Using herbs like they are drugs is not making the best use of their nature. Encapsulating herbs into pills is never the way I prefer to use them for milk supply. Blessed thistle, like many herbs that improve milk supply is a digestive aid (it is a digestive bitter) while others like milk thistle have an anti-inflammatory function in the body. Still others like vitex are adaptogenic (it can increase or decrease prolactin levels depending upon the needs of the body). My clients take an herbal tea that contains a synergistic blend of herbs, eliminating any that might be cross-allergens with any known sensitivities they may have. One of the advantages of? using proper herbs is that they deeply nourish the mother's body.
IMO, both milk thistle and
blessed thistle are excellent galactogogues. I also like dill,
alfalafa, red raspberry, nettles, fennel, lemon balm (melissa) and
goat's rue. I use fenugreek along with the other herbs, but it is never my preference to use it alone. In addition, self-care is a powerful tool. I think that in making the tea, women get far more than they ever get from capsules.
I find it concerning when LCs look to allopathic practitioners to give them direction in the use of herbs. I have immense respect for Tom Hale's work, but I would not look to his work for advice on the use of herbs. Herbs have a long history of medicinal uses that offer us far more wisdom than any allopathic evaluation might provide. It is certainly true that one must be cautious in choosing brands, but I would never send a mother out to her local pharmacy or Wal-Mart to buy herbs.
I think that when we simply provide a laundry list of herbs, we don't make it possible for women to have the best success with them. That is why I would rather see moms taking something like the combination herbs from Motherlove or other herbal manufacturers than a bottle of fengreek or blessed thistle pills.
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
Intuitive Parenting Network LLC
?
I was interviewed yesterday for the Babytalk Magazine regarding ways to inc=
rease your milk supply. In my research, just to make sure I said everythin=
g correctly and havent veered off onto my own opinion................ I cam=
e across something interesting. It seems to me there is some confusion, at=
least by me, as to the difference in the herbs "milk thistle" and "blessed=
thistle". I hope someone can help me out here.
I have always suggested fenugreek and blessed thistle. I stopped suggestin=
g the blessed thistle some years back when I heard Dr. Hale mention how he =
had looked at several different brands of blessed thistle only to discover =
that very little blessed thistle was actually contained in any of the capsu=
les!
Sometime recently I discovered thru reading that blessed thistle help defra=
y to gas that moms might experience from the fenugreek. So I now suggest b=
lessed thistle IF moms are having a difficult time handling the fenugreek.
But when I was researching for this interview, I found that in Ruth Lawrenc=
e's book she states, upon listing the most prominent herbs :
"fenugreek, fennel, milk thistle (not blessed thistle, which is an entirely
different species), lemongrass, goat's rue, and anise." Lisa
Marasco....are you out there??? What is the difference between milk thistl=
e and blessed thistle????
Linda Hill RN, IBCLC
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