Will Milk Thistle Work for Your Diabetes?

Milk thistle is helpful in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It doesn't produce dramatic effects in managing diabetes, and that's a good thing: Milk thistle won't cause hypoglycemia.

How much of a difference does milk thistle make?

• In one study, 25 volunteers took 200 mg of silymarin three times a day before meals for four months. HbA1C levels dropped from readings of 5.82 to 9.83 percent to readings of 5.73 to 8.88 percent. In other words, everyone who took milk thistle got their HbA1C down to at least 8.88 percent. That's not a particularly good level, but it's also not "uncontrolled." On the other hand, and at least as importantly, no diabetic had average blood sugar levels going too low.
• In another study, 60 diabetics with kidney disease (indicated by protein in the urine) took 600 mg of silymarin daily for six months. They continued all the other medications they were receiving for both diabetes and kidney disease. Protein and malondialdehyde levels in their urine fell by an average of 50 percent in about 50 percent of the patients. In other words, silymarin didn't work for everyone who used it, but for some people kidney disease was not just slowed down or stopped but even reversed.
• In patients who had diabetes due to alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, taking 600 mg of silymarin every day for six months reduced their need for insulin by 20 percent. This means that (1) they had been given a sliding scale for using insulin by their doctors, taking more or less insulin in accordance with blood sugar readings from finger sticks and (2) they had been getting lower readings in their day to day testing. Average HbA1C fell by 0.5 percent. That also is not a lot, but it's about what would be expected from adding another diabetes medication.

Milk thistle occasionally causes diarrhea in some of the people who use it. This is most likely to be a problem if the user has had gallbladder surgery, or eats a lot of fatty foods. The diarrhea that goes with milk thistle use tends to happen an hour or two after eating a fatty meal. It is very rare for people to have so much of a problem with diarrhea that they stop using milk thistle. In many of the clinical studies, everyone continued to use the herb because no one had significant problems with it.

READ Does Diabetes Impact Cognitive Abilities?

While it is OK to use milk thistle powder or to make milk thistle tea, if you are using milk thistle to help you manage your diabetes, the best form is a milk thistle of silymarin phytosome. Silymarin refers to the three antioxidant chemicals in the herb. Most manufacturers standardize their manufacturing processes so that the product is sure to contain enough of all three for maximum benefit. A phytosome is more readily absorbed through the lining of the small intestine than a "naked chemical" that you get from the untreated, dried, powdered herb or from a tea. Unprocessed herb isn't useless, but neither is it as useful as the phytosome.

Milk thistle can make just the difference you need in managing diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, and sometimes makes a difference in managing the most serious complications of the disease. It's inexpensive, it's non-toxic, it's readily available, and it's worth a try.