Herb of the Month - Detox with St Mary’s Thistle (Milk Thistle)
With the festivities of the Christmas and New Year period, many of us have over-indulged in food and alcohol and may have started the new year feeling a bit sluggish, bloated and toxic. The good news is that there is a range of herbs we can take to support our liver and digestive system to detox and get back to normal function again.
One fabulous herb for supporting and detoxing the liver and improving digestion is St Mary’s Thistle (Silybum Marianum), also know as Milk Thistle. St Mary’s Thistle is a liver tonic and protector, supporting the liver to efficiently detox. It is a digestive tonic and cholagogue (improves the production and release of bile to aid digestion). It is also an antioxidant, helping to mop up those free radicals. St Mary’s thistle is available as dried seeds or powder or herbal extract. It is also part of our Santos Detox Blend tea in 100g bags; Santos Detox Powder mix in 150g jars and an ingredient of several supplements we stock at Santos Organics stores.
Another great product to soothe and heal the digestive tract, improve digestion and treat symptoms of reflux, bloating, flatulence, nausea and stomach cramps is our Digestive Soother powder. Digestive Soother contains Marshmallow, Aloe vera, Licorice root, Ginger, Dandelion root and Fennel powders which provides a wonderful mix that soothes and protects the lining of the digestive tract and boosts digestive enzymes for effective digestion. Digestive Soother powder is found in the bulk herb section in the Naturopathic department of our Byron and Mullumbimby Santos stores.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about any of our Naturopathic herbs, tea or other products don't hesitate to pop by our Byron and Mullumbimby Santos stores and talk to our friendly Naturopaths.