a prickly interaction and more thoughts on Teasel and Lyme

I got into an argument yesterday. I tend not to get into many arguments these days but that's just because I don't interact with that many silly people.

I seem to get into arguments with people in a position of authority. I don't mean to. It's just that sometimes they are stupid and since I came to them for advice, I don't let them get away with being stupid. I mean, an expert on something should have more information on that something than I do. Right? That's why we suffer experts, so we can go to them for help and advice at times of need.

I've been reading up on the Teasel cure for Lyme. It looks good. I don't know if I believe the miracle status it holds, but I think it would help. At the very least, it's worth the try and the herb is very affordable if you buy just the dried roots. I'm going to make tea; but not just yet.

Recent events have left me humbled and discouraged. I can't think of any way I could have prevented the recent hospitalization with the knowledge I had prior to the event - and believe me, I've thought about this a lot. But it has taught me that I need to be more aware of the potential harms of what I take and what sort of symptoms I should look out for.

This is exactly what I asked my local herbalist. What are the contraindications (I think that's the word I'm looking for) of taking Teasel?

She said there are non. It cannot harm you.

I said that's a load of bull... well I said it slightly more politely. Everything has potential harm.

She said that's just not so. (again, not in those words - I'm using poetic licence for the sake of keeping the narrative simple and interesting) Then she cited examples such as spinach and stinging nettles.

I said, those are great example of things that can cause harm. The O-- acid in both of them prevent the absorption of iron by the body. Besides, people on low fibre diets are told to avoid too much spinach. Even something as benign as water can cause great harm when drunk in excess.

At this point, frustrated by me, she lead me to the book shelf and handed me Wood's book and told me to read the section on Teasel for myself. Apparently because he has no mention of any potential harm that Teasel can cause, it has no potential harm (the fallacy: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.). Then again, Wood is the person everyone seems to cite these days, so there is some authority there.

Speaking about absence of evidence. I'm just about though reading Healing Lyme Disease Naturally (more on that later - I have mixed feelings about the book.) and I've found no mention of Teasels' potential harm. Considering the bulk of the book is devoted to that plant, one would think that there would be a 'cation: coffee may be hot' warning about the plant if the author recommends taking it. There must be liability issues here.

What I want to know is if Teasel can harm people with certain conditions (like say liver problems for a random example)? Also, is it something that should be taken only for a short period of time? There are lots of herbal (and allopathic) remedies that cause a lot of good if taken for, say, a month, but can cause great harm if taken for a longer period of time. Is Teasel something like that?

Nothing in this world is completely harmless. What I want to know is exactly how mostly harmless Teasel really is.