Milk thistle may help diabetics -study

here is the linkk where i got this article , for complete article and more article here is the link below ...

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L30620708.htm

Milk thistle may help diabetics -study[/b]

0 Oct 2006 15:25:21 GMT
Source: Reuters



 By Patricia Reaney

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A herbal therapy that has been used for thousands of years may help to control blood sugar levels in people suffering from type 2 diabetes, scientists said on Monday.

Milk thistle, a flowering herb, is a popular complementary therapy. It is also called silymarin, which is a mixture of the herb's active components, used to treat liver problems such as cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis and gallbladder problems.

Researchers in Iran have also found the remedy could benefit diabetes sufferers.

"We don't know the exact mechanism of action for this effect, but this work shows that silymarin could play an important role in treating type 2 diabetes," said Fallah Huseini, who works for the Institute of Medicinal Plants in Teheran.
Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to being overweight or obese, is an increasing health problem worldwide. Most of the 194 million people who suffer from it have type 2 diabetes, which is caused by an inability to regulate the glucose, or sugar in the body properly.

Huseini compared the effects of daily supplements of silymarin, which contains a number of active constituents called flavolignans which help protect the liver from poisoning, against a placebo in 51 diabetics. The findings are reported in the journal Phytotherapy Research.

Half the patients received 200 milligrams of silymarin three times a day for four months or the dummy pill along with conventional treatments. At the end of the study, people in the herbal group had reductions in blood glucose levels compared to their earlier levels.

"The results are very encouraging, and we now need to do further large multi-centre studies," Huseini added in a statement.

The charity Diabetes UK said some substances appear to have an effect on lowering blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes but they are not a cure and should not replace traditional therapies.
"Studies have shown that the best method of controlling glucose levels is through a combination of regular physical activity, a healthy diet and the relevant prescribed medication," a Diabetes UK spokesperson said.

"This study is very small and still in its early stages, therefore we would not recommend using milk thistle or any other supplement for people with diabetes."

Diabetes, which is a chronic illness, also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney damage and nerve disorders that can lead to foot ulceration and amputations.

Wow,

Another reason for me to find this product in Pak. I'll see if my local chemist can order it if he doesn't have it already.

feeling good to hear, haan!! .. i knew that you will b happy to hear about another benefit of milk thistle .. ... this monday,  i m going to  ask my doctor  abt it... i will update u later ,  hope decission will b in mine favour and , i will start milk thistle soon ....

wish me good luck buddy .. i m waiting for wishes and regards ... hehehe

here is a link below related to the topic ... you will find here more benefits for using milk thistle ..
here is the index of the benefits ,,

How is Silymarin Used
how it works
Liver Disease
Kidneys
Acne
Role of Silymarin in Diabetes
What does Silymarin have to do with HIV
Others

and here is the link :

http://www.silymarin.com/?p=silymarin.benefits

Sajid,

In Jang's sunday magzine,i saw an ad by a company called "the vitamin company",and along with their other products they also have milk thistle.

They claim that they are based in U.S,their website is www.thevitamincompany.net .i was unable to find milk thistle on their website but may be you can call their toll free number and ask about it as they placed it's ad in the newspaper,so they should have it .

Zaini.

Thanks Zaini,

I have seen that ad too and asked my Pharmacist about it a couple of days ago. He had other products of the brand and has noted down my order. I hope I will be able to get in a few days.

I will let everyone know when I start it. The question is what dose should I start and how many times a day should I take it?

AOA :
me to saw that add on first page of jang magzine ...
they r also prvoiding Aloe'Vera Gel ... i hope they will anounce to provide IP6 too ..
they r providing every sort of suplement can you believe it ...
they r providing those suplements which r not listed on the company's official site. ...
that is wat make's  me confused .... ..
i hope & wish that ..they will b providing pure suplements .. n hope & wish that my opinion on this will  completely wrong.. n hope that they r the geniune brand providers ....

Best Regards
Take Care
Umair

The thing which confuses me is that, on their multivitamin's bottles,there is no description about the quantity of the vitamins,like 100 mg or 200 mg and so on,there in nothing like that stated there,just that this and this vitamin are in these multivitamins.And they claim that they are based in U.S,Can any friend from U.S tell us if there is any such company or brand by the name of "the vitamin company"?

Zaini.

Hi,

Today, I got the update with my chemist regarding Milk Thistle from "The Vitamin Company"

Sadly, the chemist say that they are not a reliable company and they won't be selling their products any more. It's more of a personal conflict rather than authenticity issue. Furthermore it seems that this company has a wider product supply in the bigger whole sale market rather than individual chemists.

So, if anyone of you can find this in the bigger market then I guess there is no harm in trying it out.

Hmm..I'll check it out here in Karachi.

Zaini.

Hi :
i m posting this message just after gathering a little information to my chemist ...
he said : Milk Thistle and Aloe vera juice/gel  both  are not launched by The Vitamin Company ... there is no product with these ( Milk Thistle and Aloe vera juice/gel ) name by " The Vitamin Company " ... i asked to him that i red an advertisement in jang magezine ... then
he said : mayb they r planing to launch and thats y advertising before launching the product ... but i dont know about these products under this company name ....

Take Care & Be aware
Best regards
Umair

It seems that they are too eager to make people buy their products even though it is not in the market yet

yeah they are ....  look at here at the first post of this thread
it was writen in the bottom of first post in a smal size font read it ...

"This study is very small and still in its early stages, therefore we would not recommend using milk thistle or any other supplement for people with diabetes."

Diabetes, which is a chronic illness, also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney damage and nerve disorders that can lead to foot ulceration and amputations.

The fine print always gets you We need to keep magnifying glasses when we read ads; especially for cell phone services which give offers too good to be true!