Milk Thistle
水飞蓟 · Shuǐ Fēi Jì
Protects and clears your liver
What it does
Milk thistle's specialty is your liver. In TCM, it clears heat and toxins from the Liver and Gallbladder, the organs that process and filter. It's used for jaundice, hepatitis, fatty liver, and gallstones. The active compound silymarin is one of the most-studied liver protectants in modern science. Bitter and cool, so it suits hot, congested liver patterns more than weak ones.
How to take it
Take a standardized milk thistle extract (around 70–80% silymarin) at 200–400mg daily, split into 2 doses with food. Most studies use this dose range.
Try a standardized capsule daily during periods of heavy drinking or stress
Safety
- Generally very safe and well tolerated
- May cause mild stomach upset, nausea, or loose stools at high doses
- Can interact with diabetes medications by lowering blood sugar
- Talk to your doctor before starting, especially if you take medication
Where it comes from
Milk thistle is native to the Mediterranean, not China. It entered Chinese medicine relatively recently, in the 20th century. Western herbal traditions used it for liver problems for centuries before that. The plant's name comes from the milky white sap and white-veined leaves, which folklore said came from drops of the Virgin Mary's milk. Modern silymarin research has tracked its effects on hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, and cirrhosis through dozens of clinical trials.