Regardless of what you call it, this versatile plant is well respected for its diverse actions on both the liver and the gallbladder.
While the liver and gallbladder are separate organs, they live close together in the body and play supporting roles in digestion. The digestive function of the liver is to produce bile, breaking down fat to small droplets to allow the fat-digesting enzyme, lipase, to work effectively. The gallbladder, which sits next to the liver, acts like a warehouse for bile, storing excess when it’s not needed while also assisting the body in absorbing fat soluble vitamins and nutrients.
In addition to playing an important role in digestion and absorption, the liver also works as a key detoxification organ within the body, filtering blood and altering fat-soluble toxic materials into water-soluble compounds for them to be effortlessly excreted from the body via urine or bile.
At various times, increased demands placed on the liver and gallbladder can leave behind a feeling of sluggishness and with more digestive discomfort than we’d like.
In these circumstances, St Mary’s thistle can be useful for supporting liver health while at the same time maintaining healthy digestion.
The benefits of St Mary’s thistle can be experienced in two Herbs of Gold products, Herbs of Gold St Mary’s Thistle 35 000 and Herbs of Gold Liver Care.
Herbs of Gold St Mary’s Thistle 35 000 contains a standardised extract of St Mary’s thistle to support healthy liver function. St Mary’s thistle is also beneficial for supporting healthy digestion, having been used traditionally in Western herbal medicine (WHM) to relieve digestive discomfort and symptoms of indigestion, including flatulence, abdominal bloating and feelings of fullness.
Herbs of Gold Liver Care is a comprehensive formula including St Mary’s thistle to support liver health while also acting as an hepatoprotectant, protecting the liver. This great formula also contains Dandelion, traditionally used in WHM to support healthy liver function and healthy digestion. Dandelion also has a long history of traditional use in WHM to promote bile flow from the liver and the gallbladder and as a bitter tonic and to stimulate gastric secretions.
