How to Treat Liver Problems With Herbs

Many conditions attack the liver. Most notable are cirrhosis, mushroom poisoning and hepatitis A, B and C. Your liver may also be to blame when you get headaches, irritability and fatigued. There isn't much mainstream medicine to help people dealing with liver disease. Research shows that some supplements, especially milk thistle, can treat liver damage effectively.

Instructions

1. Do your research. Buy reference books about herbs. Search the index for the word "liver." You'll find that several herbs can restore liver function.

2. Turn to a longtime protector of liver function--milk thistle. It's been used to treat liver conditions for more than 2,000 years. Silymarin is found in the seeds. It is a powerful antioxidant that blocks toxins and encourages damaged liver cells to repair themselves.

3. Look for a milk thistle extract containing 70 percent silymarin. Follow the instructions on the package to determine dosage.

4. Take ginseng to protect your liver from the harmful effects of alcohol and drugs. Studies on animals prove that ginseng wards off liver damage. In one experiment, researchers gave fatal doses of drugs to animals that had been pre-treated with ginseng. Most of them lived.

5. Consider barberry. It normalizes liver function by causing enzyme levels to drop.

6. Hit the kitchen for artichoke leaves, garlic and rosemary. Artichoke leaves remove extra bile from your system and regenerate the liver. Garlic and rosemary have lots of flavanoids. They act as antioxidants and help your liver function more effectively.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your doctor before taking supplements. There have been some cases of milk thistle causing upset stomach.

• Follow package instructions for all supplements.