Supplements: Milk Thistle

[DooderMcDood]

Okay, so I haven't been the kindest towards my liver in the past and was wondering if some of you could share your experiences with the pros and cons of supplementing with milk thistle. I've already read all the readily available info from the interwebs regarding this supplement so please skip past the WebMD version and if able to, please provide some info I won't find there.

Just a little background about myself. I'm currently on a journey from flabland to beastville and I'm supplementing a balanced diet with whey protein, BCAA, beta-alanine, taurine, fish oil and milk thistle. I currently work out 6 days a week; one day lower body, one day core, one day upper body and three days of a mixture of endurance cardio and HIIT depending on how I feel. Like I said, I've abused my liver extensively through my twenties, and now that I'm in my thirties, I'm looking to stick around a while.

I save most of my drinking for the weekends except for the glass of red wine for dinner and try to listen to my bottle when it says "drink responsibly." I essentially went from four to six tall-boys a day to one glass of wine a day and maybe eight ounces of whiskey a day on weekends.

With my current consumption habits and my not-too-distant past can anyone here give me any advice or share their experiences with this supplement?

Edit: One other tidbit to mention. In my previous profession (industrial painting) I was exposed to several chemicals which affect the liver (xylene, toluene, MEK, etc.) As far as I know, I was never exposed to anything beyond the PEL, but it's another factor to consider.

[A_Lurker]

I have no experience or information about milk thistle.  I just wanted to say something - great job in decreasing the amount of alcohol, however, 8oz of whiskey in a day for I'm assuming multiple days on the weekend is still very high.  Don't get me wrong, I'll sit down to a healthy shot of a good single malt periodically myself.  However, assuming the following:

5 glasses (6oz) wine - and this is assuming it's not a big glass

16 oz whiskey

Using this calculator (https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/understand-your-drinking/unit-calculator) you're at around double the recommended intake for the week.  Also you're probably adding the calorie equivalent of half a pound a week to your diet.  Lots of guys (apologies if you're female) find that cutting the alcohol out will cause a pretty consistent weight loss without a huge amount of effort.  Oh, and if you're concerned about your liver, go get a liver function test from your doctor. 

[Dominique]

@DooderMcDood: first time I hear about milk thistle. I’d be very skeptical about the ability of an herbal product to repair damages caused to the liver. The best favour you can do to your liver is spare it from further damage by either stopping to consume alcohol, or (given alcohol is an addictive substance and stopping it may not be realistic if you’re addicted) at least significantly reduce your consumption. I would rather spend the money on a blood panel for liver (ALT, AST, GGT): initial to establish a baseline (if you haven’t got one already) and subsequent on a regular basis (e.g. once or twice a year) to see how you’re doing.

Regarding the other supplements, I’d keep whey protein (if you’re not getting enough of it from regular food) and fish oil (very well researched product that has numerous benefits), and skip the rest. Whey is a complete protein, so  it already contains all the amino-acids you need. Beta-alanine may offer a marginal benefit (a few extra % in performance) to competitive athletes, but if you are a recreational lifter, it probably won’t make much of a difference: consistently exercising and eating a balanced diet will play a much bigger role.