Feverfew, migraine and inflammation
My chard plants on the allotment have been interspersed with beautiful feverfew flowers this year. As a remedy for preventing migraine headaches and arthritic pains, the leaves are best used fresh and a couple taken daily with a bit of bread and butter, as they can be...
Herbal Bitters
Bitter herbs are one of the most important groups of herbal medicines. The picture on the left is a bed of greens on my allotment which has an assortment of leaves for use in salads and stir-fries, including chicory, dandelion, kale, rocket and mizuna. The bitter...
Self-heal: A little used but potent healer
This tiny plant is popping up all over the place at the moment, in lawns and grass verges. Although little used in modern herbalism, it has been the surprising subject of research studies for its antiviral and anticancer properties. However, its traditional uses are...
Lime flowers
Lime trees are covered with feathery yellow-green flowers at this time of year and these are the parts commonly used by herbalists. Lime flowers make a a relaxing tea for helping with anxiety and poor sleep, but as with all herbs there's much more to it than that. As...
Shepherd’s purse
Shepherd's purse is a lesser known weed that is flowering at the moment; it's easily identified by the 'purse' or heart-shaped seed pods on the stem. The entire plant above the ground is used to make a medicine that's commonly used to reduce unwanted bleeding. It does...
Why hot chillies are good (for lots of) us
In news this week, a cautious discussion about why hot chillies 'might' be good for us, following a recent study of thousands of Americans which suggested general benefit to health of eating chillies. Chillies have been long valued in herbal medicine for their warming...
Osteoporosis and bisphosphonates
A news item today highlights the long-term use of bisphosphonate drugs that are used for people suffering from osteoporosis by slowing the breakdown of bone. However, evidence now shows that they actually weaken bone by producing microscopic cracks. Not many people...
Children’s Mental Health Week
Children's Mental Health Week was marked this month. Statistics around children's mental health are worsening and it's reported that half of schools struggle to get mental health support for their students. Not many people are aware of the benefits that herbs can...
How to use elderberries for colds
While all those cold viruses are doing the rounds, I recommend using elderberries as a preventative medicine and to speed recovery - elderberries have been used traditionally in herbal medicine for prevention and treatment of colds and flu and recent research has...
Natural ways to support a person with cancer
Cancer is a chronic inflammatory condition generally characterised by genetic mutations and a compromised immune system, which lead to abnormal processes such as dysregulated growth, inflammation, oxidation and degradation of structural components of tissue. The...
