Papaya - a world class meat tenderizer, natural digestive aid, prevents ulcers, and also a soft contact lense cleaner.Parsley The Safety Factor
The psoralen in parsley has been known to cause skin rash in agricultural workers who harvest large quantities. Those with sensitive skin should be aware of this possibility.
The Eclectics were right about high doses of parsley oil causing headache, nausea, vertigo, giddiness, hives, and liver and kidney damage. But the medical literature contains no reports of problems from the herb itself.
Other Cautions
Parsley’s potential diuretic action should not be used to promote weight loss. Some diet programs tout diuretics to eliminate water weight. But weight-control authorities discourage diuretics. Weight lost using diuretics almost invariably returns. The key to permanent weight control is a low-fat, high-fiber diet and regular aerobic exercise.
For otherwise healthy non-pregnant, non-nursing adults, parsley is generally safe in amounts typically recommended.
If symptoms of toxicity develop, use less or stop using it.
Let your doctor know if you experience any unpleasant effects or if the symptoms for which the herb is being used do not improve significantly in two weeks.
Growing Healing Garnishes
Parsley is a small, bright green biennial that reaches 12 inches the first year and up to 3 feet the second year, when it flowers. Parsley has a thick carrot-like taproot and juicy stems terminating in feathery, deeply divided, curly or flat leaves, depending on the variety. Its tiny yellow-green flowers develop on the umbrella-like canopy (umbels) characteristic of the Umbelliferae.
Although it’s a biennial, parsley should be cultivated as an annual. The seeds are slow to germinate, often requiring up to six weeks. Sow anytime from early spring to autumn. Parsley can be sown indoors and transplanted, but most authorities recommend outdoor planting with ΒΌ inch of soil cover.
Parsley grows best in moist, sandy, well-drained loam with a neutral pH. Thin seedlings to 8-inch spacing. Late-season planting is fine. The herb-even seedlings-usually survives one or two frosts.
Leaves may be harvested once plants have reached about eight inches. Fruits are harvested when they appear full-size and gray-brown. Dig the roots during the autumn of the first year or the spring of the second.
Looks like Hemlock
Alert: Unless you are an experienced field botanist, do not pick wild parsley. It closely resembles three potentially lethal plants: water hemlock, poison parsley (also known as poison hemlock), and fool’s parsley (dog parsley, small hemlock).