Blessed thistle (Cnicus benedictus) is a type of thistle also known as St.Benedict's thistle, holy thistle and spotted thistle), and is native all around the Mediterranean, from Iran round to the South of France. It is also found in the USA, to where it was introduced centuries ago by explorers and pioneers, deliberately or by accident.

Blessed thistle offers a number of health benefits, and is recommended along with fenugreek by some public health nurses to aid lactation in nursing mothers. It also possesses diuretic properties and is also an antiseptic and antibiotic. It can be used to sterilize wounds and ulcers and help to aid healing. Blessed thistle is also useful in treating anorexia and improving appetite, particularly with those suffering depression.

Although blessed thistle is recommended for use by nursing mothers, where it helps increase the flow of milk, it should be confused with milk thistle which is an entirely different species. In addition to improving lactation when used along with fenugreek, a property supported by the Canadian Breastfeeding Foundation, blessed thistle is also a diuretic and can be used to improve appetite, particularly when appetite is lost by the depressed or those suffering anorexia.

It is also believed to possess anti-inflammatory properties, and although this has yet to be proved with human tests, it does contain sesquiterpenes, flavonoids and lignans, all known to possess anti-inflammatory properties. It can be taken as a tea to treat indigestion, and is traditionally used as a poultice or dressing for suppurating wounds, boils and ulcers. Although there is insufficient official evidence for these uses, those that use it claim it to be effective, and this may be yet another example of popular usage awaiting official approval - not that it stops people using it!

Latin Name
Cnicus benedictus

Common Name
Holy or Sacred 
Thistle

Description
Encapsulated Blessed Thistle herb 
certified organically grown by Trout Lake Farm, 
Washington.

Usage
Historically used as a supplement for 
nursing mothers. Blessed Thistle is included in European tonics. 
Used as a healing agent in religious monasteries during the 
middle ages*

Recommended Daily Dosage
Take one to two 
capsules three times daily at mealtimes with water or prepared 
as a tea.

 

    

The following list is for serving size 
of 2 capsules

Primary Ingredients Amount  USRDA  
Blessed 
Thistle  750 mg  0%  


Other Ingredients
Gelatin 

Blessed thistle is not the same as milk thistle, but is also known as holy thistle and St. Benedicts thistle. If you are a nursing mother it can improve the flow of milk, and this property is supported by the Canadian Breastfeeding Foundation when it is used together with fenugreek. It also improves the flow of urine and is a diuretic.

Blessed thistle is also believed to possess anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, and to improve your mental function. Like most natural remedies, these properties of blessed thistle have not been sufficiently researched for definitive claims to be made. Nevertheless, it has a history of use for these and other health benefits that will likely be proved sometime in the future, just like the vast majority of other traditional remedies.

It's worth taking if you want protection against inflammation and perhaps some cancers, or if your milk flow is drying up, but your child refuses to believe it!

Blessed thistle has a traditional use as an antiseptic and antibiotic for treating boils, wounds and other suppurating conditions, although its properties have yet to be proved scientifically. It is also a diuretic, anti-inflammatory and is used for indigestion, diarrhea and for its cytotoxic effect against cancer cells. Like any natural remedy, the properties of which are not officially accepted due to a lack of clinical proof (AKA being largely untested), the properties claimed after centuries of use can generally be theoretically confirmed by an investigation of its phytochemical constituents.

The constituents of blessed thistle include sesquiterpene lactone glycosides, triterpenes, lignans, flavonoids and tannins. These are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, while the polyacetylenes, essential oils and cnicin it contains are known antibiotics. Cnicin is anti-inflammatory, and the bitter flavonoids have been shown to strengthen cell walls of arteries, veins and capillaries, and therefore improve blood circulation.

The science demonstrates the viability of blessed thistle as meeting most of the claims made for it. All that is needed is clinical proof on human subjects, and while we wait for that we may as well take it as a supplement as the long-lived Mediterranean cultures have being doing for centuries!

Although the claims for blessed thistle have not been proved by human trials, biochemical science indicates its constituents to more than capable of offering the health benefits claimed for it. Perhaps the best known is its effects on lactation, and in Canada it is recommended to nursing mothers who have a low level of lactation. It not only increases the flow of milk, but is also a diuretic, enabling your body to expel excess fluid as urine.

Some people keep an extract of blessed thistle in their homes for treating wounds that are proving difficult to heal and have gone septic or are suppurating, and to treat boils and similar conditions such as ulcers. Here, it is the antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of blessed thistle that enable it to be effective, particularly as a poultice or dressing to reduce suppuration and prevent further infection.

Blessed thistle is not a cure-all, but it has centuries of use for what it does, and those that use it claim it to be very effective.

Blessed Thistle Herb
Category: Organic Alcohol

Fluid Extract 
12-15% certified organic alcohol 
Serving size: 1-2mL, 3x daily 
Each serving contains: Blessed Thistle herb fluid extract (1:1) 
2,000mg

  Kosher
  Bio-Chelated®

UPC Code MSRP Size 
0-83000-00145-1 $9.99 1 ounce