December 16, 2008
The miracle of parsley and comfrey
I had a three legged dog who is now long gone after a long happy life of chasing coyotes, digging for voles and terrorizing marmots. In her later years she developed arthritis in her single front limb and I consulted The Complete Herbal Handbook for Farm and Stable for treatment advice. It was with some scepticism that I began to follow Levy's advice of a tablespoon parsley and tablespoon comfry leaves in a bit of meat for palatability. Juliette de Bairacli Levy, Jewish Turkish-Egyptian, friend of the gypsy and collector of peasant herb wisdom. Her advice was a miracle to my dear dog Tri-pod. After a few weeks she was back to her tri-hippity-skip self. I lapsed after awhile after she recovered, and it set back in, so as long as I kept up the parsley/comfry in her diet the arthritis was kept at bay. I highly recommend Levy's book for farm animal care and the parsley/comfry treatment to anyone suffering arthritis (Dad).
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7 comments:
Great advice. So does it work by lowering inflammation? I have been meaning to find some non-scary non-invasive comfrey to plant in the yard. I hear mixed things about the bocking group. Parsley however has taken up permanent self-sown residence.
I'm afraid I don't know how it works, just that it does.
ok I looked it up :
Allantoin - Comfrey contains allantoin, a cell-proliferant that helps repair damaged tissue.
Rosmarinic acid - Comfrey has a significant anti-inflammatory action, partly due to the presence of rosmarinic acid and other phenolic acids".
I should note that in recent times use of comfrey internally has been controversial. But:
"Pyrrolizidine alkaloids - Research shows that, as isolated substances, the pyrrolizidine alkaloids are highly toxic to the liver. It is still unclear whether they are toxic in the context of the whole plant, as they are only present in minute amounts, often being completely absent from samples of dried aerial parts. The highest concentration is in the root and, until its safety is confirmed (or denied), comfrey root should not be used internally. (The aerial parts are considered safe.)"
I used the leaves not the root.
I've always had a nice big patch of comfrey that stayed put, if not large. It is so vigorously gorgeous.
What is "the bocking group"?
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_comfrey.htm
Very interesting. I have used garlic and nutritional yeast for years to keep ticks off my dogs. Herbal remedies are always my first line of defense.
Now if I could just worm the camel naturally with herbs I would be one happy farmer, lol!
Great blog, given me lots to think about, Kim
There's at least one other family member across the Atlantic who might profit from the remedy. Will give it a try. What's the dosage for those of us who are not three legged dogs?
Hi Kim, welcome to my blog! A camel huh. Levy doesn't have a camel section, per se...but rotational pasture, a good mix of herbs in the pasture and lots of garlic...planting wild galic in the pasture would be a good idea. Levy is big on crushed garlic mixed with molasses feeding several times a year. Form balls with crush oats and sneak in their mouthes, or mix with water and use a syringe to squirt in her mouth.
Do you ride your camel?
Anne, whose personal intake of garlic assures her of keeping worms (and garlicphobes) at bay.
Hey R.R. I`d start at that dosage...Sue has Levy`s book so I`m not sure of herb per weight. The important thing is to use the leaf of the comfrey and should be fresh, dry is fine.
Bocking 4 and 14 are varieties of comfrey that are supposed to be less invasive.
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