Herbalist Health

HERBS FOR HAYFEVER. With a Red Alert for very high pollen counts issued and the Met Office predicting record levels of pollen in parts of the UK, many herbalists are dealing with increasing numbers of people with the classic signs of hay fever: itchy and watery eyes; sneezing; runny nose; sore throats; swollen glands; headaches. One in five people in the UK suffers from hay fever. As well the personal impact of debilitating hay fever attacks,the cumulative effect on the Brit...ish economy through days taken sick is considerable
2016 survey by Allergy UK reported that 15 per cent of sufferers in the previous 12 months had asked to be signed off work by their doctor because their symptoms were so disabling, amounting to an estimated £7.1billion in lost productivity. There are herbs which can help reduce the allergic response and many people turn to herbal medicine to help in manage their symptoms. Although the best treatment will come from consulting a professional herbalist, there are some self help measures you can take while you wait for your appointment. • Nettle and chamomile are natural antihistamines and can bring much relief to hay fever sufferers. • Elderflower and other anticatarrhal herbs can help too. • Bathing sore or itchy eyes with cold chamomile tea can help calm itching. • Putting a herbal ointment around the nostrils can help trap pollen. One benefit of using herbal medicine is that there are few side effects. With many hay fever medications, people can feel drowsy and that can make it difficult to drive or operate machinery. Herbal medicines don’t make you feel drowsy. If you are one of the one in five people in the UK suffering hay fever symptoms , why not consult your nearest medical herbalist and see if they can help you.
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Just remember make your herbal teas in a thermos or teapot with a cork bung in the spout.this stops the volatile oil escaping and retains all its properties. Cheryl

HERBAL TEAS- Herbal teas have been around for centuries. Yet, despite their name, herbal teas are not true teas at all. True teas, including green tea, black tea and oolong tea are brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. On the other hand, herbal teas are made from dried fruits, flowers, spices or herbs. This means herbal teas can come in a wide range of tastes and flavours and make a tempting alternative to sugary beverages or water. In addition to being delic...
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A Herbal Alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy January 12, 2017
Noting the University of Oxford research published in the Lancet today that Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) increases the risk of ovarian cancer the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) draws attention to research published in the journal Family Health of trials that show menopause symptoms can be treated safely and effectively by medicinal herbs (see: http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/content/ 24...
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Helpful Herbs for Children in the Winter Liquorice (glycyrrhiza) is a great herb for children, with its sweet flavour and soothing effects on digestion. It has anti-infective and anti-inflammatory properties as well. Chamomile (matricaria) is wonderful. It helps children, toddlers and babies when they are miserable with fevers, tummy aches, sleeping and even allergies. It helps keep them hydrated and the gentle liver stimulation can encourage a poor appetite. It settles a...n achy, irritated or fevered child into a restful sleep. Red Clover (trifolium) is a very useful expectorant when a child has a cough and makes a great addition to medicines for colds and ‘flu. Cleavers (Galium)is an excellent lymphatic stimulant, helping both the immune system, via the lymph, with its abundant white blood cells. It is a perfect herb for illnesses that raise the glands, including sore throats, sinus pain with colds, aches at the back of the head, throat and sides of the neck and anything involving the tonsils or ears. How to take them... Some children are perfectly happy to take tinctures in juice or water but they can also be taken in tea form, but sometimes children do not like to eat or drink when they are sick and cajoling will not help very much. For little tiny ones, rubbing a strong tea or a few drops of tincture into the soles of the feet can be enough to get the herbs working If the child is up to a bath, a full pot of strongly brewed herb tea in the water is a great way to get the herbs into the little body, and they have excellent effects this way. For itchy rashes and the aftermath of spotty fevers like Chickenpox, Roseola or even Measles and Rubella, oats (Avena) in a bath can relieve itch and soothe sore skin. For an oat bath: tie some porridge oats in an old sock and run the hot water first, though the sock. It makes the water nice and milky and avoids pieces of oat floating everywhere. Happy New Year to all those Children out there and to their wonderful parents as well. Cheryl
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A very happy Christmas and a happy and peaceful 2018 to all my customers and friends.

MENOPAUSE AND DIET. Over many years of practising I have encountered patients who are looking for alternatives to hormone replacement therapy and those struggling with menopause symptoms. The onset of the menopause and indeed prior to menopause onset can bring a lot of unpleasant symptoms, both physical and emotional. Every women is different, some experience many and varied symptoms whilst others hardly notice things have changed. The most common symptom is hot flushes and n...
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SAGE. Salvia officinalis.

MENOPAUSE. Hot flushes and night sweats are common symptoms of menopause. Eighty percent of menopausal women experience them. Many women feel embarrassed about hot flushes, thinking everyone else can see them perspiring, but it's not usually as obvious to everyone else as it may feel to you. Why do hot flushes happen? Why, exactly, hot flushes occur is a matter of debate, but it's thought to be related to the changes in oestrogen levels that happen during the menopause. These... affect the hypothalamus, which is responsible for temperature regulation in your body. The hormonal changes trick the brain into thinking you're too hot, so your body responds by trying to cool down. You experience dilating blood vessels, a raised heart-rate, increasing circulation, and perspiration at some of the most inconvenient times! Sound familiar? Hot flushes can be difficult to avoid completely, but it's possible to reduce their frequency by keeping stress levels to a minimum and avoiding triggers such as caffeine, alcohol, cigarette smoke and spicy foods. Wear light, loose clothing, natural fibres, and try to stay cool. Keep your bedroom airy, use fans if it helps, and breathe deeply for 15 minutes once or twice a day, which might alleviate symptoms. How sage can help? The herb sage, just like the plant grown in gardens across the UK, has shown astonishing results in studies, and does, in some women, have the power to eliminate hot flushes altogether. It has a reputation for alleviating sinus infections, improving cognitive performance, and for use as a general tonic that benefits the nervous system and enhances the mind. However, its most common use is for symptoms of the menopause. In a survey undertaken by the National Institute of Medical Herbalists, most respondents said they used sage for the menopause, particularly to alleviate hot flushes and night sweats. I would like to add here that one herb on it’s own does not work as well as several together, as given in a prescription by a fully qualified herbalist.
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There are many herbs that can be useful for diabetes Berberis vulgaris and Cucurma longa just to mention two. Everyone is different and that is the value of a consultaion and a specific prescription. I have decided that every month I will change the problem discussed and from the 11th July I thought the menopause may be a useful discussion. XC

Morning, hope the low carb bread helped. Also have found Cauli Rice, original, meditteranean and Chicken Flavour, my husband likes them all it means I can make a curry from scratch and he can have half a packet of rice with it. I used to have to buy it on line but you can now get it in Asda and larger Tesco's. Things are improving all the time. My granddaughter tells me I'm lazy and you can make your own cauli rice, I guess that is absolutely true but this makes life easier for me when I'm busy and he likes it. Making curry from scratch is really simple and there are loads of low carb receipe's on line, do look at curry pastes though they do vary in carb content. Cheryl

Met a lady in Bridport on Monday who wanted to know where she could get Low Carb Bread. There are two places carbzone.co.uk they make a rye bread which is very tasty and only 3.7 carbs a slice and you can also buy Carbzone items from Amazon. This bread just has to be kept in a dry cool place and has a very long life. Also Avidlite that do several low carb breads, one is lovely, only baked on certain days of the week for delivery next day but can be kept in the freezer. Avidlite.co.uk. Both these companies do many other low carb items. Cheryl Any other places people know, please add to the page. All useful info thank you.

TYPE 2 DIABETES. 4 Months ago my husband was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, it had been a long hard struggle to make him let me do a simple urine test to establish the diagnosis and get him to our GP. His tests confirmed the diagnosis and blood tests showed an Hb1Ac of 89. He was offered metformin but I wanted him to try changing his diet first before going down the slippery slope of metformin which seems to start off as one or two tablets progresses to 4 and then onto ins...ulin injections. After the first 3 months we have managed to get his Hb1Ac down to 47 just in the normal range. We are still working on getting it even lower. We also need to reduce his LDL Cholesterol. LDL Lower Density Lipoproteins the "bad" cholesterol. However things are going in the right direction and I thought it might be useful to other Type 2 diabetics if I recorded our journey and helped others as well. He has lost over 1 1/2 stone so far and is looking like he did many years ago. His tiredness has vanished and along with that the worst of the "grumpiness". I am not saying it has been easy, men and food can be particularly difficult and I don't think he would have achieved the results without me being there to monitor everything and have the right kind of foods to hand. BUT it can be done. He is petrified of needles so the thought of ending up injecting himself was enough to make him look at things in a different light. We spoke to several people who had had diabetes a while, it was uncontrolled and the metformin increased and then came the insulin. Not somewhere we want to go. We went to the NHS talk for new diabetes patients. I was shocked to be given some of the information available. No blood glucose monitors provided, we can give you sticks to pea on, just do it now and again and if you have cake and treats don't check it that day! PLEASE this is a serious condition that can lead to all kinds of problems and I came away determined that was NOT how it was going to be. People need to be encouraged to take responsibility for themselves, it is not up to your GP or your Health proffessional, it is up to you! So, I hope you will follow this journey I have made with my husband so I can share with you the knowledge I had before we began, the knowledge I have acquired whilst being on this journey and possibly the knowledge we can all share. Tomorrow I will begin. Thank you Cheryl
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Following various discussions I have seen on "Glue ear" I thought it might be useful to post the following: Glue ear is a chronic condition where the middle ear fills up with sticky fluid. If the Eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear and throat, becomes blocked or swollen, fluid can be trapped in the middle ear. Because the Eustachian tube is shorter and less angled especially in children (although some adults do suffer) it is less easy for fluid to drain away. Chron...
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Working with herbs is a joy but all too often I see people using self diagnosis and then buying one herb from the health food shop and wondering why it dosen't do what they expect. Herbs work best in synergy, a bit like people, several heads are often better than one. I do a consultation which takes an hour and a half and then I prescribe a mixture of herbs to suit that person. I often use tinctures simply because they extract all the constituents from a herb so they can be easily absorbed and do the job they were intended for. If you would like more information please contact me. Cheryl

Lots of people don't even know I have been a herbalist for the last 28 years as well as a remedial masseuse, I want to be able to share some of my great experiences with all the people I know and those i don't. My Rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed in my 20's was a really difficult thing to handle but thanks to Herbal Medicine, some great colleagues and a GP who understands me completely, I have survived. i sent my husband to his GP just over 3 months ago after pestering him for a urine test and realising he was diabetic (you know what men are like, never believe you know anything) his Hb1Ac was 89 in 3 months I have reduced it to 47 normal, no tablets just diet. Not easy I know, but it can be done. I have oceans of experience and I want to be able to share this. Lets see what we can do. X Cheryl