To clear up some misconceptions: First, comfrey does not have proven efficacy against tooth decay, either as a preventative or to reverse decay that's already underway. Safety as a mouth rinse is probably not a major concern apart from possible local irritation, if one is careful not to swallow any. Many responsible herbalists recommend against any internal use of comfrey because of the risk of pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity, implicated in some cases of acute liver failure and a concern for possible carcinogenicity. Oral formulations are banned in most countries for this reason. Young children are especially susceptible to toxicity from comfrey (even a few days of taking comfrey internally can be fatal). Contrary to what's been stated, acute liver failure is not a significant consideration when it comes to use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Tylenol (acetominophen, which can be hepatotoxic) is not an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like aspirin or Motrin. Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory agent - it works by a different mechanism than NSAIDS to reduce pain and fever. Used in proper dosage and not combined with other things that can damage the liver (i.e alcohol) it is a generally safe as well as effective drug. The real problem is when people take too much, which may happen when they combine or otherwise overdose on over-the-counter cold meds. The big difference between Tylenol and comfrey is that Tylenol is a proven effective drug. Comfrey may have limited value in topical pain control (when applied for limited periods on unbroken skin), but in general the claims made for it have not been backed by quality studies (something to consider when weighing a decision whether to ingest it). You cannot count on drying to significantly reduce the harmful alkaloids. Unfortunately, you also can't count on comfrey sellers to be knowledgeable and upfront about the composition of their products in our current, largely unregulated supplement market. I rarely take acetominophen, but feel a lot more confident about its safety than I do comfrey. And based on what we've seen already, if Americans began to ingest comfrey as commonly as they do acetominophen, it's extremely likely that comfrey would quickly pass acetominophen as the leading cause of acute liver failure in the U.S.

Grilled Tomato Sauce From Steven Raichlen Like soup, tomato sauce is one of the dishes you're least likely to think of grilling. But there is a powerful reason to try this sauce. Beyond the mere novelty factor, grilling imparts a gutsy smoke flavor to the sauce and heightens the natural sweetness of the vegetables. Don't take just my word for it. For thousands of years, Mexicans have grilled tomatoes, onions and peppers to make rich-tasting salsas. I have adapted the technique to make an exceptionally flavorful tomato sauce. Serve the sauce over grilled polenta, with any simple grilled fish, or with just about any cooked pasta. Makes about 3 1/2 cups. 5 lucious, ripe red tomatoes 2 - 2 1/4 pounds total, cut in half crosswise, and stem ends removed 1 medium size white onion, peeled and cut into quarters 1 rib celery 4 cloves garlic, peeled and skewered on a wooden toothpick or small bamboo skewer 3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp. oregano 1/2 tsp. hot pepper flakes 1 bay leaf 6 fresh basil leaves coarse salt (Kosher or Sea salt) freshly ground black pepper 1/4 to 3/4 cup chicken stock, vegetable stock or water Cook the tomatoes, onions, celery and garlic in greased and preheated grill (George Foreman grill) until nicely browned. You may need to cook the vegetables in more than one batch. Transfer the grilled vegetables and let cool. Finely chop the onions, celery and garlic by hand or in a food processor. If using a food processor, run machine in spurts. Heat olive oil in large non-reactive sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery and garlic, oregano, hot pepper flakes and bay leaf and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Coarsely puree tomatoes and juices with the basil in a food processor. Add the tomato mixture to the sauce pan, with the vegetables. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then let sauce simmer gently until thick and richly flavored 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. The sauce should be thick but pourable. If it is too thick, add a little stock or water. Remove and discard the bay leaf. The sauce can be refrigerated, covered up to 4 days. Or frozen for up to 2 months. Let the sauce come to room temperature then reheat it in a non-reactive sauce pan over medium heat, stirring often.

I can't agree that I don't really "care" what they eat. I'm certainly not trying to turn this into a full-fledged debate (not that I would ever get offended by having one unless someone get's offensive during it), but if I'm going to undertake any kind of 'project' (especially one that consists of playing with moldy, smelly 'waste' on a regular basis - LOL), regardless of my reasoning for doing so, I like to edumacate myself as much as possible on the information surrounding the particular subject so I can be the 'best' I can be at it. I guess I'm just the sort of person that likes continuously learning new things in as much depth as possible and strives for some extent of excellence in all areas of my life... whatever those may be. That said, I originally got into composting (as a whole) for several reasons. First and foremost, I started my first garden last year, and decided to go totally organic/non-GMO. In that quest, I began composting... primarily for soil addendum due to what I've been dealt by nature in my yard, but also, as a positive byproduct, to reduce my household's overall 'footprint' in some way (no matter how small). So for me, vermicomposting is not just a 'hobby', but I'm actually concerned about the end result and/or finished product, which is why threads such as these interest me. Bottom line (for me), I just want to understand what I can about the topic as a whole, and perhaps, eventually, figure out what is, indeed, "fact", and what is "faith". Unfortunately, I'll never be able to travel down the gut (not that I'd probably survive the gizzard) of one of my worms and see the process firsthand, so I will have to take a few things on "faith" that I read along the way... but despite that limitation, I am certainly not above discussing if what I have read, wherever, is commonly accepted in "faith" by others more experienced than me. All that clarified, I will at this point agree with certain things discussed here: 1) Worms do 'eat' bacteria, but not ONLY bacteria (which is what I initially assumed you were saying in your first post) 2) They do NOT 'eat' anything that is not broken down into "RTE" 'food' 3) Everything organic can and will eventually break down into RTE form Now given #3, horse manure may indeed be a better IMMEDIATE food (or more readily accepted) than non-RTE substitutes, but does that necessarily make it "better" for the end product... the castings? Not saying it does or doesn't (as I honestly don't know with any certainty at this point), and since the worms obviously like it (whether in captivity or the wild), I can only assume (or take on "faith", as I've yet to feed mine any) that it is, in fact, "good" in some sense of the word. Then again, in their natural habitat, there is rarely the opportunity for them to encounter what we feed them from our kitchens, so it's also possible they simply migrate to whatever is available. Either way, I am still not sure that the topic of the thread has been fully determined, however... and unless that is eventually accomplished here, why are we bothering to waste valuable hours of our days writing about (and purely speculating on) it?

Trailrunner - I was reading some of this to DH last night, he thought they sounded like great ideas btw, and when I was done reading the first thing he said to me was,"Wow, I can't believe people take the time to type that much out trying to help someone. " Ha. Gotcha on the wear them only for running. Oh I know not to wear the orthotics and insoles at the same time. I know now (didn't at first years ago!) to take out the pads shoes come with first. Powerstep is the brand of inserts I bought from the Podiatrist. Heard of or any thoughts on them? I forget what name my orthotics are they don't say anything on them but they came in a bag that did. The bottom is hard plastic but the top is blue firm foamy stuff. He said something about it being new stuff. Do you think the Podiatrist would give me a hard time about "put a good padded front made of the new high tech triple layer stuff they have or....you can get a good insert and cut it to fit flush with the front of the orthotic"? Guess I won't know until I try but I'm picturing them wanting to know what I'm diagnosing myself since they apparently didn't think I needed that. Oh, well. I wondered how the ball of my foot was getting any support if I'm use my new orthotics in shoes I took the insole out since there's nothing there. In the past (I'm sure from wearing heels) I've had pain in the balls of my feet. I tried to tell him this too while I was there but he wasn't interested in hearing it since I wasn't having pain. Thanks for the heads up about the glucosamine. I think it actually might be what DH takes! I need to check that out. He gets on me about how I really should take it. I can take all three of those types of pills. That does sound like a lot! I'm guessing it just kills the pain longer? Does that help with the healing process at all. Perhaps that's a dumb question. I checked out that roadrunner site and the chart and I'm not sure if I'm N or PN. I'm under 150lbs and I do under 25 miles a week for N but the PN says, you run races or enjoy fast running. I like fast running. When I said I never considered myself a runner it's because I normally don't do more than 3 miles at a time and normally it's intervals. The thought of a 50 or even 10 mile race makes me cringe. Figured I'd ask but thought N would probably be my best bet regardless? Also, the NB shoes look like they're for trail running and I'm normally on a treadmill, does this matter? I really like that site. It even tells you to order sizes up for some shoes. The current ones I have are on there and it does say to order 1/2 size bigger. Go figure. Onlines shoes didn't tell me that! How's this for the laces? It still feels kind of tight around the top. Probably just the poor fitted shoes. For now, I'll rest from running. I have other sneakers I can wear for biking or whatever. By the time I'm ready to hopefully run again I'll make sure to have good sneakers. Seww - Thanks for the link. It seems very common here that even running stores have people in them that don't really know what they're doing. They just find the size in the back room. I'm at least going to go and attempt to try some on in person. Deedee - Oh my, I laughed out loud when I read that. That wasn't real nice of him! For a long time I thought I must be the only person with wider feet! One time on ebay I bought a really nice and expensive pair of heels. I did not know B meant narrow (I think it's B - whichever one is narrow). There is no way I can wear them. Not possible. It was funny even trying to put them on. They're in my closet because I couldn't resell them. Nobody in the world has a size 5 narrow foot either. :)