Useful part of the plant: fruit of the milk thistle (Silybum marianum fructus)
Description and Collection
Milk thistle is one of the most beautiful and largest thistles. Milk thistle seeds are mainly used. Seeds can be collected from June to October. Seeds can be either pounded or ground. Seeds can also be chewed or consumed powdered with some liquid.
Useful parts of the plant and their effects
Milk thistle is very useful for liver, spleen, stomach, gall bladder and lung ailments, and also helps with women’s ailments. Fatty liver is helped mainly by moderation in food consumption, a diet of simple foods, alcohol abstinence, and also by drinking milk thistle tea: steep 1 teaspoon of milk thistle seeds in a quarter litre of boiling water, after 20 minutes strain it to a thermos and drink 3 cups a day (in the morning on an empty stomach, half an hour before lunch, and before a night’s rest). It is a good idea to add peppermint (Mentha x piperita L.) to the tea for taste and to increase milk thistle effect. The tea detoxifies the liver, restores tissue and heals the whole organ. Jaundice is also helped by milk thistle tea. The tea is particularly useful for mushroom poisoning, as the liver is most affected. Attention! In all cases of mushroom poisoning, see a doctor immediately! Herbal treatment can only support official medicinal treatment, advised by a doctor. For lung diseases, milk thistle tea helps to cure coughs and bloody expectoration. Milk thistle also contains particularly bitter substances, which are good for the stomach. Take drops or drink the tea. For inflamed spleen and gall bladder, drink an infusion of the herb or a tea made from the seeds. For shin ulcers – gangrene: sprinkle with seed powder. For varicose veins: apply tea compresses. Women can also use this tea for white stream, uterine diseases and missed periods.
Monk Simon Ašič’s product containing milk thistle seeds:
Sources:
1. Domača lekarna patra Simona Ašiča. Priročnik za nabiranje zdravilnih rastlin. Celjska Mohorjeva družba.
2. Domača lekarna patra Simona Ašiča. Recepti. Celjska Mohorjeva družba.
