How does milk thistle meal differ from milk thistle extract and capsules? — Milk Thistle Seed Meal, 100 g - Real Caps

Milk thistle meal and extract are different products in terms of composition and how they are used. An extract (most often standardised for silymarin) is a concentrate from which most of the ballast substances have been removed. Meal, by contrast, is flour made from the seeds after the oil has been pressed out: it retains the flavonolignans, the fibre and the other components of the seed in their natural proportions.

REALCAPS offers 100% milk thistle seed flour with no sugar or other additives. This means the product is closer to a food ingredient than to a pharmaceutical: it is easy to add to food while sticking to the daily serving of 2.5 g (1 teaspoon).

In practice, it looks like this:

• Extract in capsules — a fixed dose, convenient for taking in courses, with a higher concentration of flavonolignans.
• Meal — a flexible format: you can add a teaspoon to yoghurt, porridge or a smoothie, or sprinkle it over a finished dish. It also provides dietary fibre, which the extract does not contain.

The choice between the formats depends on what matters more: a precise dose of flavonolignans, or gently including milk thistle in your everyday diet along with fibre. Meal suits those who prefer a functional food approach to a course of ‘pills’.