Milk thistle oil for liver problems and more. How to introduce it into your diet?

Milk thistle oil contains many ingredients valuable for health. It is good for the liver, skin and hair. Find out more about its properties and include it in your diet.

Milk thistle oil is produced by cold pressing milk thistle seeds. This plant, although it comes from the Asteraceae family, is more similar to thistle. It is sometimes called holy thistle. It grows widely in Poland. In meadows we can often see tall, purple and scaly flowers, similar to thistles. This is milk thistle, whose healing properties, and especially beneficial effects on the liver, have been known since ancient times. In the Middle Ages, the famous nun Hildegard of Bingen wrote about it in her treatise on herbs. Currently, milk thistle extract is used in the pharmaceutical industry to produce popular liver medications.

Health-promoting effects of milk thistle oil

Milk thistle oil contains unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins E and K, but above all, its unique character is determined by the content of silymarin, a strong antioxidant that protects and regenerates the liver and has anti-inflammatory properties. Thanks to this, milk thistle oil:

supports the treatment of liver diseases such as cirrhosis and alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,
removes toxins from the body, including alcohol,
improves the lipid profile by lowering the level of bad LDL cholesterol,
supports bone mineralization and prevents bone loss, which is especially important for women during menopause,
may reduce the risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease,
used externally, it supports the treatment of acne, burns and psoriasis and improves the appearance of hair.

How to include milk thistle oil in your diet?

Milk thistle oil has a straw color and a delicate taste with a slightly herbal aroma. It is tasty and therefore easy to include in your diet. Just remember that it is not suitable for frying or cooking, as the temperature will destroy its valuable properties. However, you can pour this oil over a still warm dish after cooking, e.g. add it to mashed potatoes, cooked groats or pour it over soup. It is especially good for vegetable dishes. We can add it to the prepared sauce or pour it directly over a fresh salad, e.g. tomato slices with onion. You can also add a teaspoon of oil to your favorite porridge or simply drink it during a meal.

Although there are no exact studies on the recommended daily intake of this oil, it is assumed that Do not exceed the dose of 2-3 teaspoons a day, i.e. approx. 10 ml of milk thistle oil. Too much of this oil may cause diarrhea.

Attention! Milk thistle oil is not recommended for children under 12 years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Milk thistle oil should be stored in the refrigerator and consumed within 6 months. Oil stored in the refrigerator may thicken, but this does not negatively affect its properties in any way. If we leave it at room temperature for a while, it will become liquid again.

Sources: