HRT shortage shock horror!

Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, HRT, In the news, Menopause, Natural HRT No Responses »

Aug 242019

National media was today proclaiming the shocking news that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is being rationed in the UK until 2020, due to short supply!

For many women taking HRT, this news is likely to send the number of hot flushes, and any other symptoms they are experiencing, sky rocketing, as stress and anxiety are major exacerbators of symptoms associated with menopause. And that’s before they are forced to curtail their dosage.

Medical professionals are ‘demanding that the government take action’, and the British Menopause Society are providing updates on stock supplies of the various brands of HRT….

Yet among all the scaremongering, I have seen scant reassurance for women that this isn’t the end of the world, and that there are alternatives.

So I’d like to point out that:

Women going through menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, don’t actually need HRT. Our bodies drastically reduce oestrogen production at this time, because we don’t need so much of it any more. Therefore it doesn’t need replacing. In fact, much research and opinion indicates that replacing natural hormones that our bodies no longer naturally produce, with synthetic versions, can be harmful. Logically and rationally, that makes sense to me.
There are natural ‘alternatives’ to helping you through the sometimes difficult menopausal transition. There are many medicinal plants, used by Medical Herbalists such as myself, that can help support the body and re-establish balance so that it gradually adjusts to the next phase of life with minimal trauma. And there are specific plants which can help relieve specific symptoms of the menopause, without causing harm. These are usually most effective when used in combination with other medicinal plants/herbs. The choice of herbs should be based on the individual, and is best made by a qualified Medical Herbalist for optimal results.
Diet and lifestyle can make a huge difference to a woman’s transition through menopause.
For further info and help, please visit my website, deannegreenwood.com and/or my sister website, www.naturalhelpformenopause.uk

Here’s my latest testimony from a patient I helped through menopause. I have many others, some of which appear on my website:

“I was referred to Deanne after feeling generally exhausted, anxious and depressed. I was amazed how thorough our first appointment was. I realised that the hot flushes, night sweats resulting in poor sleep and anxiety, which I’d been trying to cope with for several years, were all part of the menopause – and that there is a herbal solution. I didn’t want to take HRT or similar drugs, so the symptoms had been gradually exhausting me. It took several weeks, but the herbal medicine reduced my anxiety and hot flushes, helping me to have a better night’s sleep. After a year of taking the herbal medicine, I’ve now been off it 6 months, my menopause symptoms have gone. I only wish I’d gone to see Deanne years before, when the symptoms first started. It would have saved years of exhaustion.”

Tracey, 58 years

the Poison Garden

Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, poisonous plants, toxic plants No Responses »

Jul 092019

So just for a change, I thought I’d write about an extremely poisonous plant growing in my garden.

Monkshood

This deceptively beautiful plant is called monkshood (Aconitum napellus). Also known as wolfsbane, devil’s helmet, queen of poisons – and aconite. The poison is concentrated in the root. It’s a potent and fast-acting neurotoxin and cardiotoxin, so symptoms (prior to death!) include blurred vision, tremors and seizures, cardiac arrest – that sort of thing. It’s said to have been used by many ancient civilisations and tribes, from the Romans to tribes in China, Japan and India, often to poison the tips of spears and arrows. The name wolfsbane is said to originate from it being used to kill wolves.

Murder!

There are many tales of it poisoning people. However, according to The Poison Garden website, the only well-established case of murder with aconite was in 1881 when a doctor poisoned his brother-in-law. But there have been a few documented cases of accidental death and murder from ingesting it in the 21st century!

Aconite cream

Aconite, as it is best known to herbalists and homeopaths, does have therapeutic properties. It may be used externally, in a cream or ointment, for painful conditions such as rheumatism, sciatica and neuralgia. It’s safe to take orally in homeopathic form (homeopathic tinctures and tablets contain only a ‘memory’ of a substance). When using it as a cream, certain precautions need to be taken, like not using it on broken skin.

Wildflower garden

I only cultivate monkshood because it is such a stunning plant, you’ll be pleased to know – as you can see in the photo. This year, I have planted wildflower seed all around it, and can’t wait to see what other colours are going to pop up around it. (I’ll post photos when they do!)

Spring detox

cleavers, Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, Foraging, herbal detox, Herbal home remedies, Home herbal remedies, Lizard Herbs, lymphatic herb, Making Tincures No Responses »

Apr 222019

Hi! I have been a bit off grid, due to moving house – to somewhere wild and beautiful, and bursting with medicinal plants – hence no herbals posts for a while. But today I gathered my first crop of the season from the garden – loads of lush cleavers (Galium aparine) that literally wrapped itself around me. (It’s very sticky – aka ‘sticky willy’; also goosegrass!)

Oh how I love this plant for its detoxifying and immune-boosting properties. Perfect for a herbal spring detox.

Preparing herbal medicines

Bees and medicinal plants, Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, Foraging, Hay fever, Herbal home remedies, Home herbal remedies, Making Tincures No Responses »

Jun 132018

Foraging

This is my favourite time of year with regard to all things herbal. For the next few months I will be very busy indeed, with all the lush medicinal plants that are sprouting up everywhere in a glorious and wild profusion of colour and aroma.

When the plants are in their optimum state for harvesting, and the weather conditions are right, I’ll be off gathering what I need to create potent herbal tinctures.

Hot, sunny mornings

Typically, I’ll be waiting for a hot sunny day, which will first take the morning dew off the plants, and then bring the therapeutic saps and oils to the surface of the leaves and flowers. I try to get out late morning, before the day gets too hot and the plants, and I, start to wilt a little.

Elder flowers

Recently, I’ve gathered fluffy heads of elder flowers and spread some of them out to dry on racks above the boiler in my boot room. The heady scent they give off is quite intoxicating – especially when I first open the boot room door in the morning. I’ll use the resultant dried plant, mixed with similarly dried peppermint and yarrow, to make a herbal tea which is the absolute best for colds and flu as it makes you sweat, as well as having lots of other therapeutic properties.

I am also macerating some of the elder flower heads in diluted organic grain alcohol to make a tincture (takes about two weeks) that I often use for prophylactic treatment of hay fever – mixed with other herbs, such as eyebright and nettle.

My fingers were stained nicotine yellow after harvesting the elder – not a good look for a health practitioner!

Nettle

The nettle – gathered when it was heavy with seed heads, is also currently in maceration.

Sage & Rosemary

From the allotment, I’ve harvested pungent sage – bravely fending off the fat bumblebees that were buzzing all round the purple flowers on the sage and didn’t take kindly to me chopping down their nectar supply – and rosemary, of which I have several large bushes.

My fingers and nails this time were engrained with a thick layer of brown and green oils. (At this time of year, I often have to explain to patients that my disgusting looking nails are not the result of having just done an oil change!)

St John’s wort

Next on the agenda is St John’s wort, which is said to flower on June 24^th – St John’s Day, hence the name. Today (June 13^th) the rather large bush in my garden has one fully opened flower, and many buds, so I’m hoping it will be in full flower pretty much bang on target!

Lemon balm, Meadowsweet & Yarrow

And so many more still to do – lemon balm, meadowsweet and yarrow being a few of my favourites.

Healing energy

It is such a rewarding practice, because the herbal medicines I prepare myself are always the very best, most potent in my dispensary. You can smell and taste the vibrancy and healing energy in them.

Spirit of Plants and People

That is not to say the herbal medicines I buy in from accredited suppliers in other parts of the country, who also grow many of their own plants, aren’t of the highest quality and therapeutic efficacy – it’s just that I feel home-prepared have the edge. Partly because the sole herbalist is better able to harvest at the absolute optimum time, but mainly because, I believe, the spirit of the person who picks and prepares medicinal plants infuses into the plant and gives the medicine an extra power and energy.

Hence always gathering and preparing herbal medicines with respect, love and gratitude.

Herbs To Help You Lose Weight

Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, weight loss No Responses »

Jul 142017

By Deanne Greenwood, Medical Herbalist, BSc (Hons) Herb Med

Gymnema sylvestre is a plant that helps balance blood sugar levels

Gymnema sylvestre is a medicinal plant that actually anaesthetises the taste buds in the mouth, reducing sugar cravings and helping balance blood sugar levels

Herbal medicine can help you lose weight and stay slim. But it’s not a magic bullet. It works in conjunction with a healthy diet, exercise and lifestyle.

Efficient metabolism of food

In herbal medicine there are many medicinal plants, aka herbs, used to optimise gut function. These herbs help us digest and metabolise food efficiently, and to excrete toxins and other unwanted matter so that they don’t accumulate in the body, making us feel bloated and sluggish. They do this by stimulating the flow and correct balance of gastric juices, helping to regulate bowel movements, urine output and blood sugar levels, and by supporting the immune system – 80 per cent of which is in our gut!

All this has the knock-on effect of making us feel great, full of energy and enthusiasm – which makes it a lot easier to take regular exercise and adopt a new eating regime.

The ‘feel-good’ factor

There are herbs we use to help balance our emotional and psychological state, clear the skin, ease aches and pains, help us sleep, all of which boost our emotional wellbeing – the ‘feel-good’ factor – which gives us added incentive to look after and love our bodies.

When we’re feeling low, this affects our physical health; when we’re feeling happy and enthusiastic, our physical wellbeing is boosted. Mind and body are inextricably linked.

Successful dieting

Anyone who has been on a diet or to a slimming club will know that if you see the recommended changes in diet and lifestyle as a hardship, something that makes you feel miserable, you’re unlikely to achieve your aim; but when you embrace these changes as an enjoyable way of eating and living your life, the desired effects are easier to achieve and maintain.

A holistic approach

Herbal medicine is ‘holistic’. That is, it supports the whole body to achieve optimum health. If you have a consultation with a herbalist, he or she is likely to give you a ‘tonic’ made up of a combination of herbs that will help your body rebalance and energise itself on a physical and emotional level.

You are unique

Herbal medicine also works on an individual basis. To be most effective, you need herbs based on your particular body type, your unique physical and emotional state. We are all different.

The power of herbs

Herbal medicine may not be a magic bullet, but make no mistake, it has very powerful, and scientifically proven, actions.

For more information about herbal medicine, visit www.deannegreenwood.com

Foraging For Food and Medicine

dandelion leaf, Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, Foraging, Healing places, Herbal home remedies, Home herbal remedies, In the news, Lizard Herbs, Self-help No Responses »

May 042017

Wild foraging

I do loads of foraging for medicinal plants to make herbal remedies, but also to add to salads and use in cooking. Yesterday, I’d run out of garlic, so dug up some Three-cornered Leeks, which are all over The Lizard (southernmost point of England) at the moment, used the bulbs in my cooking and the lovely white flowers to decorate (and munch on because they’re as tasty as they are pretty). Another favourite to add a lemony zest to salads is sorrel – the young leaves are particularly succulent in the Spring.

Urban foraging

You don’t have to live in a rural area to forage, though. This week, there was a wonderful photo feature in the online Guardian about foraging courses being run in different parts of the country, including urban areas such as London! It turns out one of the joint course leaders, Alex Laird, is a medical herbalist I did work experience with at The Haven Breast Cancer Care centre, when I was a student. She is an amazing teacher and guide. So if you fancy doing a bit of foraging, I’d encourage you to check out this Guardian feature here and/or visit the Foraging Courses website here .

Kirsty Wark: The Menopause and Me

black cohosh, Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist, early menopause, HRT, Menopause, Natural HRT, perimenopause, Self-help No Responses »

Apr 232017

Medical herbalist Deanne Greenwood gets cross about HRT HOW EXCITED I was to discover that there was going to be a documentary style programme about menopause on prime time TV, led by notable journalist and current affairs broadcaster Kirsty Wark. HOW DISAPPOINTED I was to discover that the programme was little more than an acknowledgement that the menopause is something all women go through, that it isn’t talked about enough, and that your best option for managing the symptoms is probably HRT unless you want to try wearing a little magnet in your knickers.

Menopausal symptoms

It neither explored why women experience the many varied symptoms that they do, or why some suffer far more symptoms, of widely differing intensity, than others (there is a lot more to it than simply a drop in oestrogen levels!), or what they can do about it. Apart from taking HRT or inserting a magnet into their knickers. I’m not knocking said magnet, by the way, as it is something I have no experience of and my feeling is that if the woman who talked about it in the programme found it helpful, and that her hot flushes were reduced, and she didn’t feel the need to take HRT, then it can only be a good thing. But I am knocking the fact that this was the only alternative to HRT mentioned in the programme.

Herbs for menopause

What about herbal medicine, for example, for which there is considerable supporting scientific evidence, not to mention female personal experience, to vouch for it. Or what an incredible difference diet and lifestyle changes can make. It was mentioned almost in passing – as the programme participants baked and scoffed an array of cakes and pastries – that a healthy diet was helpful. No mention of the damage refined sugar and saturated fat can do to our hormonal system, stress levels, BMI etc, though. And it was stressed that smoking and excess alcohol were bad. But there is so much more to be said (an understatement if ever there was one!). Starting with ‘What is a healthy diet?’ It’s astounding how many patients I see who believe they have one, but when we take a close look, it is not that healthy at all. It may be healthier than the diets of other people they know, but it is a long way from optimum nutrition.

Phyto-oestrogens

When it comes to diet and menopause, it’s important to consider, for example, foods containing substances called phyto-oestrogens, which can help reduce menopausal symptoms including hot flushes and night sweats, vaginal dryness and low bone density. Phyto-oestrogens are found in soy products, legumes (beans, peas & lentils), nuts, seeds (particularly flaxseed), grains, berries and other fruits. And to be aware that the body’s response to hormones is controlled by prostaglandins, which are derived from essential fatty acids found in oily fish, seeds and seed oils such as flaxseed and extra virgin olive oil.

Hot flushes

Hot flushes – one of the most common symptoms complained about by perimenopausal women – were discussed in Kirsty Wark: The Menopause and Me a lot, joint pain and osteoporosis, mood swings, sexual problems and insomnia were touched on. Specific dietary and lifestyle approaches can make a huge difference to all these complaints, especially when combined with herbal remedies.

Black cohosh

Herbal medicine works on an individual basis, because we are all different and we all experience symptoms and health problems for different reasons, warranting a bespoke mix of different herbs. To mention a few: Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) often works particularly well in helping to relieve hot flushes and night sweats, and also helps maintain bone mineral density and protect against osteoporosis; Chaste berry (Vitex agnus castus) is a renowned hormone balancer, but can also influence melatonin levels and sleep patterns. There are many other herbs with similar properties and effects, and the key to success is finding the right herb, or usually combination of herbs, for the individual.

Anxiety and insomnia

Medicinal plants have scientifically proven therapeutic properties and actions, btw. We have herbs that are anti-hydrotics and so can help alleviate hot flushes; sedatives to help with anxiety and insomnia; stimulants to boost energy levels; herbs to help maintain bone density and strength, boost memory and concentration. There are also herbs that make excellent tonics for mucous membranes and are used in ointments, creams and pessaries to help lubricate and plump up vaginal tissue… The list goes on.

Natural HRT

And there are herbs that contain the aforementioned phyto-oestrogens found in many common foodstuffs, which act on the oestrogen receptors in our bodies. They are sometimes referred to as the natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

Menopause Matters

I was disappointed that Dr Heather Currie, chair of the British Menopause Society and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary in Scotland, didn’t stress the importance of diet and lifestyle issues. Although she is an advocate of HRT, as the editor of the Menopause Matters website and magazine she regularly features articles on natural approaches to managing menopause, and has run one written by me about herbal medicine.

HRT benefits

It was a pity that the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), in the short and long term, weren’t examined in more depth, or an alternative viewpoint to its use provided. The Women’s Health Initiative – a series of clinical trials and observational study looking at HRT and involving over 160,000 post-menopausal women – was quickly dismissed and we were told that the current view is that the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks, for most women. (I agree that this may be the case for women who have had an early or ‘unnatural’ menopause, by the way.)

HRT risks

Our hormones don’t need replacing, they need balancing. And I am quite sure that HRT will eventually prove to be a big and very harmful mistake. I have followed all the arguments over the years for and against the safety of HRT, with past ‘evidence’ being contradicted, and new ‘evidence’ being brought to light, and feel strongly that nobody really knows the truth. Yet.

Natural menopause

If, as the Kirsty Wark: The Menopause and Me programme agreed, menopause is a natural and normal process, then why seek to subvert it? Trying to change the course of nature invariably leads to problems. Much better to work with nature, harness and feel rejuvenated by its power.

If you’d like to find out more about this ‘alternative’ viewpoint, please visit www.naturalhelpformenopause.uk

Bee happy, bee proactive…

Deanne Greenwood Medical Herbalist No Responses »

May 112016

As a herbalist, I am passionate about protecting and nurturing plants, many of which have medicinal properties. Bees are essential to this, and I have been an avid supporter of the drive to ban bee-harming pesticides by the likes of Friends of the Earth. Bee on echinacea

This has resulted in the EU ‘restricting’ the use of three neonicotinoid insecticides because of the risk to the bees. Courtesy of Friends of the Earth, I’m delighted to spread the word that, despite the National Farmers Union predicting that the ban would cause major problems for growing oilseed rape, last year’s figures reveal that rapeseed yields were actually higher than in 2014.

This totally supports the call for a permanent ban on these pesticides. Which is why it’s important that everyone who cares about and appreciates the value of bees, buzzes their local MP to support a total ban on bee-harming pesticides. It’s really easy to do: just go to bit.ly/neonicban. Pleeezzz……

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