Comfrey Is Poisonous?

by

Really? Like rap group Public Enemy said in a hit song of theirs: DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! This is pure bullshit! All this talk about certain herbs being poisonous while pharmaceutical drugs, which are undeniably poisonous, kills hundreds of thousands of people per year and no major hype is made. I don't buy it one bit!

People have been using Comfrey for hundreds upon hundreds of years with absolutely no problem at all, so now man gets scientific and learns to demystify herbs and all of a sudden determines Comfrey is poisonous. Oh yeah? Well show me the statistics of the number of persons who have died from ingesting this powerful plant. In fact, name me one single person whose death can be attributed to Comfrey.

Comfrey, botanical name Symphytum officinale, is a powerful calcium-containing herb that provides human beings with 100% organic, digestible, absorbable, and assimilable calcium that the body can use unlike man-made versions of calcium which are synthetic and pharmaceutical-grade in nature.

There is no usable calcium in fortified milk, fortified orange juice, antacids (i.e. Tums, Rolaids, etc.), or calcium supplements that the human body can assimilate (though it will try) because these are forms of calcium derived from oxide sources and the body cannot assimilate oxide material or elements. Oxides are inorganic versions of a substance or thing.

Comfrey (root and leaves) provides the richest and most abundant source of natural calcium available to man in plant form. There are quite a few herbs that provide natural calcium, i.e. Moringa, Alfalfa, Red Raspberry Leaf, Horsetail, and Oatstraw to name a few, but Comfrey is king!

Comfrey root is so strong that it takes real powerful blades to cut it. According to the doctrine of signature (which describes a herbs use based upon how it looks), because Comfrey root is so strong and it provides calcium, it is said to be a great herb to take to build strong and healthy bones.

Also, in herbology the color white denotes the bones and herbs that feature white (white parts) are usually good for bones:

"White can also represent the bones: Boneset (white flowers), Solomon's Seal (white rhizomes), Comfrey (white roots under the black covering), Black Cohosh (the same). Matthew Wood, The Book of Herbal Wisdom, p. 26

Comfrey has many therapeutic and medicinal properties and value, including building strong bones (skeletal system), teeth, cartilage, tendons and muscles; being a mucilaginous astringent and toning herb, a powerful cell proliferater (making it useful as a post radiation treatment substance), useful for all irritation and inflammatory conditions (including STD, sexually transmitted disease); heals and builds human tissues, healing for duodenal and stomach ulcers as well as colon complaints such as colitis, diverticulitis, bowel inflammations, i.e. IBS (irritable bowel syndrome); profound healing for all respiratory issues, i.e. asthma, bronchitis, and other bronchial-lung inflammations (works extremely well with Fenugreek which is known to dissolve hardened and stubborn mucus/phlegm); very helpful for so-called colds, coughs, fever, and the so-called flu; soothes and heals bladder and prostate infections, an effective hemostatic to arrest internal hemorrhaging (from the lungs and urethral system) as well as the female menstruation and externally for open wounds and cuts; helps reverse varicose veins and other stagnation challenges; useful as poultice for bone knitting and fractures and as a compress or poultice for cuts and burns (along with Aloe Vera); helpful to heal bedsores, insect bites and stings, bruises, inflamed bunions, sunburn, and nosebleed; also useful as a douche solution for vaginal yeast infections, and to reverse calcium deficiency.

The nutritional content of Comfrey includes Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Beta Carotene, Phosphorus, Potassium, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, Iron, Sulfur, Copper, and Zinc.

Comfrey Controversy

Like with a few other herbs, there's a controversy surrounding the safety of Comfrey. There are different views surrounding the safety of the plant. Please reference the following for your own personal herbal edification:

"Comfrey is a poison!" - Dr. Sebi

"Although used for thousands of years safely and effectively, recent investigation shows Comfrey species to contain hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA's), such as echimidine. Whether this is from environmental toxins or is naturally present in the plant, but neutralized by other plant substances, has not been determined. Until a safe source can be guaranteed, comfrey should not be used during pregnancy. I recommend using an organically grown source for a very short limited time, or using comfrey externally until more information on these alkaloids is known." - Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D

"Comfrey is one of the most valuable herbs known to botanic medicine. It has been used with success for centuries as a wound-healer and bone-knitter. It ...helps strengthen the body skeleton. It helps in the calcium/phosphorus balance by promoting strong bones and healthy skin. It generally has a beneficial effect on all parts of the body. It is one of the finest healers of the respiratory system, and can be used both internally and externally for healing fractures, wounds, sores, and ulcers." - Louise Tenney, M.H.

"Comfrey has a strong history of being used as an external application by itself or in poultices for the mending of wounds and broken bones. Comfrey has been called the "bone knitter". It has been reported in some studies that the combined alkaloids in Comfrey have been linked to chronic hepatotoxicity and cancer in rats. These alkaloids have been found in both the root and the leaf of Comfrey, however, they are more concentrated in the root than the leaf. As always use wisdom and knowledge." - Velma J. Keith,

"There has been some controversial research in which the regular long-term ingestion of Russian comfrey root is claimed as containing certain pyrilizidine alkaloids which have been known to cause liver veno-occlusive disease in humans. In this condition the small and medium veins of the liver become obstructed which results in liver dysfunction, cirrhosis and possibly death. Since pregnant women, developing fetuses and infants seem to be particularly vulnerable to these alkaloids, it may not be advisable for these to take Comfrey not at all and certainly not for any prolonged period. This information is still a point of controversy among herbalists for many reasons. While it has been demonstrated that feeding 6-week-old rats 30% to 50% of their total diet of Comfrey root did cause tumors to develop, humans have never manifested tumors from regular, long-term ingestion of Comfrey plants with pyrilizidine (PA's) alkaloids. Instead, humans tend to develop liver veno-occlusive disease. It is known that animals have quite different metabolisms than humans. What is often poisonous and toxic to one is quite safe and harmless to the others. Further, it is unlikely that 6-week-old rats would naturally consider Comfrey root as a food worthy to constitute nearly 50% of their total dietary input. This is in view of the literally millions of people worldwide who have popularly and widely used Comfrey for a variety of common ailments. Independent laboratory analysis of three specimens of Comfrey root conducted by a grower in Washington State revealed one with out any PA's whatsoever, while the other two only showed extremely minute trace amounts, hardly enough for serious concern. When evaluating such data, it is important to keep in mind that high concentrations of many food-like substances taken over a prolonged period will eventually reveal some minor toxic component which would not be evident with normal consumption." Michael Tierra, L.A.c., O.M.D.

So there you have it, various views on Comfrey so you can make your own decision on its use.

What's my personal take on Comfrey in regards to the various views above? While I respect all other's views, I'm a proponent of Comfrey leaf and root use and have experienced nothing but profound beneficial effects from its use over the years, 13 years to be exact. I concur with Michael Tierra's words more than the others. Tierra makes darn good sense in his personal evaluation and assessment of Comfrey.

Rats were fed Comfrey by man, not on their own. Remove man and rats would not be eating Comfrey at all.

Comfrey has been used for thousands of years with no problems so what could take place all of a sudden to make the herb? This is something to think over.

Thank you for reading!

This article is compliments of Dherbs.com.