Therapeutic Uses: Blessed thistle flowering tops, leaves, and upper stems are used to make medicine. Blessed thistle was commonly used during the Middle Ages to treat the bubonic plague and as a tonic for monks.
Today, blessed thistle is prepared as a tea and used for loss of appetite and indigestion; and to treat colds, cough, cancer, fever, bacterial infections and diarrhea. It is also used as a diuretic for increasing urine output, and for promoting the flow of breast milk in new mothers.
Some people soak gauze in blessed thistle and apply it to the skin for treating boils, wounds, and ulcers.
In manufacturing, blessed thistle is used as a flavoring in alcoholic beverages.
Medicinal Uses: *Cancer Prevention *Digestion *Female Hormones *IBS *Liver *Pregnancy/Childbirth
Blessed Thistle Side Effects: Large doses, such as more than five grams in a cup of tea may provoke vomiting. Not recommended for use for those with an ulcer, or during pregnancy.
Blessed Thistle Drug Interactions: By increasing stomach acid, blessed thistle might decrease the effectiveness of some medications that decrease stomach acid, called H2-Blockers or proton pump inhibitors. Some medications that decrease stomach acid include cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), nizatidine (Axid), and famotidine (Pepcid), omeprazole (Prilosec), lansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (Aciphex), pantoprazole (Protonix), and esomeprazole (Nexium).
