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Question
Is it okay to take milk thistle with
interferon injections?
-- Anonymous
Answer
You definitely can – and should
– take milk thistle if you’re being treated with
interferon (for chronic hepatitis B or C, I assume).
Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is an herb that
protects the liver from toxic injury and stimulates
regeneration of the liver. It does this by enhancing
the metabolism of hepatocytes, the working cells of
the liver. Milk thistle products are available in
health food stores. Look for standardized extracts in
tablet or capsule form, and follow the dosage on the
label. You can take milk thistle indefinitely.
I’ve known a number of patients
who have reversed hepatitis C using milk thistle in
conjunction with another natural remedy, Schizandra (Schisandra
chinensis), the fruit of a Chinese plant.
Schizandra berries, like milk thistle, are nontoxic
and support healthy liver function. I usually
recommend them as part of a natural treatment protocol
developed by Dr. Qingcai Zhang in New York. (www.dr-zhang.com)
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the
liver. There are several forms of viral hepatitis (the
type treated with interferon, an anti-viral drug).
Hepatitis C is a progressing disease that slowly
destroys liver cells even while infected people remain
symptom-free. It typically is diagnosed after a
patient complains of fatigue or abdominal tenderness
or after routine blood tests show elevated liver
enzyme levels. Hepatitis C is transmitted by infected
blood (via blood transfusions, hemodialysis, or by
sharing needles with intravenous drug users). The
disease usually becomes chronic, and in about 15
percent of cases (over a period of 20-30 years) leads
to cirrhosis of the liver and, sometimes, liver
cancer.
Hepatitis B, also due to a viral
infection and common in parts of Asia, becomes chronic
in only five to 10 percent of cases. It is transmitted
via blood transfusions, IV drug use, sexual contact,
or from an infected pregnant mother to her fetus.
Symptoms include jaundice, loss of appetite, nausea,
vomiting and fatigue. Milk thistle can be safely used
with the medical treatments available to treat either
type of hepatitis.
By
Andrew Weil, M.D.
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