Avoid the Hangover: Use Milk Thistle

If you are one of the many people planning to celebrate St Patrick’s Day by filling up on Guinness, green beer, or another libation of your choice, then you need to know about an herb that might improve your recovery chances from a night of debauchery. While the only sure fire way of avoiding a hangover is to say "no" to alcoholic beverages (what fun is that though?), using Milk Thistle may help reduce the severity of a hangover– or eliminate the possibility of one all together. I did test this theory; but first, a little about Milk Thistle and the mechanics of a hangover...

---

​Silybum marianum (its Latin name) is a thistle found throughout North America whose seeds are used to support the liver’s functions. The liver plays a lot of important metabolic roles, one of which is to assist the body in converting toxins into substances that the body can eliminate.  This organ can usually handle large toxic loads, as we encounter plenty of toxins frequently and every day and without ever taking a sip of alcohol (think smog, cleaning supplies, artificial fragrances, and pesticides).

While your green beer may taste great and not at all like a chemical, the reality is that alcohol is toxic to the liver (not a revelation to you, I’m sure). This toxicity comes from the buildup of Acetaldehyde, which is an enzyme used along with Glutathione (an antioxidant) to break down alcohol into acetate (a harmless substance) which can then be eliminated from the body. When you drink too much, your Glutathione levels decrease and you don’t have enough for this important breakdown process to occur. Too much Acetaldehyde builds up, and along with increased urination and dehydration, is responsible for those hangover symptoms. If you drink a little, the liver can probably sufficiently process the alcohol out. If you drink a lot, this becomes more difficult for the liver to do. If you drink a lot AND do it frequently, you are likely doing some damage to your liver.

Overdoing the amount of toxins you ingest or are exposed to –  coupled with insufficient protection of the liver – can lead to liver diseases such as fatty liver, cirrhosis, or cancer. In order to protect the liver, herbalists often recommend plants with hepatoprotective actions (“hepatics”). One way that hepatics protect the liver is by altering its outer cell membranes sufficiently to disallow the entrance of toxins into these cells.  Hepatics also inhibit free radicals from oxidizing necessary fatty acids, and aid in synthesizing proteins. They can also stimulate liver cell regeneration.  A hepatic basically helps to keep liver damage at bay.  

Milk Thistle is a premier hepatic/hepatoprotective plant that has been extensively studied by both Western herbalism and Western medicine. Milk Thistle has other important herbal actions besides being hepatoprotective – it is also considered a bitter which can stimulate the creation of bile by the liver, and a cholagogue which means it helps the gallbladder release bile that is stored there when it is needed for digestion. Good digestive function is a cornerstone of good health.

Now for testing the hangover theory: I have had various clients use Milk Thistle for liver support, with some of them intentionally taking it before bed on nights when they have had quite a bit to drink. All of these drinkers have reported that the hangovers were either less severe or non-existent the next morning.  Now, these individuals also drank a lot of water before bed which probably helped with any effects from dehydration.  They probably didn’t drink the same alcohol on the various nights either, so we didn’t have any true control factors and therefore can’t really credit everything to the Milk Thistle. BUT... these individuals did not report the same findings (i.e. minimal or no hangover symptoms) when they didn’t take the Milk Thistle, so I’d say the plant could very likely have contributed to their “morning-after wellness” when they did take it.  Curious about it, I tried it a couple of times myself to see just how much the Milk Thistle could help... and I too can report that I felt pretty good the next morning despite having had more wine than I should have. This certainly wasn’t a formal, well-constructed clinical trial by any means, but when multiple people all experience something similar, you’ve got to think there might be something to it.

Even though I’m in touch with my Irish roots and can appreciate a good party, I’m certainly not condoning getting wasted this St Patrick’s day and causing unnecessary harm to your liver…nor am I saying that Milk Thistle is the be-all, end-all cure for hangovers.  But if you think you might lose sight of sobriety and imbibe too much, consider having your Milk Thistle at the ready.

Sláinte!  
 
Cautions/Safety and Healing Leaves Disclaimer
Before taking any herb/plant therapeutically, check to make sure that there are no contraindications with any medications you are taking, and that it can be ingested safely.  Milk Thistle may cause minor gastrointestinal disturbance or allergic reactions (especially for those sensitive to plants in the Asteraceae family - e.g. daisies and ragweed), and should not be taken if pregnant or breastfeeding. 

This article is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor and this information should not be considered medical advice. It is not meant to diagnose or treat disease, and it does not replace the relationship that you have with your physicians or their treatment protocols and advice.

References
Review of natural products with hepatoprotective effects, World J Gastroenterol. 2014 Oct 28; 20(40): 14787–14804. Published online 2014 Oct 28. doi:  10.3748/wjg.v20.i40.14787   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4209543/
Hangover Hacks You Can Hang Your Hat On, Dr. Joseph Mercola, published online Dec 31, 2013; 
 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/12/31/hangover.aspx 
How does the liver work? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072577/ 

---