you’re going to go beyond the recommended milk thistle dose, expect to experience frequent bowel movements. Sometimes it may lead to mild dehydration, in which case you have to constantly nourish your body with electrolytes and water to get back your strength and still maintain internal balance.
There are also a number of people who experience minor headaches. This could be because of the constant depletion of water, especially in the brain, when you’re having very loose bowel movements. It can also lead to bloating or the feeling of fullness, which can make anyone feel uneasy all the time. If this happens to you, the best thing to do is to just rest.
It’s also reported that some people develop insomnia or the inability to sleep properly. Obviously, this can lead to fatigue and exhaustion. Though rare, some men and women have attributed their infertility and lack of sexual drive to the herbal supplement.
It’s highly recommended to consult your doctor before you talk about the extract for fear of milk-thistle interactions. This means that certain drugs may cause serious effects on the body because of their interaction with the components of the extract.
Some do have allergic reactions to them too. You will know it when your lips and face start to swell, you feel itchy all over, and you may suddenly start to feel the difficulty of breathing.
It’s normal for to develop side effects with milk thistle, particularly if your body is not used to it. However, if it goes on for a longer period or you feel that it’s cutting off your oxygen supply and you develop a fever or difficulty in eating, you might as well stop it and see your doctor immediately.
Find the Best Product
You can minimize the milk thistle side effects if you can choose the right product. Maximum Milk Thistle contains just the right dosage of the extract, which contains 240 mg of siliphos or silybin phytosome. It is also hypoallergenic and has no reported case of drug interaction except for some contraceptives.