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Herbal Health Information on Depression

October 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Depression may be caused by stress, tiredness, hormone imbalance, emotional exhaustion and lack of sleep.

Symptoms vary for different people but may include, feeling low, poor self esteem, insomnia, headaches, lack of motivation and lack of confidence.

If stress is a factor then look at your lifestyle to see if there is anything you can change. It is worth sitting down and doing this with someone else as they may be more objective towards your lifestyle than you are.

Look at what you CAN change in your lifestyle rather than focus on what you can’t or what is going wrong. Try making small changes, such as joining a Yoga class, handing a job over to anyone else to do, get a cleaner for the housework, take a holiday. ANYTHING!

First thing to do is look at your diet. A body cannot keep going under any circumstances if it is poorly fed.

Eat three good meals a day:-

Consisting of nutritious foods such as fruit, veg, meat, fish, and a sensible intake of carbohydrates.

NOT CHOCOLATE which gives you a short term sugar boost and contains a feel good factor but does not last and may send you in to an emotional low when the blood sugar levels drop.

Drink WATER. At least two pints a day!

Caffeine in tea, coffee and coca cola, is the very worst thing for depression

as it increases heart rate and may cause palpitations and will definitely prevent you sleeping well.

However, Caffeine is addictive so if you need to come off it, do it slowly, otherwise you will get headaches and feel pretty rough for a couple of weeks. I recommend reducing one cup a day in three day steps, remembering to substitute with water or non caffeine hot drinks such as Rooibos and Chamomile tea.

I rarely advise people take nutritional supplements, as I am an advocate of complete nutrition through eating sensibly, but the research on vitamin B complex to support the nervous system is overwhelmingly positive.

Exercise will help, so go to the gym or preferably do something in the fresh air. I know this is easier said than done as many people suffering from depression have a lack of motivation. Take it in easy steps. Try and do one thing a week for yourself such as go for a walk in the countryside (short walk will do), join a dance class or SING! Or anything that takes your fancy. You will be really pleased at the result and the feeling of self achievement.

HERBAL MEDICINE

The main area which needs supporting is the nervous system.

St. John’s wort, which we saw on the shingle beach video, is a wonderful nervous system supporting and repairing herb as well as having anti depressant properties. Don’t take it if you are on any orthodox medicines.

Passiflora I have talked about in its own little article. It has mild sedative properties and is a relaxant as well as supporting the nervous system.

Skullcap is a tonic nervine as well as being anti spasmodic and relaxing. I use it because it is the only herb I know, which, due to its relaxing nervine properties, stops the brain going in to overdrive and thinking all those horrible “loop” thoughts when you are trying to get to sleep, such as, the shopping list or what activities the children have the next day or what shall I wear to my daughters wedding, or the amount of work piling up in the in tray, etc etc etc.

Orthodox medicine for depression raises the serotonin levels in the brain and I have found a tincture of St. John’s wort, Skullcap and Passiflora has a similar action whilst at the same time repairing the nervous system and restoring it to normal function.

You may find an over the counter preparation with these herbs in, but do make sure it is a licensed product which means it has been through rigorous trials.

One other herb I want to mention to repair and restore the nervous system and as an anti depressant is Oats. As an herb it is the oat straw that is used which can be taken as a tincture, or a bowl of Porridge every morning will help.

Growing in your garden you may have:-

Borage, an uplifting herb which also supports and restores the adrenals. This can be made into a tea.

Lavender which is great in an herb pillow to help with insomnia and the oil is wonderfully soothing in a bath.

Lemon balm, which makes a very nice soothing tea.

Vervain has nervous system and alterative (changing to normal) properties and can be drunk as an uplifting tea.

There are many ways of helping combat depression with herbs so do come and see me in my clinic if you would like help.

To find out more about the clinic, click here or on the “clinic” tab at the top of the page

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist

Links

Pevensy castle walk….lime flowers

Beach walk…………..Chamomile

Herbs and health

Lime flowers

Chamomile

St john’s wort

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Herbal Health Information on Thrush/Candida

October 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The opportunistic organism, Candida albicans is responsible for causing either oral thrush, mostly in infants or vaginal thrush in adult females. This can be passed on to the sexual partner, but there is a lower incidence in adult males.

Candida albicans is a yeast organism, the spores of which are present on the skin most of the time.

Vaginal and oral health is dependant on keeping the mucous membranes intact and in good condition. If there are any pre-disposing factors such as Antibiotic use which kills the natural bacterial flora of the Vagina, or iron deficiency, or oral contraceptive use, then the yeast spores will take hold and grow in the vagina causing a white curd like discharge and extreme itching and discomfort.

Oral thrush in infants needs treatment from the doctor.

An isolated case of vaginal thrush is nothing to be concerned about, but recurrent thrush indicates there is something else going on which needs investigating.

  • Boosting the immune system generally is important so that the body can fight the invasion of the yeast spores. This means having a good intake of Vitamin C and Zinc in your diet or taking a supplement.
  • Eating live yogurt is a must if you have thrush and it is also worth using it as a cream in the vagina. Messy but it will help to restore the vagina’s natural bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus.
  • Avoid alcohol
  • Avoid sugary foods (yeasts thrive on high sugar levels)
  • Many sources say to avoid yeast containing foods such as bread, but I do not see the logic in this advice as yeast in bread has been cooked and is dead.
  • Avoid sex if you have thrush although this is usually painful due to the lining of the vagina being damaged

Herbal Medicine is best taken in tincture form and a suitable mixture of herbs would be:-

Echinacea, to boost the immune system.

Marigold for its anti fungal properties

Pau d’arco, which is a specific for vaginal thrush, having strongly anti fungal properties.

I cannot give you dosage guidelines as you will need to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. But if you would like more help and advice please do visit me in my clinic.

To find out more about the clinic please click here or on the clinic tab at the top of the page.

If you do suffer from recurrent thrush then please see a doctor as there is usually an underlying cause which needs investigating.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

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Herbal Health Information on Cold Sores

September 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

These are caused by the herpes simplex virus which can be passed on by kissing or other physical contact. Although not life threatening they can be so debilitating as they can cause cracked and sore areas around the nose mouth and eyes, but if around the eyes you need to go to the doctor for help.

Once the Herpes virus is in the body it is almost impossible to get rid of as it sits around quietly on nerve roots and waits until the body is run down before it takes hold and causes a flare up, commonly, when you are suffering from cold or flu but can be any other illness which compromises the immune system.

Therefore boosting the immune system is very important to help the body defend itself from any invading organisms. This can prevent a flare up of cold sores and help the body fight off colds and flu to stop it getting run down.

Nutritionally it is important to take in large amounts of Vitamin C and Zinc.

Vitamin C is in most fruit and veg, but I have found the best source to be Limes.

Take a fresh lime, cut it in half and squeeze the juice out of one half into a glass.

Fill the glass with cold water and drink it down. A glass a day first thing in the morning will boost your Vitamin C levels. Obviously don’t stop eating other fruit and veg during the day as this will maintain your normal vitamin and mineral intake.

Zinc is fairly low in foods due to modern farming methods and is difficult to absorb. It is therefore essential to have an intake of Zinc daily. It is present in high amounts in Pumpkin seeds, oats, peas and shell fish, but I advise the easiest way of getting Zinc, is to eat about a handful of pumpkin seeds or a bowl of porridge daily. You can buy Pumpkin seeds in any health food shop and large supermarkets. Of course the rest of your diet should be a sensible balanced diet to ensure a good intake of other vitamins and minerals which Vitamin C and Zinc Metabolism (usage) will be dependant on in the body. Drink at least two pints of water a day to help clear out toxins.

Internally, the traditional immune system boosting herb is Echinacea which stimulates the white blood cells in the blood which are responsible for removing foreign bodies and also producing antibodies to fight infections. Echinacea is available in health shops or on the internet but make sure you are buying a licensed product which will have undergone rigorous tests to prove efficacy.

Two other herbs have a direct anti viral effect on the herpes simplex virus, and these are St. John’s Wort and Melissa (lemon balm)

St. John’s wort is taken internally as a tincture or capsules and is available from health shops or on the internet.

Melissa is used externally as a topical application. The only way you will get hold of this is if you grow it in your garden or have a friend who grows it. Many large herb suppliers will stock Melissa but it will be dried and the fresh plant is better to make a topical application, although the dried will do.

Pick a good handful of Melissa, preferably mid morning. Place it in a jug and add a cupful of boiling water. Leave this to steep for 10-15 minutes. If you are using dried plant it is one teaspoon to a cup of boiling water.

Strain and store in the fridge for a few days when you will have to make a new lot.

Dab this liquid on to the cold sore at least four times during the day.

This is definitely a case of prevention is better than cure so keeping your self well fed and boosting your immune system regularly, is essential.

However like all forms of medicine, do not take Echinacea all the time, bacteria and viruses become immune to all forms of medicine if they are continuously exposed to them.

If you would like to visit me in my clinic please click here or on the “clinic” tab at the top of the page.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/herbal Health Information

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Herbal Health Information on Menopause

August 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

What I am about to say about menopause may surprise you:-

It is not an illness!

Rather look on it as a change, just like first starting your periods was a change in the way your body functioned.

I have helped so many women in my clinic get through menopause I feel it is a bit of a specialist area for me.

Having said it is not an illness, I of course know it causes many women serious distress, with many symptoms both physical and emotional.

Most common of the symptoms are hot flushes ranging from a few mild ones a day to 2-3 an hour with face redness and sweating.

Apart from the flushes, symptoms include, poor sleep, digestive problems, weight gain, depression, headaches and more.

My approach is to help people get through the menopause as easily as possible which means getting the body to accept this new way of functioning as normal and to prevent it trying to return to its youthful state which is the major cause of the symptoms.

There is a system in the body called the Endocrine system, consisting of the Thyroid, Adrenal glands and Ovaries or Testes, which are responsible for the production of most of our hormones.

It starts with the Pituitary gland situated just below the brain which controls the secretions from the Thyroid, Adrenal glands and Ovaries/Testes. These organs send messages to the pituitary gland and to each other to give a status update and messages from the pituitary control the output of the hormones produced in these organs.

When the ovaries stop ovulating (producing an egg) each month, the message to the pituitary is one of panic SEND REINFORCEMENTS I can’t manage on my own!

Unfortunately for us the area of the brain which controls the pituitary is right next to the temperature control area and any message which goes up there to stimulate the pituitary into action also stimulates the temperature control area. Hence the hot flushes. Who designed that?

It is completely wrong to try and increase the amount of oestrogen in the body in hopes of stopping the flushes. We need to get the body to accept the new lower hormone levels so that it is not sending panic messages around and about.

There is one herb I have found to help the body adjust to these new levels and that is Dong Quai. Which of course we have not seen on our herb walks as it is a Chinese herb. To help with the flushes I use the traditional herb, Sage, which we have not looked at yet, but we will visit an herb garden and have a look at soon in a video, so keep your eye on the walks section. Sage is not the be all and end all for hot flushes but does help to reduce them. There are other herbs for flushes such as Willow and Zizyphus but these need to be used under the supervision of a practitioner as they are not commonly available over the counter.

I often mix these with a liver herb such as milk thistle, to ensure the liver is metabolising hormones properly and calming herbs such as Passiflora or Motherwort.

St. John’s wort which we looked at in the shingle beach video is also excellent during menopause as a nervous system supporting herb, but remember cannot be taken if you are on any orthodox medicines.

Eat sensibly and cut out Caffeine containing drink and food (sorry, chocolate), drink plenty of water and you are going to hate me for saying this, but many many women report that alcohol sets off flushing horrendously.

Of course if you get stuck qualified Medical Herbalists are around to provide excellent support.

Linda Bostock

Medical  Herbalist

Herbal Health Information

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Marshmallow Herb Walk Along The Cuckmere River

August 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment

We often walk along the Cuckmere River, in East Sussex as it is one of the areas we can take Henry, our Red Setter, without cattle being around, although there are sometimes cows in the fields and we may have to do a bit of a detour, as cows seem to chase Henry and scare us. This is a video we made of that walk and of the rare Marshmallow plants that we found growing there. I hope you find it interesting.

 

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist

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Beachy Head Herb Walk July 2011

August 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Herbal health information re. Beachy Head herb walk.

What a glorious day it was when we went on this walk. Apart from unseasonal hot weather in April this year, we have had very few sunshiny days but I actually took my cardigan off for some of this walk!!

We started at the end/start of the South Downs way (depending on which way you are walking) straight up the hill which leads to Beachy Head.

The Downs are now managed using grazing cattle to crop the pasture, which are moved around, leaving behind a nice load of manure, resulting in spectacular displays of wild flowers, visited by many species of butterflies and birds.

I could not stop and show you all the plants on this walk as it would have taken a good few days and I think my poor little computer would have a nervous break down with all the footage.

So I am literally going to give you a list of all the plants we saw some of which I talk about on the video

Dyer’s Weld

Lots of Hawthorn, Elder and sessile oak. trees

Gorse

Red clover

Ladies’ bedstraw

Pignut

Trefoil

Many different varieties of Vetch (pea family)

Rosebay willow herb

Honeysuckle

Burdock

Centaury

Knapweed

Lousewort

Milkwort

Mellilots

Marjoram

Thyme

Eyebright

Agrimony

Dock

Nettles

Goosegrass

And I am sure I have missed quite a lot.

Red clover, Burdock, Agrimony, Eyebright and Thyme will be in the Herbs and Health section and some already have their own little write up in there.

There were strangely few birds around on that day but there are usually skylarks singing and we have occasionally seen a Peregrine falcon.

There were lots of butterflies which I think were small blues and the meadow brown, but I am not a butterfly expert so I could have just made those names up!

I walk up the downs at least once a week with Henry the dog and every time do a little skip for joy at the fresh air, the scenery and the wildlife.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist

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Centaury (Centaurium Erythraea)

August 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This is a cute little plant that is easily missed if it is not in flower. The flower is either pink or white and close together on a squarish branching stem. It seems to love the chalk downlands so grows quite profusely on the South Downs as well as on the shingle beach.

Centaury

The whole herb is used which has Bitter properties.

All herbs with Bitter properties are excellent digestive system aids as they stimulate digestive juices to help breakdown the food entering the gut. This is why so many Aperitifs have bitter properties!

I use it in small amounts, as a tincture, to improve digestive function and to tone the gut up.

Linda Bostock
Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

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Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgaris)

July 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

SEEN ON DOG WALK ON THE BEACH JUNE 2011

You may often see the tall feathery stems of Fennel in hedgerows. It does seem to like growing near the sea as I have seen it quite often near the beach as well as growing wild inland on our country walks. If you crush the leaves they give off a warm aniseed smell. Both the leaf and seed are used medicinally.

Fennel

It contains coumarins, volatile oils and flavonoids. By now you will be getting the picture that anything with volatile oils has antibacterial properties, but fennel’s main action is as a “carminative”. This means it calms stomach cramping due to its antispasmodic properties, therefore settling and soothing any discomfort in the digestive tract, as well as dispersing wind by breaking it up into small pockets so that it can be eliminated easily.

I use it in a mix with chamomile as an anti colic mix for babies and it is, in fact, in some proprietary anti colic mixes you can buy over the counter.

Fennel tea made from the seeds is a wonderful digestive calmer and “soonf” (fennel seeds) are often handed around after an Indian meal sometimes coated in sugar like sugared almonds…..very nice to chew after a heavy Indian meal and will help aid digestion.

I’ve just read that it smoothes wrinkles when drunk as a tea! I’m definitely going to give that a go!

Sadly, I’m allergic to Fennel oil which is extracted from the seeds as it is a most wonderful smelling oil. Fennel seeds were found amongst the royal grave goods of ancient Egypt, so obviously has a long history of usage.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

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The Elder Tree (Latin Name ……..Sambucus Nigra)

July 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Parts used…….flower/bark/berries

I am not too proud to admit I probably use this herb more than is decent.

Elderflower on a Martello Tower

That’s because it does soo many different things and there is nothing better to reach for than elderflower tincture from my shelves, from the start of the hayfever season to the end of the coughs and colds season which is pretty much all year around!

Elder flowers are one of those things you either love or hate the smell of. They have a slightly sickly sweet smell that many people find overpowering.

But ignore the smell because you are looking at a flower that has such an astonishing range of actions it sounds like a complete herbal pharmacopeia all on its own!

It is antiviral, immune system stimulating, anti-inflammatory, anticatarrhal, diaphoretic (makes you sweat) diuretic and other actions you can look up but if I add in here it will just sound like showing off.

It is my herb of choice above Echinacea, if I am treating coughs, colds and boosting the immune system.

Although there are several anticatarrhal herbs such as ground ivy, from my experience elderflower is positively the BEST.

At this time of year it goes in every hayfever and anti-allergy mix I make up.

Because it makes you sweat and has relaxing properties, I also put it into mixes for high blood pressure.

Here come the warning bells ringing again…please do not self medicate if you have high blood pressure or any medical condition see a professional.

I pick the flower every year and dry it to store for use as a tea if anyone is feeling they have a cold coming on. It is the herbal equivalent of Beecham’s powders.

The berries, I collect to either make elderflower jelly (you need extra pectin) or a syrup for coughs throughout the winter.

The syrup is dead easy to make.

Pick however many elderberries you want and then make about one inch layers of berries with half an inch of granulated sugar in a  clean and heat sterilised jam jar. You will need to keep topping the jar up as the berries crush down.

Leave this preferably somewhere very mildly warm for about a week and then strain of the gorgeous thick dark red syrup and store it in another clean and heat sterilised jam jar. This is a wonderful soothing cough mixture which should be rich in vitamin C, iron and Bioflavonoids.

In the video you see the elderflower in a hedgerow at the Long Man at Willingdon, but if you look along any hedgerow you will see an elderflower tree dotted in amongst the other bushes. Later in the year we will go back and film the berries and I will show you how to make the elderberry syrup.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

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Pulsatilla, the nerve tonic.

July 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Pulsatilla is a nerve tonic and relaxant. It has anti inflammatory and antispasmodic properties and is a mild analgesic (pain killer)

I use it for imbalances in the female reproductive system such as PMT and find it especially useful for period pains, especially when mixed with Cramp Bark, which is  a muscle relaxant.

Cramp Bark, is discussed seperately in the West Rise Marsh walk and on the web site.

Pulsatilla is also an herb I very often put into a mix to help people relax and get to sleep. When I first started to practice, with a case of facial acne which was proving difficult to clear up, so I phoned my mentor at the time who advised me to use Pulsatilla as it has skin cleansing properties. Well it certainly made the difference and I now rarely leave it out of any skin mixture.

I use it in tincture formwhich you will be able to buy from any good herb supplier. I will not advise any dosage here as strengths of tincture varies, so follow the instructions on the bottle.

You will also find it in tablet form and again please follow the instructions.

Do not confuse it with the Homeopathic Pulsatilla preparation which has completely different actions.

As usual, if you have any other medical conditions or are pregnant, please see a qualified Medical herbalist or your Doctor.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/herbal Health Information.

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