04 Jan How Milk Thistle could benefit your digestion

As well as leaving us with an upset stomach, a sore head or feeling bloated and heavier than usual, over-indulgence in food or alcohol can take its toll on your digestive system – but happily, Milk Thistle herb could be the way to get back on track.

Use Milk Thistle to help your digestive system

There are steps you can take to help detox your system by following our six simple tips – and have some traditional herbal Milk Thistle on hand to help you get the New Year off to a sparkling start!

Taking care of your health naturally

It’s particularly important to look after yourself in the winter months, as cold and flu viruses flourish in the cooler seasons. And with the additional stresses, this time of year can place on us, we become more susceptible to disease as our immune systems probably aren’t functioning at optimal levels.

All that carb-heavy, festive food and alcohol can put a strain on your liver, making you feel below-par and sluggish. The liver is called a ‘vital’ organ for a reason, as its jobs include detoxification, metabolising carbohydrates and fats, and producing the necessary chemicals for digestion.

Six tips to support your digestion

There’s no need for a poorly tum and headache to spoil your fun. Follow our six simple tips below to help protect your liver and get your system back into shape:

1. Go for a walk. When it’s chilly or damp, it’s very tempting to sit around rather more than is good for you, catching up on your favourite box sets or finishing that fantastic movie. However, when you have had a change of diet it is more important than ever to get moving to help your body process food more efficiently.

2. Eat…More…Slowly… It is well worth getting up ten minutes earlier to have a proper, healthy breakfast sitting at a table rather than as you rush out of the door. If you like muesli or granola in the morning, try adding live yoghurt and some blueberries on top to give you some additional vitamin C and tummy-calming live bacteria.

3. Keep it simple. Try to stick to foods that have a low glycaemic load. Foods which are high on the glycaemic index (GI) are typically carb-rich foods which send your blood sugar levels soaring just after you have eaten them, but give you that awful crash later on – usually with the accompanying munchies that then have you reaching for the biscuit tin! If you’ve over-indulged, try to stick to simple grilled fish or chicken with salad or vegetables and your digestive system will thank you in no time. You could even see a couple of holiday pounds drop away as an added bonus.

4. Start the day with a large slice of lemon in hot water. There are some clean-eating advocates who believe that this has almost mystical powers. However, for the pragmatists among us, there is no doubt that it gives you a bit more zing than a cup of tea in the morning, freshens your mouth and breath, and is widely acknowledged as helping to alleviate mild constipation (something many people are prone to with an increase in stodgy foods).

5. Drink in moderation. Research shows that many of us tend to consume three times more alcohol than usual over the festive period. This has a significant impact on the liver, as it produces a toxin called acetaldehyde that causes damage to the liver cells.  You can help to avoid putting extra strain on your liver by staying within the recommended limits of alcohol consumption.

6. Take a Milk Thistle herbal remedy. Milk Thistle is used to relieve the symptoms associated with occasional over-indulgence of food and drink such as indigestion and upset stomach, based on traditional use and has been used for over 2,000 years as a healing herb. HRI Milk Thistle contains the highest dose of Milk Thistle available on in the UK market and contains the medicinal compound silymarin, an extract of the plant’s seeds, which has long been acknowledged for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

If you are interested in finding out news and information about a natural approach to supporting your health, beauty and wellbeing, why not follow HRI Herbal on Facebook @HRIHerbal?