SC - Herbs in cookery

[LrdRas at aol.com]

Keeping to the subject:

I would like to offer the fact that:

Nutmeg causes hallucinations.
Pepper causes vomiting and nausea.
Salt increases blood pressure.
Eggs and bacon indice cholestreral build up and lead to heart attecks.
Bay leaves are toxic.
Cucumbers are a roach repellent.
Chicken carries salmonella.
Shellfish can be toxic.

and the worst of all:

Inhaling flour causes suffocation.

My point being use of herbs and seasonings in the small quantities neccessary
to cooking are not unsafe. 

Certainly if you drink a cup of tea made from rue or tansy and are pregnant
you may have an abortion. Eat a whole nutmeg and you will, without a doubt
experience, hallusination. Swallow a tsp of black pepper and you will vomit.
Eat fresh feverfew by it self for several days and you will get mouth sores.

Certainly, making a salad of fresh tansy, feverfew and rue would not be a good
thing but the use of common herbs and spices as flavoring ingredients in
recipe is not unsafe' While it is good to be reminded of the potential for
harm,  we should not stop eating apples, for instance, just because a cupful
of apple seeds contains enough cyanide to kill a child. 

SFAIK, the potentially harmful herbs used in recipes are basically harmless
when used in the correct quantities.

Ras
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