Blog

We may not always realise it but food and drink have an enormous impact on our sleeping patterns. Drinks containing caffeine should definitely be avoided late in the day because the energising effects can last for several hours. Remember that there is caffeine in some...

Recently a lot of women in my clinic have been feeling anxious about how quickly their diaries are filling back up again as life returns to normal. I wrote about this a few weeks ago and one woman contacted me to say – you keep talking about taking time out but I...

It may SEEM like the rest of the country is rushing to book a table in a beer garden, or can’t wait to have dinner in their favourite restaurant… but that’s still not what I’m hearing from a lot of my patients.  For many, the final lifting of restrictions, while...

Our skin is the biggest organ in our body and it is just right that we make sure to take care of it as much as possible. With the changing seasons, it is understandable that we experience different skin conditions like dryness. The pandemic also made us wash our hands...

Stress is something that we should not take for granted. There are many people who experience stress and they don’t even know it! A UK-wide stress survey found that almost three-quarters of adults felt so stressed they were overwhelmed or felt unable to cope in the...

How do you get enough energy to sustain yourself all day?  A huge number of my patients have low energy as part of their list of presenting complaints when they first see me. There are several ways to improve the situation, often they are trying to get more energy by...

Essentially, we have two nervous systems – fight, flight, freeze and rest, relax, digest, sleep, and have sex. We were built to live only 20% of the time in fight, flight, freeze, and the rest of the time enjoying other things. I don’t know ANYONE living that life...

Our immune systems have taken on whole new importance since the pandemic and herbs to boost immunity are now the most common question I get asked. It’s a good time to make sure your defences are still in tip-top condition particularly as we move away from covid...

For as long as there have been people on the planet they have been turning to herbs for help. There are records as far back as the ancient kingdoms of Mesopotamia and Babylon and as pain is one of the key symptoms we feel, a lot of our time has been spent trying to...

Do you know that you can do more with your fruit and veg? It may seem strange to us in these days of chemical power cleaners, but cleaning with fruit and veg has been a thing for a long time – and it’s making a come-back as we all look for more planet-friendly ways of...

Embracing Spring! There may still be rude interruptions from showers while I’m preparing my veg beds, but it doesn’t detract from the fact that spring has indeed sprung. And while the songbirds are merrily chirping in the early mornings and the lambs are gambolling...

Did you know that according to NHS data, over 20% of UK residents suffer from hay fever symptoms every year? That’s a whole lot of hankies. Hayfever can bring misery with a runny nose and streaming eyes, sneezing, coughing, itching, and generally feeling rubbish. Many...

Spring is almost upon us! Time to start thinking about easing ourselves into gently detoxing the winter stodge away. Your body will thank you for taking some time now to start feeding it vitamin and mineral-packed greens and moving it a bit more. At this time of year,...

One of our most familiar kitchen herbs, often associated with the evocative smell of a Sunday roast. Rosemary is often overlooked medicinally but it is a very important herbal remedy and has had official status in the pharmacopoeias of Europe for hundreds of years -...

It may not feel like it some days but the first spring buds are well on their way and greens are poking out under the trees on our local walk. Spring is coming. It is also this time of year that people struggle with most. That last gasp, when your resilience is worn...

Sleep is a big deal. It’s when our body repairs, rests, and recuperates. It’s how we rest (obviously) and deprived of sleep humans will survive less than if we are deprived of food. So it’s really concerning to know that around 16 million adults in the UK alone suffer...

It’s cold. Beautifully sunny outside, but cold. When I’m this cold all I can think about is my next cuppa. And therein lies the danger – one cuppa after another …

As I was taking this photograph of my autumn harvest, I suddenly realised just how much it sums up the way I strive for life to be and highlights a …

Autumn has very definitely set in, I know that because I now have cold ankles and am starting to wear boots. They will come off again sometime in spring… Also, …

I can’t really pretend that Fennel is a favourite of mine. I’m not all that keen on the aniseed taste – but once in a while, it’s a very handy …

Well, I’m not sure how it turned out where you are but on the West Coast of Scotland it was a wet summer for sure! So I was very pleasantly …

My roses all are crumblin’ My Passiflora’s junk My Marshmallow has lost it’s glow I feel like giving up… It was a good start, but summer has been a relative …

I just had to share this beautiful photograph of Angelica archangelica that I took recently. The structure of this plant never ceases to amaze and inspire me. Strong and sturdy, …

Yep, I get it. I have the same fight with it year in year out. Ground Elder… it sneaks in under the wall, entwines in the neighbour’s fence, strangles the …

For most of us, it’s just an ordinary Tuesday. For our ancestors this was one of the most anticipated festivals of the year. Beltane or May Day as it was …

Preparing the veg beds may well have been rudely interrupted by a shower of hail, yes, HAIL at the weekend. But that still doesn’t detract from the fact that spring …