DUANABOL
New member
Nice Q&A by Cy Willson
Q: Does milk thistle really do anything to protect the liver while using steroids?
A: Sure. It's (silymarin) been shown to reduce AST, ALT, bilirubin and even gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), which is currently being used to differentiate between what may actually be liver stress/damage or not in humans and animals.
Even more importantly, histological examinations have confirmed that it truly does provide protection against various hepatotoxic compounds. As for oral bioavailability, it's rather low but a complex consisting of both silybin (the main component of silymarin) and phosphatidylcholine — called silipide — has been shown to have much higher bioavailability in addition to a rapid absorption.
While silymarin has been shown to have protective effects with acetominophen, amanita (mushroom), ethanol, and a few other substances, I can't find any literature demonstrating hepatoprotective effects with concurrent use of 17-AA anabolic steroids.
However, I will say that it would be safe to assume that it certainly does provide some "protection." Even so, provided that you aren't using 17-AA androgens for prolonged periods of time, it's really not an issue. At the same time, this shouldn't be the green light for some people to think they can drink all the alcohol they want and use 17-AA androgens year round.
As for dosage, the accepted amount seems to be 420 mg of an extract (standardized at 70-80% silymarin) taken 3 times daily (spead evenly throughout the day) for 6-8 weeks, and then maintain at a dosage of 280 mg/daily.
Also, it's certainly not a bad idea to take it along with phophatidylcholine as this may improve the effectiveness significantly.
As far as mechanism of action, there have been quite a few proposed. Free-radical scavenger and antioxidant activity may be the main mechanism. It may also alter the liver cell's outer membrane, making it impermeable to the various potential toxins. Some authors also speculate that it reduces potential binding sites for toxins.
Regardless of the mechanism of action, it's not a bad idea to use for those taking 17-AA androgens for more than 5-6 weeks. (1-20)
Q: Does milk thistle really do anything to protect the liver while using steroids?
A: Sure. It's (silymarin) been shown to reduce AST, ALT, bilirubin and even gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), which is currently being used to differentiate between what may actually be liver stress/damage or not in humans and animals.
Even more importantly, histological examinations have confirmed that it truly does provide protection against various hepatotoxic compounds. As for oral bioavailability, it's rather low but a complex consisting of both silybin (the main component of silymarin) and phosphatidylcholine — called silipide — has been shown to have much higher bioavailability in addition to a rapid absorption.
While silymarin has been shown to have protective effects with acetominophen, amanita (mushroom), ethanol, and a few other substances, I can't find any literature demonstrating hepatoprotective effects with concurrent use of 17-AA anabolic steroids.
However, I will say that it would be safe to assume that it certainly does provide some "protection." Even so, provided that you aren't using 17-AA androgens for prolonged periods of time, it's really not an issue. At the same time, this shouldn't be the green light for some people to think they can drink all the alcohol they want and use 17-AA androgens year round.
As for dosage, the accepted amount seems to be 420 mg of an extract (standardized at 70-80% silymarin) taken 3 times daily (spead evenly throughout the day) for 6-8 weeks, and then maintain at a dosage of 280 mg/daily.
Also, it's certainly not a bad idea to take it along with phophatidylcholine as this may improve the effectiveness significantly.
As far as mechanism of action, there have been quite a few proposed. Free-radical scavenger and antioxidant activity may be the main mechanism. It may also alter the liver cell's outer membrane, making it impermeable to the various potential toxins. Some authors also speculate that it reduces potential binding sites for toxins.
Regardless of the mechanism of action, it's not a bad idea to use for those taking 17-AA androgens for more than 5-6 weeks. (1-20)
