Jan 112020
 

I’ve been sending out lots of detox and liver support herbal tonics this month, for people who are doing either dry January, or Veganuary – and a few determined individuals who are doing both!

Herbal liver detox for dry January and Veganuary by Deanne Greenwood Medical HerbalistToxic overload

Everyone knows that alcohol takes its toll on the liver, and so too do animal products. Meat and dairy products from animals that have been intensively reared are loaded with antibiotics, hormones and toxins from commercial animal feeds. Even pasture-raised, free range animals are subject to toxic overload, as toxins in the environment (grass/air), such as dioxins (which imitate and therefore disrupt hormone function), collect in fatty tissue (of animals and the humans that consume them!)

Herbal detox

As well as the non-consumption of alcohol and animal products, the other thing you can do to help optimise liver function and detox the body, is to take a herbal tonic. It’s best to do the whole diet and lifestyle thing at the same time, as herbs work best when we are supporting the body in other ways. The less challenges the herbs have to contend with, the easier it is for them to do what they do best. Which is help the body to cleanse and rebalance itself, achieve and maintain the best possible state of health.

Love your liver

My herbal detox tonic contains milk thistle (well known for its liver-cleansing capabilities), globe artichoke (liver and kidney support, and helps reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels), and schisandra berry (a fantastic liver herb which herbalists use for acute and chronic liver disease and chemical damage; it’s also what we call a ‘nervine’, so it helps to relieve stress and anxiety, basically calming the nervous system), rosemary (also improves circulation, mental alertness and memory), and barberry (a ‘bitter’ renowned for improving digestive function).

Quality assurance

My herbal detox tonic is made from concentrated liquid extracts of these medicinal plants. They are far more potent than anything you can buy over-the-counter. And they are from reliable, professional sources. The rosemary is cultivated and distilled by myself, on my own land on the Lizard peninsula in beautiful, rural Cornwall.

How to order

If you’d like a bottle, it’s £10 +£5 p&p for a 10-day supply (100ml), £20 + £5 p&p for 20-day supply (200ml). I will need to ask you a few general health questions before dispensing, regarding any health issues, including allergies, you may have, and any medication currently taking.

Please email me at deannegreenwood@me.com to order or for further details.

Dec 122014
 

The health of the nation!White willow (Salix alba) is a renowned herbal anti-inflammatory and painkiller used in herbal medicine. It is a herb medical herbalist Deanne Greenwood often uses in her practices in Falmouth, Helston and Penzance in Cornwall.

The Health Survey for England published this week revealed that almost half the population is taking some form of prescribed medication, ie I in 2 people. This doesn’t include over-the-counter medication such as painkillers, laxatives, sleeping tablets and antacids, and the contraceptive pill. Imagine what the figure would be if it did! Also, more than a fifth of men and nearly a quarter of women are taking at least three prescriptions.

Multi prescriptions

Earlier this week a neighbour told me that her father had just returned home after a brief stay in hospital. He’d become increasingly incapacitated, physically and mentally, she explained, and so the hospital had decided to withdraw all his medication (a very long list!) to try to get to the bottom of it. He was soon feeling a lot better, and the conclusion was that it had been the medication that had been making him ill.

Statins and painkillers

None of this comes as any surprise to me. Nor will it to any herbalist or holistic practitioner, I would imagine. We see so many patients who have been on a catalogue of drugs for many years – statins, anti-inflammatories, painkillers, antihypertensives, thyroid medication and antidepressants are common – often including medication to relieve the side effects of other medication they are taking.

Alternative approaches

These patients often feel that their prescribed medication is not helping, and sometimes is making them feel worse, and they are looking for an alternative approach to dealing with their health problems.

Herbal medicine

Herbal medicine, coupled with quite simple and straightforward dietary and lifestyle advice, can help. Sometimes it can go all the way, and help people resolve their health problems so that they no longer need to take medication. In other instances, it can help reduce a person’s reliance on prescription drugs, so that they are able to take fewer and lower dosage drugs, and hugely improve their state of health and quality of life. It also helps people take control of their own health and lives, instead of just trotting down to the pharmacy clutching their repeat prescription.

Willow v aspirin

In herbal medicine there are thousands of plants with many different therapeutic properties and actions, including anti-inflammatories, anti-hypertensives, antidepressants and analgesics. But each and every one of them contains a myriad of other constituents, too, that all work together to support the body as a whole and help it heal. Without causing other problems. For example, White willow (Salix alba) is a renowned herbal anti-inflammatory and analgesic. (See About Herbal Medicine for more information.) In fact, aspirin was originally synthesised from willow. But by extracting the active constituent of the plant, salicylic acid, and creating a chemical version known as acetylsalicylic acid, some of the healing power of the plant was lost. Hence, perhaps, the fact that aspirin can have rather unpleasant side effects such as internal bleeding and stomach ulcers, whereas taking the original herbal version does not.

Hormonal help

There are also many plants that can help rebalance hormones and relieve gynaecological problems such as PMS, fertility and conception issues, PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis, menopausal symptoms. I believe that the contraceptive pill/implant is often at the root of, and also a contributory factor in, many of these health problems, as well as others such as some autoimmune disorders. Stopping using hormonal contraception is usually helpful, but often not enough to resolve the problem, and a natural approach incorporating herbal medicine, diet and lifestyle factors is needed to bring this finely tuned body system back into balance and optimum function.

The cost of mass medication

Going back to the Health Survey for England, the cost of all these prescriptions for last year alone was over £15 billion. Who benefits? The drug manufacturers, big fat global conglomerate businesses…

 

Oct 312014
 

An apple a day…Whole apples and cloudy apple juice can reduce total cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels, a study conducted last year has revealed. Other foods that can help include turmeric, globe artichoke and garlic, all of which are used in tincture and tablet form in herbal medicine.

Eating apples, or drinking cloudy apple juice (full of fibre and antioxidants), has been shown to significantly reduce both LDL (aka ‘bad’) cholesterol and Total Cholesterol levels in a study (randomized, single-blind, cross-over) conducted last year. Clear apple juice (much lower amounts of fibre and antioxidants) resulted in an increase in LDL and Total Cholesterol.

Garlic, artichoke and turmeric…

Other foods that are great for helping manage cholesterol levels include garlic, globe artichoke and turmeric. I also use them in tincture or tablet form as part of a herbal medicine prescription. And there are so many other herbs that can help problems associated with high cholesterol such as high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

For more information…

If you’re worried about your cholesterol and would like to find out more about how herbal medicine can help, please get in touch with me.