Could Milk Thistle help gluten intolerance?

Milk Thistle is a traditional herbal medicine used to aid indigestion, upset stomach and overindulgence. Find out how it can help you.

If you’re gluten intolerant, you may be familiar with symptoms such as indigestion, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. Milk Thistle is a natural product that is gentle on the body and can help relieve these uncomfortable feelings.

Extracted from the fruits of the milk thistle herb, it is also a powerful antioxidant that is great for our general health and well-being. It has also been proven to relieve the symptoms associated with the overindulgence of food and drink.

Gluten intolerance and liver disease

It is widely thought gluten intolerance has adverse effects on the liver. While further research is being done on these effects, if you suffer the condition you may wish to take preventative action by adding a Milk Thistle supplement to your diet.

Milk Thistle helps protect the liver by repairing cells and, in some instances, helps the process of cell regeneration where cells may be worn out through wear and tear.

There’s more to Milk Thistle

Milk Thistle has another use too - it helps hangovers. Drinking too much alcohol puts toxins into our body and is particularly damaging to the liver. The traditional herbal medicine can help detoxify the liver, so taking one tablet twice a day could relieve the symptoms.

Expert advice

If you suffer gluten intolerance you will already have made changes to your diet to avoid or reduce your consumption of foods that contain gluten. Peter Whorwell, Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, has some further tips to help you avoid the uncomfortable side effects related to the condition and overindulgence:

• High fiber vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts can help ease constipation. However they can create more gas in the bowel too. If you are prone to wind, swap sprouts for carrots instead.


• Fizzy drinks and sweets can bring on abdominal discomfort because they often contain sorbitol, a sweetener that if taken in sufficient quantity, can cause bloating, wind and diarrhea. Swap sugary fruit juice and fizzy drinks for water and alternate alcoholic drinks with glasses of water too.


• Fat often exacerbates bowel problems and also has an effect on the speed at which the stomach empties. This may explain why you feel fuller after a high fat meal. Roast potatoes in olive oil rather than goose fat and swap cauliflower cheese for steamed vegetables. You can also swap full fat ice cream for crème fraiche.