This one is a head scratcher.
There’s no denying that the internet loves a good hack — especially if it’s one that will help prevent the crapulence feeling that comes on the morning after consuming one too many espresso martinis.
The latest quirky health hack is milk thistle supplements being used to prevent nasty hangovers. In a video of a TikTok user raving about the herbal remedy, she told her viewers: “Last week I went out and took two of these before a night of drinking and I woke up and ran a 5k the next day.”
But before you jump on the milk thistle bandwagon, there’s more to know about this plant medicine.
At first glance, milk thistle in its purest form looks like a tall plant with pretty purple flowers — something you might stick in a vase and put on display in your home.
However, milk thistle is known for more than just its good looks. Technically speaking, the plant’s seeds extract silymarin — which is a mixture of compounds known for its antioxidant properties.
It comes in different forms — capsules, tablets and liquid extracts.
For years — dating back to the 16th century — silymarin has been used as an herbal remedy for treating a number of ailments — including liver disorders. It’s also said to help pregnant women increase their breast milk production.
Regarding the liver, milk thistle helps by blocking toxins from reaching liver cells and for reducing inflammation.
According to Mount Sinai, some studies show that milk thistle can help improve liver function and increase survival chances in people with alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis — which is inflammation of the liver and liver disease, both caused by excessive alcohol consumption.
However, experts are hesitant about people popping a milk thistle supplement thinking it will allow them to down several shots of tequila without feeling it the next day.
While it could help support healthy liver function — the research that has been done on milk thistle is still very limited and nowhere claims that it’s a one and done hangover cure.
Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, silymarin might help minimize some hangover symptoms — like body aches — but that’s about the extent of it.
People with certain plant allergies should also be hesitant about consuming milk thistle. For those who are allergic to plants like ragweed, marigold or daisy — they may experience an allergy to milk thistle since it’s a similar plant.
Remember to always consult a doctor before trying any sort of health hack you hear about online.
And milk thistle isn’t the only trending supplement that’s got experts rolling their eyes — creatine, used by gym goers to help increase muscle mass and boost performance, is in the spotlight with some calling it useless.
“We’ve shown that taking 5 grams of creatine supplement per day does not make any difference to the amount of lean muscle mass people put on while resistance training,” said senior study author Mandy Hagstrom, from the University of New South Wales School of Health Sciences.
