Comfrey

My knee is better today than it was yesterday....iced it on and off....it's still bruised and swollen but I'm still going to hang on to hope that I can run on Sunday.......

Yesterday, Ono gave me some Comfrey Oil/Cream to rub on my knee and suggested I pick some up from the Health Food Store to make it heal faster. I looked it up on the internet today and at first I read some great things about this herb.....it's been used for centuries dating back to the Greeks and Romans. It is notable for mending bones together quickly and referred to as 'knitbone' etc. blah blah blah.......However, after reading all these good things....I came across some VERY alarming information about it.

Apparently the BC Cancer Agency warns against the internal ingestion of Comfrey since certain kinds of the herb can cause cancer. They have done studies on rats and warn against applying it on areas with broken skin if applied topically. Also, Health Canada issued a warning against the use of any kind of Comfrey since you can't be sure what kind you are using. So I guess that puts an end to that.....I'm not going near it....and it just goes to show you that there might be some great alternative medicines out there.....Comfrey might do all that it claims to do...but at the cost of Cancer?? No, thanks!