Parsi Teb Physical and Mental Health Journal 
Milk thistle
Balance life in the busy world is a challenge for all of us. In modern living we indulge with unhealthy habits without considering the side effects that can cause to our body. Excessive alcohol, medications, poor water quality, processed fast foods, exposure to pesticides and herbicides and inappropriate rest can lead to liver problems. The liver metabolizes carbohydrates, fats and proteins and it extracts iron, vitamin A , B ,D from the blood stream and store them for the future. Also it regulates blood clotting and detoxifies the blood by filtering the toxins such as drugs, hormones, microbes and alcohol. Generally our liver is endangered due to the air pollution and pollutants in our environment. These chemicals make a way to our body, by eating, smelling and etc. The liver processes everything you eat, drink and you breathe. It is the only internal organ that can be regenerated, but with more exposure to harmful chemicals, regeneration power can be overwhelmed.
Suffering from unhealthy liver shows these symptoms: extreme tiredness, poor general health, weight loss, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, fever, abdominal pain, itchy skin, enlarged or tender liver, jaundice. If a poor liver developed, it will encounter hepatitis A, B, C virus infection and end to the liver cancer.
You can keep your liver more healthy by making some changes in your life, for example going on a diet that has lots of vegetables, fruits, beans, wheat, cereals, decreasing fats, drinking clean water, avoiding or limiting alcohol consumption and exposure to environmental toxins, incorporating antioxidants such as vitamin A, C and E into our daily diet.
Herbal medicine could be helpful in treatment of poor liver. Milk thistle is mentioned as an effective medicinal plant, which protects the liver from damages and it is useful for many chronic liver diseases. This plant protects the liver from toxic chemicals, alcohol, drugs and chemotherapy. These effects are caused due to active chemical components in milk thistle which collectively called silymarin , it is able to stimulate growth of new liver cells to replace them with the old damaged cells. It can also prevent damages due to free radicals by acting as an antioxidant.
Milk thistle tries to maintain functions of natural liver. It has shown positive effects in almost all known liver diseases, such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, necrosis and liver damages due to drugs and alcohol abuse. It also blocks the absorption of toxins into the cells and stimulates the secretion of bile, also helps to carry waste materials and break down and absorb dietary fats. Finally it is suggested to improve our health by this medicinal plant.
