What Is Milk Thistle Used For In Bodybuilding?

Milk thistle is a well-known herb that can protect the liver and improve overall health. Milk thistle has recently become a familiar "companion" to the gym and fitness community. This raises the question: "What Is Milk Thistle Used for in Fitness?" Let's explore its benefits through this article.

Does Milk Thistle Help Build Muscle?

Firstly, you must know that milk thistle is not a muscle-building stimulant. It can only assist in promoting muscle building and strength.

Milk thistle contains Silymarin, an active compound that brings many benefits when using milk thistle. A study focused on evaluating the effects of Silymarin on endurance, muscle recovery, and blood flow in mice after exercise sessions.

The results showed that using Silymarin improved muscle recovery, reduced inflammation, and promoted muscle and blood vessel growth.

This implies that you can enhance your endurance during training without causing any significant changes in weight or food intake [1].

Furthermore, milk thistle also helps build muscle by improving liver function and supporting the body's detoxification process. The liver is an essential organ in metabolism, and the quality of the liver can affect the muscle-building process [2].

Explore: Benefits Of Milk Thistle For Weight Loss & Usage Guide

What Is Milk Thistle Used For In Bodybuilding?

Regarding fitness, milk thistle is often used as a dietary supplement to support liver and muscle health. Some purposes you may desire when using milk thistle in fitness include:

• Enhancing and Protecting Liver Health: Burning body fat during exercise, boosting metabolism, supporting weight loss, and helping you to operate more efficiently and effectively for a longer duration.
• Protecting and Maintaining Strong Muscles: Milk thistle extract can improve liver health and meet the body's antioxidant needs, especially for those engaged in intense training, mountain climbing, or working at high altitudes.

How Does Milk Thistle Benefit For Bodybuilding?

Enhancing Liver Health

Today, many athletes seek to enhance muscle development by abusing anabolic steroids. While this approach yields rapid results, it brings severe physical and psychological consequences for the user.

Physically, bodybuilders who excessively use steroids may experience sexual and reproductive disorders, severe acne, increased blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and liver damage.

Particularly in women, steroids can cause masculinizing effects such as a deeper voice, increased body and facial hair, and baldness.

Psychologically, anabolic steroid abuse can increase anxiety, cause mood swings, and even lead to depression. Some individuals may develop an addiction, leading to cravings and the need for higher doses, which adversely impacts their health.

As a result, natural therapies are gaining more attention, with milk thistle being one of the preferred choices. Milk thistle supports liver health even during intense training, thanks to its main component, Silymarin [2].

With antioxidant properties, detoxifying effects, inflammation reduction, and support for liver cell regeneration, milk thistle protects the liver from damage, enhances workout performance, and aids in recovery.

The protective and health-boosting properties of milk thistle are well-established, making it a reliable option for those looking to maintain liver health.

Read more: Does Milk Thistle Detox the Liver?

Boosting Metabolism

Silymarin increases the fat burning rate during exercise and protects muscle glycogen [3]. Glycogen, in particular, is a stored energy source for muscles. Silymarin can help protect glycogen from degradation, enabling muscles to function more efficiently and effectively during exercise.

Due to its effective fat-burning properties, it can enhance metabolism, allowing your body to operate more efficiently and productively.

Enhancing Muscle Health

Milk thistle can help increase muscle recovery and hypertrophy, improve endurance, enhance respiratory muscle size and cardiovascular health, boost blood circulation, and reduce tissue inflammation, thereby improving recovery and workout performance.

Athletes often use milk thistle as they deplete essential nutrients during strenuous training, which can lead to weakened liver health. Therefore, milk thistle helps supplement liver cells and promotes liver cleansing to eliminate free radicals and toxins.

Other Benefits

Many opinions also suggest that milk thistle can improve skin health. Milk thistle may have collagenase and elastase inhibiting activities, helping to protect the skin from the harmful effects of UV rays and slowing down the aging process of the skin [4].

Milk thistle has also been shown to help reduce cholesterol. Milk thistle can reduce cholesterol potentially due to its antioxidant properties, liver protection, and LDL cholesterol production reduction [5].

Additionally, milk thistle may effectively support weight loss [6]. Weight loss can be one of the crucial mechanisms in improving liver and insulin resistance conditions. This also demonstrates the potential of Silymarin in treating conditions related to fat accumulation and insulin resistance.

How To Use Milk Thistle For Bodybuilding?

The typical milk thistle dosage ranges from 240 - 900 mg/day [2]. Dosages exceeding 1500 mg/day may cause gastrointestinal effects.

You can use raw milk thistle in the following forms:

• Roots and stems: Used raw or cooked. The roots are sticky and have a mild aroma.
• Leaves: Used raw or cooked. Young leaves taste sweet, and leaves with thorns should be cleaned before use. Hot weather can make the leaves bitter.
• Flowers: Cooked before consumption.
• Milk thistle leaves and flowers can also be used as salad greens and replace spinach.
• The milk thistle seeds can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute.
• Note: Peel the stem bark and soak it to reduce bitterness; it is best used in spring when the plant is still young.

Moreover, for convenience, you can use milk thistle in capsule form. This allows for easy dosage control and convenient use. This can also be considered the most convenient form of milk thistle use. You may choose those with 70% - 80% Silymarin when selecting a product. Additionally, consider choosing reputable brands that provide quality certifications to ensure you're getting the best milk thistle supplement available.

Milk Thistle Side Effects Bodybuilders Need To Know

Although milk thistle is generally considered safe when used in appropriate doses, there are some side effects that fitness enthusiasts should be aware of, including:

• Digestive Disorders: Some people may experience digestive issues such as nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, sweating, and cramping.
• Drug Interactions: Milk thistle may interact with some medications, especially liver medications. Therefore, thoroughly research before using milk thistle and your nutritional regimen.

Those allergic to the Asteraceae family should avoid using Silymarin as it may cause serious allergic reactions.

Conclusion

Milk thistle is a useful herbal remedy for liver health and has significant benefits in the fitness field. By protecting the liver and improving muscle recovery, milk thistle can help fitness enthusiasts optimize their workout performance and maintain overall health. Hopefully, this article has answered your questions.

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