How To Make Comfrey Tea.

Comfrey The Miracle Herb: I love Comfrey.  It helps all manner of conditions such as broken bones, irritable bowel syndrome, is a marvellous herb for skin and hair, and acts as a digestive tonic in mild doses.

Update:  I have just visited my sister in Napier, June 2014, and I was delighted to see that she has planted an orchard of about 25 trees.  Around the base of each tree she has planted comfrey, as the comfrey helps to draw up minerals from the soil which in turn benefits the fruit trees. Comfrey works symbiotically with the fruit trees.

So it looks like the ban on comfrey has been forgotten in the meantime.  Thank God.

Earlier, I wrote: The ban on it should be lifted, as Comfrey is such a valuable household medicine, which is why I am actively promoting Comfrey.  There is a danger that Comfrey will become a forgotten herb, because of the powerful drug companies having banned Comfrey.  We must not let them have their way and let the herb fall into decline.  Their ruling has resulted in Comfrey not being talked about – it is a ‘No No’ because the drug companies decided this is how it should be. Governments have been persuaded by the drug companies to ban or restrict Comfrey, in effect, so that the drug companies may benefit.  Why was Comfrey banned?  “They” gave the reason that Comfrey may cause cancer.  Comfrey was fed to pigs over three months, so the report which I read said, and this resulted in the pigs getting cancer.

I really do not believe that there is any danger of Comfrey causing cancer under normal usage, such as in Comfrey tea.  You would have to eat an awful lot of it for it to be a danger.  “They” probably fed these pigs nothing else but Comfrey for three months.

Carrots and Vitamin A Poisoning: If you feed any animal a diet of  only carrots for three months, these animals would perish.   And I know this for a fact, unfortunately, because of my own experience.  I once was on a carrot juice diet, and thought that I would feed the carrot pulp to my very greedy rooster, who, of course, dominated the roost, and the food scene.

I thought that the carrot pulp would cut down on the food bill for my rooster.   But alas:  After he had had about a week on this diet of mainly carrot pulp, he suddenly got ill.  The skin on his legs turned yellow.  He became paralysed, and the poor creature  had to be destroyed.  This was a terribly sad lesson for me.  I had to learn to be more generous, and not to worry about wastage such as carrot pulp.

Comfrey Is No More Poisonous Than Carrots:  Carrots can make you die if you eat enough of them, because of their high Vitamin A content:  If you eat only carrots, your skin becomes yellow, and you end up with Vitamin A poisoning.  So will green potatoes cause disastrous effects.  But governments do not ban carrots, or potatoes because of their POTENTIAL hazard to the health.  It is the same with Comfrey – yes, there is a POTENTIAL danger, and you would suffer if you had a steady diet of it, and ate nothing else. But people are no more likely to over-use Comfrey than they are green potatoes, or carrots.

There was never any link with Comfrey and cancer, at least not until the drug companies discovered Comfrey’s miraqcle ingredients, the main one being Allantoin, a cell-proliferant,which they desired for themselves. So  the drug companies ban Comfrey, but they do not ban carrots. THEY can use the marvellous ingredients of Comfrey in their drugs and cosmetics, but they deprive us of the natural source, so that they may profit from having hijacked the herb.

There is a danger that people might forget how good a herb Comfrey really was, and is, because of their ban world-wide on the growing of Comfrey, and the sale of the fresh or dried herb.

So – another promotion for Comfrey:   Comfrey tea is high in silica which benefits the bones, hair, nails, teeth, the skin, the nervous system, and aids the healing of wounds. It can be used to help chest ailments such as bronchitis.  It contains allantoin, which aids healing. Comfrey  has iron for the blood, Vitamin B12 for the nerves and the general health, and is a soothing tonic for the digestive system and the nerves.

Here is How To Make Comfrey Tea: Cut up two leaves of Comfrey.  Put into a pot and pour over a pint of boiling water.  Let the mixture infuse for a couple of minutes, as you would ceylon tea, and then pour. You can use these leaves once more, as long as you use them within two or three hours.  After that, they will begin to ferment, which is not good.  The comfrey pulp may be put over any skin abrasion to aid healing.

Benefits of Celery

Is Celery Good For You

Celery is one of the most alkaline vegetables.  For this reason, tt is great for getting rid of body acidity. It is also a marvellous blood cleanser and rejuvenator.

Celery can be used to help remove dangerous toxins from the body, and help to restore a person;s health if they have been exposed to damaging poisons.

But remember that expectant mothers should not take too much celery.

The botanical name for celery is Apium graveolens.

Celery belongs to the Carrot Family, Apiaceae.

Celery stalks and leaves are an appetizer, a diuretic and an emmenagogue. The seeds are carminative and have a mild sedative effect.

A diet which consisted mainly of celery, garlic, and tuna fish in oil saved my life once when I almost died due to asbestos and heavy metal poisoning. I believe that this was because the celery neutralized the poisons and the extreme acidic state caused by this poisoning. It helped cleanse the blood and restore it to a healthy state. The high fiber content cleansed the digestive tract and the blood. It provided essential vitamins and minerals, along with the tuna fish nutrients and garlic, to restore the health.

Note: This celery diet worked for me because of the addition of tuna fish and garlic. I have since read about other people having success  in reducing heavy metal poisons in the body by using a tuna fish diet in combination with alkaline greens.

Candida Infections: Celery is the very best vegetable to eat raw for the treatment of candida infections. This is because celery is alkaline and has an antibiotic effect.  Its high fiber make it great for cleaning out the intestines, which is usually needed in candida infections.

Weight Loss: Celery is recommended for weight loss, and overeating.  John Lust lists it as a weight-reducing herb. Try eating a stalk of celery with lunch and dinner every day to help with weight loss.

Vitamin C and Skin Conditions: Nicolas Culpeper, the 17th Century herbalist, said that the leaves, when eaten in the spring, ‘sweeten and purify the blood and help the scurvy’. Celery stalks and leaves, eaten on a daily basis, is helpful for treating skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.

Celery has been used over the centuries as a herb to help gout, rheumatism and dropsy and cases of water retention.

Contra-indications of Celery:  Its diuretic effect make it good for these above conditions. However, John Lust advises that you do not use large amounts of celery if you have acute kidney disease, although he says that ‘moderate use is allowable when kidney problems are chronic’. He also warns that expectant mothers should take only moderate amounts of celery during their pregnancy. Celery has the ability to hasten menstruation, known as an emmenagogue, and any herb of vegetable which does this is usually best avoided during pregnancy. Pregnant women tend to urinate more than usual, so eating a lot of celery will accentuate this aspect of pregnancy.

Celery and Blood Pressure: John Lust also advises that people with high blood pressure should not consume too much celery, because celery has a high sodium content.

The effect of celery as a diuretic – one which makes you urinate more – is interesting, because celery grows naturally in wet and damp places, as it absorbs a lot of water in its stems. This is an example of a ‘like treats like’ effect – a water plant to cure a water problem in the body. The Reader’s Digest ‘Magic and Medicine of Plants’ says that the Latin name ‘Apium’ could be derived from a prehistoric Indo-European word for water. (p.151)

Celery is also beneficial to the health because it is one of the most alkaline vegetables of all our culinary vegetables. Alfalfa sprouts are probably the only thing that compares with celery in alkalinity. Celery’s extremely alkaline nature make it excellent for correcting acidic states of the body: Gout, rheumatism, arthritis and dropsy are often caused by acidic diets – too much wheat, bread, pasta, potatoes, dairy products,meats and fried and fatty foods, and not enough of the alkaline vegetables to balance the diet out.

Uses of Celery Seed:

Homemade Celery Salt:   Save that celery seed. It is a valuable culinary and medicinal item. You can make celery salt by using a 50/50 mixture of sea salt and celery seed.

To Use Medicinally: John Lust recommends one tablespoon of fresh celery juice be taken an hour before each meal.  This will help the digestion.

Decoction of Celery Seed: John Lust says that 1/2 teaspoon of seed should be boiled for 10 minutes in 1/2 cup of water.  Strain and take the decoction for bronchitis, colds and flu. (OF course see your doctor or health practitioner to check out any lung condition and to see if celery is right for you as an addition to your treatment)

Flaxseed Health Benefits

Flaxseed, or Linseed has many, many health benefits. For a start, it is one of the most beneficial foods for preventing heart disease.  But just take a look at the list of flaxseed health benefits below……

Linseed oil, now more commonly known as flaxseed oil, has been used for centuries in the palette of the artist, but it is only fairly recently that flaxseed, or linseed, has become widely used in other palettes:  it is now recognised in westernised countries for its valuable health giving properties and used as  a health-giving addition to the diet by many people all over the world.

  • Ground linseed, or flaxseed is beneficial to the heart.
  • Linseed is high in omega-3 fatty acids which help to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol in the body.
  • Flaxseed taken daily helps  reduces the incidence of stroke, blood clots, and heart disease.
  • It helps prevent atherosclerosis.
  • It increases the metabolic rate of the heart muscle.
  • It is regarded as a cancer preventative and as a beneficial addition to the diet for those who have cancer. This is because the omega-3 fatty acids have an effect on the body’s manufacture of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are necessary, but if you produce too many, then this can lead to tumour growth. Linseed regulates the prostaglandin making process.
  • Another of the flaxseed health benefits is that it acts as an antioxidant.  This helps the heart, helps prevent cancer and other disease, and improves your immune system.
  • It is beneficial to the kidneys
  • Flaxseed in the daily diet has been known to  help lupus sufferers to restore their kidney function.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids in flaxseed or linseed help the nervous system to stay healthy and function well.
  • Flaxseed is good brain food:  Omega-3  fatty acids in flaxseed  have a valuable effect on the nerves, and well nourished nerves help you to maintain good vision and an alert brain.
  • High Fiber: Flaxseed, either ground or whole,  provides great fiber for your intestines.  High fiber in the diet definitely reduces the risk of getting colon cancer. High fiber also keeps cholesterol levels balanced and keeps your intestines clean of effete matter.
  • Another flaxseed health benefit is that it improves the skin.  It sometimes works to heal long-term skin conditions like psoriasis,  eczema and acne, when other treatments seem to fail.  This is partly due to the better functioning of the bowel when flaxseed is included. An application of flaxseed oil, used externally on the skin, has been effective in treating some skin conditions, as well as taking the ground flaxseed in the diet daily.
  • It is helpful to the growth of the hair.  Taking flaxseed every day in the diet will help you regrow hair and improve your skin, bone and nail tissue.

Note: The flaxseed, or linseed must be ground up in your blender, or coffee grinder for it to be truly efficacious.  Taking whole linseed provides good fiber for the intestines,  for sure, but you get more nutrients  and oils out of the seeds when they are ground.

See merrilyn’s post entitled Gluten Free Banana Bread for a nutritious banana bread with added flaxseed.