Herbal Health Information on Irregular Periods

Don’t stress yourself if you miss the odd period, unless you think you may be pregnant.

The hormone balance in the body is very finely tuned and any slight change in normal body function or activity may affect the hormones and disturb the usual reproductive cycle which usually results in an egg being released from the Ovaries once a month. During the month the lining of the womb grows and prepares itself to receive a fertilised egg. If the egg is not fertilised then this lining is shed each month and the whole cycle starts over again.

So many factors may affect this cycle on a one off basis, such as, stress, poor nutrition, increased exercise levels, a shock, breast feeding.

If periods are persistently irregular then this should be investigated by a doctor to eliminate polycystic ovaries and endometriosis. I have treated both of these conditions very successfully in my clinic but they need careful monitoring so I do not advise self medication.

If no underlying cause for irregular periods has been found then it is usually easy to get the cycle back on track with herbal medicine.

Diet

Very very important as we need the right building blocks in there that make the hormones.

An intake of the omega oils, 3, 6, 9 is essential for the production of hormones in the body. These are found in oily fish (salmon, mackerel) seeds and nuts and evening primrose oil. The other essential ingredient for a healthy reproductive system is Zinc, found in pumpkin seeds, peas and oats. Of course all nutrients are essential in sensible amounts but if these are lacking in the diet then the hormone production will be thrown out.

Exercise

For the one and only time I am going to say that excess exercise is not good for you. It raises the testosterone levels in the body and can cause irregular or cessation of periods. By excess I do not mean going for a walk or a bit of a jog every day I mean heavy duty training for several hours a day. You cannot use this as an excuse to stop exercising.

Herbs

The books will tell you that Agnus castus is THE herb for regulating periods. This is because it works on the pituitary gland which is the gland responsible for sending messages to the ovaries to tell it what and how much hormone to produce during the cycle. You can buy it in any good health shop but make sure you follow the instructions.

Of the plants we have seen on our herb walks, Yarrow has a tradition for balancing hormones and getting the cycle back on track and I use Tansy almost every time someone comes to me with irregular periods. Tansy is a strong herb so I do not recommend you trying it yourself.

Once the periods are back on track, you can usually wean off the herbs within a couple of months, by which time the body will have been re-educated as to how it should work and will continue working in that way.

If you would like to see me in my clinic, click here for more information or on the tab at the top of the page.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/Herbal Health Information

Herbal Health Information on Anxiety

Anxiety may be caused by stress, tiredness, hormone imbalance, emotional exhaustion. However, people often say they have no stress or real worries but they suffer from bouts of anxiety. Sometimes people suffer anxiety after they have been through a traumatic experience even though this is now resolved. The body may be producing too much adrenaline which is circulating around the body with nothing to do but make you feel anxious. The symptoms include feelings of anxiousness, palpitations, increased sweating and poor sleep.

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, take time out for yourself, walk away from a stressful situation and calm down before going back to face it, handing a job over to anyone else to do, get a cleaner for the housework, take a holiday. ANYTHING!

Stress is not a problem to the body, providing the body has the ability to cope with it which to be fair, we are set up to do via our Adrenal glands. I am sure you have heard of the fight or flight response which either helps you to deal with a stressful situation or get the hell out of there. When the stress is overwhelming the adrenals get exhausted and the body fails to deal with stress well.

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.

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.

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 and coffee is the very worst thing for anxiety 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.

Exercise is a wonderful anxiety buster, so go to the gym or preferably do something in the fresh air; this will help to use up any excess adrenaline circulating in the body.

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.

Valerian is  great for calming both the body and mind and I usually mix that with Skullcap which is excellent at calming the brain down so that it does not go in to those mad thought loops at night when you are trying to get off to sleep.

Don’t forget the humble Chamomile which is very gently calming and helps you get a good night’s sleep and the lime flowers we saw growing in Pevensey church yard in the Pevensey walk video.

Growing in your garden you may have:-

Borage 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 calming tea.

There are many ways of helping combat anxiety 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’Herbal Health Information

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Herbal Health Information on the Immune System and Colds

The Immune system is the body’s internal defence armoury, which protects us from the millions of germs out there. There are so many factors in modern day living which can affect our immune system, resulting in people picking up any virus going and suffering recurrent colds and coughs.

Stress, poor diet, Insomnia and any long term illness can all prevent the proper functioning of the immune system.

We really must look after ourselves. Put a bit of time and effort into YOU and the payback will be a healthier, fitter, happier, more energetic li

Diet

Breakfast

You must eat it!

Porridge/ muesli/ any wholegrain cereal/ fruit/juice. Not all at once!

Lunch

Salads or baked potato or sandwich some fruit if you didn’t have any at breakfast

Dinner

Cooked meal with some protein foods such as meat eggs or fish /pulses beans for the vegetarians or just if you like them. Fresh veg although fresh frozen will do if you are busy. Some carbohydrate such as rice potato or pasta.

Always vary it though and make sure you do not eat too much of any one thing. For example don’t eat toast for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. That’s three lots of wheat a day and the gut will not like digesting all that!

Loads of Vitamin C containing foods, which is all fruit and veg but especially citrus fruits and zinc containing foods which is oats, peas, pumpkin seeds, lentils and Oysters if you are feeling rich.

Zinc and Vit C help the body fight of viruses.

Drink water and not too much tea and coffee

Stress

Have a look at the article on stress to learn more, but briefly, make relaxation and switching off time for yourself. Dance, sing, read, watch a film, join a meditation or yoga class, anything that helps you to relax.

Exercise I can almost hear you groaning but this is really not an option. It gets the body in good shape to be able to cope with external and internal changes.

Alcohol and cigarettes also affect the immune system, so if you can reduce, it will help.

Herbs

Echinacea is the Media’s herb of choice to boost the immune system which it does by raising the white blood cell count and increases the body’s own powers of resistance. It also has the ability to stimulate Killer cells called Phagocytes, that chomp up any foreign material in the body especially bacteria.

There is a problem with Echinacea though, in that many people are taking it constantly and bacteria are cunning little devils they have the ability to adapt and become immune to anything trying to kill them off. So Echinacea should only be taken,  EITHER when you feel a cold/cough coming on to boost the immune system and help the body fight the virus or bacteria OR for short periods of time to boost the immune system generally. About three weeks taking Echinacea is enough time to boost the immune system and then let the body take over. There are many over the counter preparations of Echinacea but make sure it is a good quality preparation with a licence, meaning it has been through a rigorous testing programme.

St John’s wort and Elder Flower have directly anti viral properties and elder is my herb of choice if someone presents with recurrent colds.

Never forget Garlic. I know some people won’t touch it because of the smell but eat as much garlic as you can in your food. It is the most astounding food for all kinds of conditions in the body one of them being to boost the immune system as well as having antiviral properties. As it is breathed out through the lungs, the volatile oils sterilise everything on the way up so it is a good cough and cold remedy.

If all else fails come and visit me in clinic!

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist, herbal Health Information

View clinic details here

Herbal Health Information on Stress

I could write a book on this and I expect if you suffer from stress you would say so could you.

Anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, palpitations, tiredness, irritability, lack of confidence, feeling inadequate and I am going to stop there.

The obvious answer is change of lifestyle to remove the source of the stress, but, hey, that is in an ideal world.

The less obvious answer is to look at what you CAN change in your lifestyle even it is something small such as join a Yoga class, take time out for yourself, walk away from a stressful situation and calm down before going back to face it, can you hand a job over to anyone else to do, get a cleaner for the housework, take a holiday. ANYTHING!

Stress is not a problem to the body, providing the body has the ability to cope with it which to be fair, we are set up to do via our Adrenal glands. I am sure you have heard of the ‘fight or flight’ response which either helps you to deal with a stressful situation or get the hell out of there. When the stress is overwhelming the adrenals get exhausted and the body fails to deal with stress well.

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. Caffeine in tea and coffee is the very worst thing for stress as it increases heart rate and may cause palpitations and anxiety 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.

Exercise is a wonderful stress buster, so go to the gym or preferably do something in the fresh air.

Herbs will vary on whether it is anxiety or depression or insomnia or tiredness.

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.

Valerian is  great for calming both the body and mind and I usually mix that with Skullcap which is excellent at calming the brain down so that it does not go in to those mad thought loops at night when you are trying to get off to sleep.

Don’t forget the humble Chamomile which is very gently calming and helps you get a good night’s sleep and the lime flowers we saw growing in Pevensey church yard in the Pevensey walk video.

The adrenal glands can be supported with Ginseng, but there are lots of cautions with Ginseng

Not with tea or coffee

Not if you have high blood pressure

Never for more than three weeks at a time.

Growing in your garden you may have:-

Borage which also supports and restores the adrenals.

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 anti stress tea.

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

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist

Herbal Health Information

View Clinic Information

Yarrow/Milfoil (Achillea Millefoil)

The flowers and leaves are used which contain, flavonoids, volatile oils, lactones and alkaloids

This is the original wonder medicine. As I said in the video it does just about everything and at college, if we could not think of an answer to a question we would write “YARROW” it was bound to be right!

Yarrow

It grows so profusely on all kinds of soils and waste land that if we were ever in a situation where orthodox medicines were not available our first plant hunt would be for Yarrow.

It can stem the flow of blood from a wound, it is a diuretic and urinary antiseptic, has anti-inflammatory and anti rheumatic properties is anti viral, anti bacterial, a vasodilator(relaxes capillaries)  , digestive stimulant and protector, improves both gall bladder and liver function and is a gentle relaxant like chamomile.

I’m sure you get the picture!

Because of all these actions it is frequently used in many different mixes for digestive problems, lowering blood pressure, coughs, colds, arthritis, regulating  hormones, cystitis, stress and toning varicose veins. I’ve probably left out a few actions but I think that is enough for one plant to boast about!!!!!!

I would never be without it on my shelves.

Linda Bostock

Medical Herbalist/herbal Health Information