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| Comfrey leaves in their glory |
Comfrey – Making Sense of a
Regenerative Plant
I first discovered this plant 15-20
years ago. A teacher of mine spoke of
how the establishment (the FDA) had given warnings against it. Yet he said that in all his years, no one had
ever had a bad outcome of use with the plant, even fed internally
long-term. Nor had his teacher, nor his,
and on back for generations. Thousands
of people had used it, and it was a well-kept secret. It speeds healing of any and all conditions,
builds tissue, and this report says a lot, taken from The Energetics of Western
Herbs p.463 (by Peter Holmes), “The historical use of this plant is interesting
in that it demonstrates the superior skill of Native American healers in their
use of plants…These tribes (that used the plant) effectively made redundant the
primitive septic surgery and amputation performed by Western doctors (as seen
in Dances with Wolves) thereby saving countless limbs and lives that would
otherwise have been lost.”
I was obviously intrigued, yet did not
use the plant much for another ten years, just observing it, watching it grow,
and collecting more information about it.
I harvested one tiny piece of the root, big as one word on this page,
and replanted it. I saw it regenerate
into an entire plant over 2-4 feet tall in a few months once put back into the
soil. I tried tasting it and noticed it
was both sweet, slimy, bland, slightly astringent, and crunchy. The leaves tasted more like wheat grass, with
a slimy quality.
After a lifetime of struggling with
various forms of what may be called Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), hay fever,
allergies, excessive colds and flus, I began to look into using this plant
internally. I had already seen its value
on a friend’s knee injury. I used it on
my thumb, of which I cut off the end from the nail chopping lettuce years
before. The application of comfrey
paste, seaweed, and honey regenerated the entire tissue back!
I knew I could not use the plant internally
until whatever pathogenic microbes, whatever latent infections, and whatever
abnormal growth in my body was under control.
In almost all Old-World healing traditions, there is a saying, “Do not
feed the illness with a tonic.” So, as I
began using the plant more, taking it in the form of a fiber blend, or in
tincture, I took breaks of 1-2 weeks for every 4-6 weeks using it, while doing
gut cleansing, liver clearing, colonics, and regular massage.
Within a few months, maybe even weeks,
I noticed I could tolerate foods that used to cause horrible diarrhea, common
things like beets, coconut, grapefruits, lentils, coffee, and so much more.
I also began noticing my bowels firming up more consistently than ever
before in my life. After six years of
internal use, with breaks, I can say my weight, my guts, my life, everything
about me is much better and healthier.
During the first few years of this process, my first chance at using it
on a very sick client came.
This man had been diagnosed with
Ulcerative Colitis. It is severe
degeneration of the gut lining, ulcers raw and irritated by most common fibrous
foods. He had blood in his bowel
movements. He was a wreck, given little
hope in mainstream medicine. This man
was given comfrey for 6-8 months, on and off, with other supplements, foods,
and herbs. He began to feel so good,
that he overate pizza and beer one night, two things I said were no-no’s, and
ended up in the hospital, almost dying.
But we brought him food, got him home, and I can honestly say if he
sticks with his program, can consider himself cured.
The plant has so many healing
properties, I will only list a few here.
For those who want more information, see the sources at the end of this
essay, or contact me through my website, www.healthalkemy.com.
Comfrey’s well known virtues are: heals
ulcers internally and externally, stops bleeding both externally and
internally, speeds bone and all tissue healing (sometime twice as fast as
without it), specific for blood in the urine or lungs, helps dissolve and expel
mucus, lowers fever, soothes dry and raw throat, relieves cough, and helps
asthma any lung condition. But what I
use it mostly for is healing of the stomach, small and large intestinal lining. If someone said I could only grow one herb,
comfrey would be the one.
The downside of comfrey is that it is
sticky, and needs other herbs to “push it along.” I often combine cinnamon, ginger, ginkgo, or
other chi moving herb.
I cannot state the value of this plant
enough. Safe and cautious use would be
externally for any injury, open lesion, bleeding, or skin ulcer. Internally, the tincture can be used in doses
of ½ to 1tsp 2-3 times per day for 2 weeks, then a week off, then 2 weeks on
and 1 week off cycle. The fresh leaf tea
can use ½ to 1 oz chopped fine with 2 cups water poured over it, steep 10
minutes then strain and squeeze. The
chopped root use 1/2 ounce simmered in 2 cups water for 20 minutes, then
strain. Add cinnamon, ginger, or even mint
to it to move it along.
Note – this plant has been on the FDA’s
list of “toxic” plants for many years. Even
though the studies were done on rats, and taken in amounts that would
correspond to eating ungodly and unrealistic amounts for humans. All things said here are based on my personal
experience, those of my teachers, and a book written by an MD in 1936, soon
forgotten in his era.
Since the FDA could prosecute anyone
using this plant, all information herein is to be taken as “external use
only.” Keep the faith, truths are
emerging in health, and plants like these will soon assume their place in the
healing of many many people.
Sources:
1)Energetics of Western Herbs,
Peter Holmes
2)Medical Herbalism, David
Hoffman
3)Back to Eden – Jethro Kloss
4)East West Herb Course, Micheal
Tierra
5)NARRATIVE OF AN INVESTIGATION
CONCERNING AN ANCIENT MEDICINAL REMEDYAND ITS MODERN UTILITIES, The Symphytum
officinale and its Contained Allantoin – by CHARLES J. MACALISTER, M.D.•
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From seleneriverpress.com
+++For an in-depth look at the
toxic compounds found in comfrey and many other plants, see Medical Herbalism
by David Hoffman, pages 202-204
+++For one study examining rats
fed comfrey, go to this link - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1683566/?tool=pmcentrez
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| The flower of comfrey - makes yummy tempura! |
