Liver Support

What this is. A herbal blend built on milk thistle, the traditional liver herb. Taken for general liver support.

780 mg of liver herbs per two-capsule serving, spread across eight ingredients, and the total is accurate. The part most labels leave off is that milk thistle — the herb people buy this category for — is 50 mg of that 780.

What you are actually getting, per 2 capsules

• Turmeric — 300 mg
• Beet Root — 200 mg
• Dandelion — 100 mg
• Artichoke (5% cynarin) — 50 mg
• Ginger — 50 mg
• Milk Thistle — 50 mg
• Alfalfa — 20 mg
• L-Cysteine HCl — 10 mg

Artichoke is the only standardised item here: 50 mg at 5% cynarin is about 2.5 mg of cynarin. Milk thistle is not standardised at all. Its active fraction is silymarin, and with no silymarin percentage on the panel, the silymarin content of that 50 mg is not stated and we will not estimate it. There is no curcuminoid figure for the 300 mg of turmeric either, and no extract ratio anywhere on the panel.

Worth knowing before you buy

Milk thistle research is run on silymarin, typically around 140 mg taken two or three times a day — roughly 420 mg of silymarin daily. What you get here is 50 mg of milk thistle herb, inside which the silymarin is an undisclosed and necessarily smaller amount. That is well under the studied doses, and it is not close enough to call it a shortfall rather than a difference in kind.

What it is: a small, broad eight-herb blend whose largest single item is 300 mg of turmeric, at a low price. What it is not: a milk thistle supplement at a studied dose. If milk thistle is what you are shopping for, buy a standardised product and check the silymarin percentage on the label before you pay for it.

How to take it

Two capsules a day with water. Sixty capsules in the bottle at two a day, which is 30 days.

Other ingredients

Hypromellose. The capsule shell is hypromellose rather than gelatin, so it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The panel declares no allergens.

Cautions

Milk thistle, dandelion and artichoke are all in the daisy family, so do not take this if you react to ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds or daisies. If you have gallstones or a blocked bile duct, clear artichoke and dandelion with your doctor first. Turmeric and ginger can add to the effect of anticoagulant and antiplatelet medicines such as warfarin, clopidogrel and aspirin. Milk thistle can affect how the liver processes some medicines, which matters if you take anything on prescription with a narrow dosing range. Keep out of the reach of children. Do not use if the safety seal is damaged or missing. Store in a cool, dry place. Do not exceed the recommended dose. If you are pregnant, nursing, under 18, taking prescription medication or living with a medical condition, speak to your doctor or pharmacist before starting this or any supplement.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.