Is Milk Thistle Good For Someone With Thyroid?

As of 2011, there are no peer-reviewed, evidence-based studies regarding the use of milk thistle with thyroid conditions. Even alternative practitioners who are quick to recommend this supplement for other purposes, don't recommend it for thyroid disorders. Such conditions are best approached with conventional medicine. Alternative treatments can have unintended consequences if your body chemistry is disrupted by thyroid disease. Double check with your doctor first before taking milk thistle.

Milk Thistle

Generally recognized as a weed, milk thistle is now found throughout the world. The active ingredient is silymarin. Silymarin is actually a class of flavonoids, including silibinin, silidianin and silicristin, that are derived from the seeds of the plant. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports that most capsules, liquid extracts and tinctures contains 70 to 80 percent silymarin.

Thyroid Function

The pituitary gland makes thyroid stimulating hormone, or THS. THS causes the thyroid to make a hormone called thyroxine, which is often called T4 because it has four iodine atoms. The liver and brain remove one iodine atom from T4, converting it into triiodothyronine, or T3.

Both T4 and T4 help regulate cellular metabolism. Cellular metabolism refers to how efficiently the cells use glucose.

Tangential Results

The only information as to the effect of milk thistle on thyroid function is found in the April 2007 issue of "Gynecological Endocrinology." Researchers tested the safety of an alternative supplement that included extracts of black cohosh, dong quai, milk thistle, red clover, American ginseng and chaste-tree berries by giving it to a small group of research subjects for three months. They examined many different symptoms of menopause and other biological markers, including T4. T4 levels in the subjects were unchanged.

Other Uses

The Mayo Clinic examined the studies on milk thistle as a treatment for cirrhosis and other chronic liver disease and gave them a "B," meaning that there was good scientific evidence for these uses. It rated the evidence for all other uses with a "C." These included acute viral hepatitis, Amanita phalloides mushroom poisoning, cancer, diabetes and high cholesterol.