Blessed Thistle

What is Blessed Thistle?

Blessed thistle, or Cnicus benedictus, is a flowering plant with sharp spines on its stems and leaves. It comes from the Mediterranean area.  Tannins, which are chemicals found in blessed thistle, might help with diarrhea, a cough, and swelling. People use blessed thistle for indigestion, infections, wounds, and many other problems, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. Milk thistle is not the same as blessed thistle. These are different.

Adults have most often used blessed thistle as a tea in the past. You can also make a liquid extract from it. Talk to a doctor or nurse to find out what kind of medicine and how much you should take for a certain condition. The Benedictine liqueur is made with a secret recipe that includes blessed thistle. The story goes that in 1510, a Benedictine monk named Don Bernardo Vincelli came up with the recipe for this liqueur, which has 27 different herbs in it, such as angelica, hyssop, and lemon balm. According to legend, only three people on earth (at the same time) know the full recipe for making it.

How do I use Blessed Thistle?

Nowadays, people use blessed thistle as a tea to treat indigestion, appetite loss, colds, fever, coughing, diarrhea, and bacterial infections. It is also used as a diuretic to increase urine production and to encourage nursing mothers to express milk.

Blessed Thistle benefits:

Tannins, which are chemicals found in blessed thistle, may help with diarrhea, cough, and swelling. People use blessed thistle to treat indigestion, infections, wounds, and many other problems, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. Milk thistle is not the same thing as blessed thistle.

◉ Digestion: Blessed thistle has a chemical called cnicin, which is found in a lot of bitter herbs. It is thought that cnicin stimulates the production of more saliva and stomach acid in the body, both of which help digestion. This phenomenon may be why blessed thistle has been used for a long time to treat gas, diarrhea, and stomach pain.

◉ Skin infections: Blessed thistle is a plant in the family Asteraceae. A study done in 2015 showed that plants in this family have antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties that can be measured. This result shows that the traditional use of blessed thistle as a topical treatment for small cuts and wounds might be based on some science.

◉ Liver Protection: Blessed Thistle is a cholagogue herb, which means it helps the liver make more bile, which aids in digestion and detoxification. This, in turn, makes symptoms of bad liver function like tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, and brain fog go away. People are often told to take this herb if they need to regain their appetite after being sick or undergoing treatments that can cause appetite loss.

◉ Anti-Microbial: Polyacetylene and cnicin, which are found in Blessed Thistle, can help your body fight off bacterial infections. Some studies have shown that these compounds are effective against Bacillus subtilis, Brucella species, Escherichia coli, Proteus species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus faecalis.

Where can I buy Blessed Thistle?

Buy Blessed Thistle from the health food store in the USA, Alive Herbals.

Blessed Thistle information (at a glance):