Silymarin (a component of milk thistle) has been used for hundreds of years as a treatment for liver disorders. Now new research suggests that milk thistle may also be very beneficial for type 2 diabetes.

In a recent study conducted at the Institute of Medicinal Plants in Iran, researchers recruited about 50 type 2 diabetics. Over the four-month trial, half the group took 200 mg of milk thistle extract daily, and the other half took a placebo. All subjects continued to take diabetes medications they were already receiving.

Results:

In the milk thistle group, fasting glucose levels decreased by about 15 percent, while this same measure increased by a similar margin in the placebo group
Total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol both dropped by 12 percent in the milk thistle group, but there was no significant change in the placebo group
Triglyceride levels dropped by 25 percent in the milk thistle group, but increased by 12 percent in the placebo group
The most impressive result may have been the change in glycosylated hemoglobin, also known as HbA1c. Levels of HbA1c dropped by more than one percent in the milk thistle group, but increased by more than one percent in the placebo group.

As I’ve noted in previous e-Alerts, HbA1c indicates severity of hyperglycemia because it’s not affected by daily fluctuations of blood glucose. In a 2004 review of 13 HbA1c studies, researchers at Johns Hopkins concluded that with every one point increase of HbA1c, heart disease and stroke risk rise by nearly 20 percent. When HbA1c drops, these risks drop as well.

Talk to your doctor or a health care professional before supplementing with milk thistle extract.

- See more at: http://hsionline.com/2006/11/09/milk-thistle/#sthash.HGGjpGYC.dpuf