Cornwall Herbal Clinic

14/11/2025

Looking forward to sessions on integrative oncology, ethnopharmacology and how herbal medicine can empower community health at the National Institute of Medical Herbalists conference today. Not to mention meeting up with herbal colleagues!

03/11/2025

Autumn reading. Time to turn inwards. Rest. Nourish body and mind.

02/11/2025

I'm pretty sure that this little seedling is Valeriana officinalis. At this stage, it's so different from the mature plant, which has deeply toothed leaves.

I'm still getting to know Valeran. I put in it sleep mixes to promote relaxation, and it is helpful. It has such a deep and distinctive aroma (not everyone's cuppa tea) that I'm sure it has lots more to offer.

What have you discovered about Valerian?

25/10/2025

Sometimes plants tell a story.
These two work really well together for certain respiratory problems.

Look at the Elecampane (with the big leaves) and nestling in the middle, self seeded, Greater mullein.

Mullein soothes irritation, loosens and expels mucus.Elecampane also helps clear congestion and is an antimicrobial, warming lung tonic. A clever pairing.

24/10/2025

A hot ginger and lemon drink is really warming after a dog walk, sea swim or even a winter wander around town. It's much more than a nice taste though. I've just peeled and chopped a kilo of root, which is now steeping in a kilner jar, for herbal prescriptions. Ginger helps with many functions; digestion, circulation, inflammation, respiration, reducing nausea and pain, to name a few. It's also a herbal "'kicker" , directing and supporting the actions of other herbs. Ginger contains interesting constituents including a group of molecules called gingerols and shogaols. Link in comments.

22/10/2025

Reducing exposure to environmental toxins will help your health. Take a look under the sink or in the bathroom cupboard. Are there products with strong fragrances, chlorine bleach, formaldehyde and quaternary ammonium compounds?

Some of these not only cause respiratory problems and headaches but can lead to reduced cognitive performance in later life.

You can swap these products for safer alternatives. Damp dust with a microfiber cloth, use baking soda on hobs, hydrogen peroxide if you need to disinfect. Avoid spraying - apply solutions directly into cloths. Ventilate the room when cleaning.

During a consultation, we look at all issues that potentially affect your health. I help you make positive changes so you start to feel better.

As cooler weather draws us indoors, it’s a good time to look more closely at the products we use to keep our homes clean.

17/10/2025

An in depth consultation recently made me reflect on how well herbalists vs G.P.s know their patients.

My GP is excellent but I'm just the 60+ woman she sees in the consulting room. She doesn't know how I live, with whom, what I do for a living, what I eat, how I sleep, my digestion, my health history, family history or what I do for fun.

The nine minutes doesn't allow for any of that. Unlike the family GP of my mum's generation. So it's a case of "try this and come back if it doesn't help".

A herbal consultation is quite different and the time we spend always reveals important detail that helps inform an effective treatment plan.

16/10/2025

Hot red firecrackers in my garden! It's the stunning pineapple sage. Flowering in autumn, it makes a hot red statement in a border.

Historically, pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) was utilised in traditional Mexican medicine as a therapeutic remedy, particularly for alleviating anxiety, digestive disorders, and symptoms of respiratory illness.

It's known as "hierba de la mujer alegre" the herb of the happy woman.

15/10/2025

Welcome to new followers! Rachel Blyth, Lisa Macfarlane, Barbara Hosker, Donna Pascoe, Susan Thea Slack, Amorette Frances, Lynne Spencer
My posts are a little window into the daily life of a herbalist. Growing, harvesting, medicine making and occasional articles about interesting research and the conditions that I see in my clinic.
Dandelion pictured here, is one of my top ten prescribed plants.

10/10/2025

"Oh dear, oh dear, I shall be too late!' said the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.
Happily, the berries were still plentiful when I went out this morning. I collected enough to last the year.
Much has been written about hawthorn's actions on the cardiovascular system but herbalist and doctor Rudolph Weiss (1988) sums it up "The main indications for Crateagus are ageing hearts, hypertensive hearts and cardiac arrhythmias, mainly extrasystoles" and it's "completely safe for long term use".