www.herbsmithinc.com
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Steve the dog loves rolling in the grass- scratching his back, then his chin, not forgetting a onceover on the booty. He’s just busy being adorable and you’re sighing because you know Steve is an allergy sufferer. When seasons change, there’s an influx of pollens, grasses and other harmless allergens. The liver, already bogged down with daily toxins and free radicals, overreacts to these non-threating intruders to protect itself. Normally, these aren’t worth attacking but the liver is on overdrive trying to filter out foreign bodies. He scratches himself incessantly, pants, and has a greasy coat. Over-the-counter medications have become the norm but because his symptoms are so bad he’s prescribed corticosteroids too.
While Steve’s allergy symptoms have diminished, he’s also been taking these drugs on a daily basis and over an extended period of time which come with their own list of side effects. Steve’s appetite is huge, he’s always thirsty so he urinates more frequently, is restless and agitated at times. He’s even had instances of aggression, which is so unlike him. The side effects of steroids are taking a toll of poor Steve.
As a concerned pet parent, you and Steve make a return trip to the veterinarian. Because Steve’s body is already trying to process daily toxins and free radicals, the addition of antihistamines and steroids (which we know are hard on the liver) has taken a toll. There is good news though! The liver is outstanding at rejuvenation and even better news, there’s a natural way to help it recover faster. The veterinarian prescribes milk thistle because of its ability to detoxify the liver, repairing the damage that’s already been done and protecting it from future damage by eliminating the accrued toxins. With a repaired and protected liver, Steve’s body can better-process toxins that are introduced to the body (yay, Steve!).
So, Steve feels better, and you feel better about Steve feeling better – all is well. Next allergy season you vow to be prepared. You know Steve was prescribed 225 mg of Milk Thistle daily, so the hunt is on. You find us here at Herbsmith (well done!), start reading and then scroll down to “add to cart” when the feeding instructions catch your eye. You’re thinking… hold the phone, pump the brakes, these cats are crazy! They’re recommending 2,200mg of milk thistle per DAY?! Call the pet police.
Why would we recommend 2,200 mg/day when a veterinarian recommended 220 mg for the same dog? Whyyy?
It’s actually quite simple. Two different forms of milk thistle are being referenced:
whole ground seed and concentrated extract powder. When your veterinarian recommends 220mg, he or she is referring to concentrated extract powder, not the whole ground seed which is what
our milk thistle product is. Extract is a very concentrated form of the active ingredient, which in milk thistle’s case, is silymarin.
So how exactly does powdered milk thistle extract come to be? Let’s break it down.
- Step 1: They start with 5lbs of whole ground milk thistle seed. The whole ground seed is boiled in hot water, 2-3x over. More water is added each time to concentrate the active ingredient, silymarin.
- Step 2: Then, any cellulose fiber that doesn’t break down is discarded (what a waste).
- Step 3: A dark soup is leftover which is dehydrated. This makes 1lb of extract powder.
- Step 4: That extremely concentrated milk thistle powder extract is put into capsules.
This is what you’re buying when the vet recommends 220mg milk thistle extract capsules.
What’s important to remember is you need a lot less powder to get the same amount of active ingredient (silymarin) in extract form. At least five times LESS powder, in fact.
That equates to a
5:1 extract to whole ground seed ratio. Put more simply, Herbsmith’s Milk Thistle has 5x more volume than concentrated extract because the whole seed is utilized. Both have comparable amounts of active ingredient.
Why NOT extract then? As a consumer you may ask, “why choose whole ground seed if there’s the same amount of active ingredient and less powder to give my dog?”
Concentrated extract wastes parts of milk thistle that are still beneficial to Steve and dogs like him. Not using the entire seed omits additional beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in a whole seed. Think about it this way. When you need vitamin C you just eat an orange. A whole orange has other health benefits as well. It provides fiber, A & B vitamins, copper and potassium in addition to the vitamin C. You could also take a vitamin C tablet. Yes, you’re getting the necessary vitamin C from the concentrated tablet but you’re missing out on the other sources of vitamins and minerals a whole orange provides. That’s why we prefer to grind our milk thistle instead of extracting it into a concentrated powder. At Herbsmith, our milk thistle is quite literally ground-up milk thistle seed.
This is Herbsmith’s process start to finish.
That’s 100% it. Steve not only gets an adequate amount of the active ingredient, silymarin, but he also gets fiber and antioxidants, that just happen to dampen any of the harshness of the active ingredient. It’s a win-win for Steve!
Other Brand’s Milk Thistle:
Concentrated Extract Capsules
Herbsmith’s Milk Thistle:
Ground Whole Seeds
Comparing Dosages
Knowing that whole ground milk thistle seed has more health benefits than concentrated extract (why we use all of it), and that using the entire seed means there’s more volume, it makes the dosage recommendations much less intimidating, especially when daily dosages are compared side-to-side. It’s much more evident, in fact, that there’s simply a
5:1 extract to whole ground seed ratio.
A 30lb dog, for instance, would receive 1100 mg of our whole ground seed per day. That would equal 220 mg of the other brand’s extract because there is a 5:1 extract to whole ground seed ratio.
Both still contain 34 mg of the active ingredient, silymarin.
For those self-proclaimed math geeks curious about how we reached these numbers, this is how we calculate the amount of active ingredient in
our whole ground milk thistle seed.
Silymarin Math
Put more simply, and so you have a quick point of reference:
¼ teaspoon = 550mg of ground milk thistle = 16.5mg of silymarin
The processes, tables, and math aside, the key takeaways are really quite simple.
- Herbsmith’s Milk Thistle has 5x more volume than concentrated extract because it’s a whole ground seed but still has a comparable amount of the active ingredient.
- Whole ground milk thistle seeds have more health benefits than the concentrated extract, including vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. That’s why we prefer to offer whole ground milk thistle at Herbsmith.
Really, whether using whole ground seed or concentrated extract (though you know which one we prefer), milk thistle is going to benefit your dog!
Milk thistle helps to maintain normal, healthy liver function by supporting the body from exposure to heavy metals or environmental toxins. Milk thistle also helps with healthy waste elimination from the body and supports normal hepatic function. It has also been shown to support the metabolic functioning of the liver and normal cleansing of the liver from impurities.