Milk thistle seed grows on a common plant that grows easily in a sunny location. Its uses range from healing digestive membranes to minimizing the effects of liver damage. Milk thistle is easy to take in a tincture, capsule or tea. When deciding dose your milk thistle supplement, there are a number of safety, medical and side effect concerns you should take into account before making your dosage decisions.
Safety
If you think you have liver damage, do not take milk thistle without contacting your doctor first. According to "The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook" by Alan Tillotson, et al., milk thistle is thought to "speed clearance" of over-the-counter and prescription drugs. If you are taking medication, contact your doctor to see if it will interact with your milk thistle supplementation. High doses of milk thistle should not be taken without the supervision of a physician or experienced herbal medicine professional.
Side Effects
Side effects of milk thistle include nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. In one study, patients taking a milk thistle capsule supplement experienced severe digestive side effects. In the end, the study's writers suspected contaminants to be the cause, according to The National Cancer Institute. Milk thistle side effects occur most frequently at higher doses and may be an indication of an overdose. For more information about contamination and other aspects of dietary supplement safety, see resources for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Guide to Dietary Supplement Safety.
Tincture
A tincture is a preparation style used in herbal medicine which involves soaking herbal material in drinking alcohol to form an easily absorbed herbal supplement. The herb is usually soaked for about two weeks, and then drained from the alcohol to form a particulate-free liquid. In "The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook," a tincture regimen of 20 to 40 drops of 1:5 tincture of ground seeds, administered three times daily, is recommended. Though tinctures are usually recommended by herbalists as the herbal medicinal form with the best absorption effects, alcoholics or those with alcoholic-related liver disease should avoid tinctures to keep from exacerbating alcoholism or liver damage.
Silymarin
Silymarin is thought to be the active ingredient in milk thistle. Though effective at low doses, silymarin has been used in therapeutic doses of up to 200 grams per kg of body weight. A beginner using milk thistle should start with a low dose of 50 to 100 mg twice per day and increase the doses when he is comfortable with the dosage.
Dried Herb Capsules
Milk thistle is most commonly found in dried herb capsules that are available at your local grocer or natural foods store. "The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook" suggests a beginner start with 70 to 210 mg of silymarin, one of the active ingredients in milk thistle. Herbal capsule preparations range in potency from 50 to 600 mg per capsule.
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