Trudy Norris FNIMH, MBACP - Herbalist, Counsellor

12/11/2025

As the light dips these Mulberry trees really did give us smile almost illuminating our way...unless the weather presents danger and we are dressed appropriately, I will work outside with people whatever the weather offers us

12/11/2025

Good morning, some interesting opportunities for volunteering in Epworth. If you enjoy being outside there is always plenty to do in the garden including the Kitchen and Physyck garden. Contact the Rectory directly if you are interested.

11/11/2025

Inbetween times I have been gathering beautiful things for the Scunthorpe Red Tent Women's Group for the Wreath workshops beginning on Friday.

I thought I would show you these super Conifercone cap shrooms

I have looked for them all season but today they decided to show themselves.

10/11/2025

A very interesting article about the (human) health impact of micro and nano plastics...something we can limit by example refilling glass bottles and using tin as your refillable water bottle rather than plastic. You might also join a community activity like a beach clean or litter picking so you are also contributing to the health of the planet.

Two recent online articles have highlighted the need for a greater awareness of the potential health benefits of reducing micro- and nanoplastic exposure. The emergence of microplastics (1 µm to 5 mm) and nanoplastics (less than 1 µm) has raised alarms about their harmful effects on human health. Nanoplastics are especially hazardous due to their smaller size and enhanced ability to infiltrate the human body.

The first article reviews a recent paper by Sarah Sajedi and colleagues, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, which examines the science around the health risks posed by single-use plastic water bottles. They are serious, she says, and seriously understudied.

In her analysis of more than 140 scientific papers, Sajedi reports that people ingest an estimated 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles each year. For those who rely on bottled water, that number climbs even higher, about 90,000 additional particles compared to people who primarily drink tap water.

According to Sajedi, the health risks are significant. Once inside the body, these small plastics can pass through biological barriers, enter the bloodstream and reach major organs. Their presence may contribute to chronic inflammation, cellular oxidative stress, hormone disruption, reproductive issues, neurological damage, and some cancers. Still, their long-term impacts are not fully understood, largely because of limited testing and the absence of standardised ways to measure and track them.

Sajedi says: “Drinking water from plastic bottles is fine in an emergency but it is not something that should be used in daily life. People need to understand that the issue is not acute toxicity—it is chronic toxicity.”

The second article in MedPage Today highlights the ubiquitous and insidious nature of micro- and nanoplastics. One of the authors (Meyer) is an emergency physician who believes it is now time to be warning patients about reducing exposure.

Teasing out the health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics requires some nuance. There is never going to be a randomised controlled trial: it is hard to conceive of a control group with no plastics exposure (given their ubiquity) and unethical to deliberately expose an experimental group to high-dose plastics. But waiting for perfect data risks ignoring an escalating health threat. Hence, much of what we know is by necessity extrapolated from animal studies and observational trials -- and there are multiple red flags.

In humans, studies are slowly emerging. In 2024, researchers followed patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy and found that those with microplastics in their plaque had a significantly higher rate of myocardial infarction, stroke or death 34 months later. More recently, decedent human brains from 2016 and 2024 were evaluated for microplastics: concentrations were significantly higher among individuals diagnosed with dementia compared to those without dementia (and plastic concentrations increased 50% from 2016 brains to 2024 brains, consistent with increasing environmental exposure). Last year, researchers at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) reviewed existing human and animal studies and found a suggestion of harm to reproductive, digestive and respiratory health in humans, as well as a possible link with colon and lung cancer.

All of this has been enough to convince Meyer that it is now time to start warning patients about microplastics. Although it would be impossible to avoid plastics altogether, there are some practical steps people can take to decrease their exposure.

To start (as per the first article), it makes sense to give up single-use plastic water bottles in favour of reusable steel or glass bottles. The water in plastic bottles has been found to contain 20 times more microplastics than tap water.

It is also a good idea to limit plastic in the kitchen, since we acquire many of our microplastics by eating and drinking them. This means using wooden cooking utensils and cutting boards over plastic ones, foil over plastic wrap, and glass food storage over plastic. If possible, avoid nonstick and plastic cookware. In situations where plastic containers are unavoidable, don't microwave food in them. And wash them by hand instead of the dishwasher, since heating plastic hastens its breakdown and chemical leaching.

At the supermarket, pack groceries in reusable cloth or paper bags, and try to avoid fruits and vegetables wrapped or packaged in plastic (admittedly challenging). And finally, limit ultraprocessed foods. Not only are they associated with increased mortality, obesity, chronic disease and malignancy, but they also come coated in plastic.

Could the demise of modern civilisation be caused by something we cannot even see?

For more information see: https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-warn-bottled-water-may-pose-serious-long-term-health-risks/
and
https://bit.ly/47TCyO3

09/11/2025

Hello and I hope you had a fine weekend. Here is our thought for the week...it is always an interesting exercise to notice what triggers us and how does it manifest? In the body, mind? both? By noticing this you are already creating an opportunity to take any healing further...

04/11/2025

'Let Food be Thy Medicine and Medicine be Thy Food' for me this means adjusting my diet to what is in season...and lovely doses of seasonal soups and salads.

A staple through the the next few months is winterslaw with pomegranate seeds and nuts all drenched with a vinigarette dressing.

Great source of soluble fibre, protein, Vitamin C (store your cabbage well), trace minerals, essential fatty acids, anthocyanins.

To make it I slice a wedge of white and red cabbage and mix with a sliced small onion (you can have a big one if you like).
Grate in 2 organic carrots (a good price because they are seasonal). Mix them up with beatiful pomegranate seeds (see previous post about pomegranate) and some chopped walnuts or pistachio.

The vinigerette I make with a qtr cup of olive oil or Yorkshire Flaxseed oil. Beat in a tablespoon of cyder vinegar, 2 tsps of english mustard (good for the circulation), pepper and any herbs you would like to add.

I keep Parsley in hanging baskets through the winter so I don't have to go all the way down to the herb patch so I always have some handy and always add some fresh. The best boost for micronutrients, iron and calcium.

I make some to eat, share and put in the fridge for a 3 day munch.

03/11/2025

I am loving this, might make it a monthly habit.

02/11/2025

Hello and how was your weekend? Sunny in Lincolnshire, bringing beauty to the smallest leaf.

For the week ahead I am posting a favourite...in Solution Focussed Therapy taking an approach of 'what if' , (for example you did try something), what might it feel like, be like, look like can be a powerful tool for change in some situations...

So in the week ahead where you notice resistance in your mind or body (for something you would like to do), try 'what if I did x'.

30/10/2025

Hello to you all as the light is dropping. I am so pleased I managed an hour in the garden today. Both the garden and I benefited!

I often seek out the garden when I have some thinking to do.

High on the priority/excited list is planning the 'Nature's Wellness Tools for Winter' workshop being held at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre on November 22nd.

When I am planning something I tend to use 'Start with the end in mind' what do people want from the workshop, what will make a difference to them, which tools are they most interested in (plants, food, nutrition, sleep, pain, mood, SAD, .....etc) so if I see you I may ask you what would be most important for you if you attended the workshop (I think all of the above?).

So as I snipped, pulled, admired, sowed (onions)...the garden helped me to take my planning forward.

I will be taking with me food, herbs, plants, plant extracts, oils activities....

Today though, I harvested some really lovely Jerusalem Artichokes. These have grown particularly well this year and I love their colour as well as their taste.

These tuberous plants are part of the Sunflower family (and have a beautiful flower). They are very easy to grow! (in a garden or a large pot).
Like their cousins (such as Elecampane) they are rich in inulin which has a prebiotic action.
They are a reasonable source of Iron and Vit C although the Vit C is water soluble so get that from things like chickweed and uncooked green leafy veg.

Artichokes will keep well in the ground or in a cool place. My favourite way to cook is to roast, they are also yummy in soup.

Let Food be Thy Medicine and Medicine be Thy Food....have a lovely evening and evening meal.

29/10/2025

I am sharing my own midweek pick me up today which was a lovely days training at Far Ings nature reserve.

As a Counsellor and Horticultural therapist I know the added benefit of working outside with people, increasing their sense of connection with nature (as well as my own).

We explored all sorts of ways we can enhance our own connection and others. From mindfulness to pond dipping....we shared and learnt a lot.

I am feeling happy!

27/10/2025

What an interesting read. S***m health as a very important bench mark for wellbeing. Another form of dis - ease impacting western civilisations.

S***m quality has steadily declined over the past 50 years. Between 1973 and 2011, the global s***m concentration and total s***m count decreased significantly. This decline was most pronounced in Western countries, with a reduction in the total s***m count of almost 60%.

Marina Urbanietz’s August 2025 Medscape article, What Your S***m Says About You, offers a concise review of selected studies on how supplements and lifestyle can influence s***m parameters, drawing on a recent paper in a Nature journal.

Semen analysis not only provides information on fertility but also offers insights into the overall health. The cited paper reported that s***m quality can significantly improve with basic lifestyle and dietary changes.

The study, led by Hannah Lyons, a researcher at the Robinson Research Institute and School of Biomedicine at the University of Adelaide attributed the s***m count decline to multiple factors.

These include chronic conditions such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenol A, cadmium, dioxins, and lead, and heat exposure.

Lifestyle factors, including certain medications, substance use, poor diet, and physical inactivity, can impair s***m production by disrupting hormonal regulation, damaging testicular cells, and increasing oxidative stress due to elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

High ROS levels can damage s***m DNA, compromise the membrane integrity, and reduce s***m motility. Established risk factors include smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, drug abuse and excessive exercise.

S***m quality can recover more rapidly than previously believed. In a study of 132 men with fertility issues, a 3-month micronutrient regimen, including L-carnitine (440 mg), L-arginine (250 mg), zinc (40 mg), vitamin E (120 mg), glutathione (80 mg), selenium (60 µg), coenzyme Q10 (15 mg), and folic acid (800 µg), significantly improved semen parameters. Volume, s***m concentration, progressive motility, total motility, and morphology increased by 33.3%, 215.5%, 93.1%, 36.4%, and 23.0%, respectively (all P < 0.001). No improvements were observed in healthy individuals (n = 73).

In the 6 months following the intervention, the pregnancy rate among the partners of the participating men was also recorded. More pregnancies occurred in the intervention group (25.8%) than in the healthy group (15%). Although this study had some limitations, including age differences and limited risk factor data, two additional trials supported these findings. The researchers concluded that micronutrients may restore s***m production within 3 months.

A 2021 study by Markus Lipovac, PhD, also at the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide, and colleagues, evaluated 339 men who received the same micronutrient supplements along with lifestyle changes. These include a healthy diet, regular exercise, and reduced smoking and alcohol consumption.

Of these, 162 men received supplements and lifestyle guidance, whereas 177 followed lifestyle and dietary modifications. After 6 months, s***m DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and pregnancy rates were assessed. In the supplement group, DFI decreased from 10.48 to 6.51 overall and from 20.39 to 9.93 in men with DFI > 15% (P < .001). Pregnancy rates were higher with supplements: 27.78% vs 15.25% overall and 41.30% vs 22.86% in men with DFI > 15%.

The limitations of this study include missing demographic data, lack of randomisation, and lack of information on the extent of lifestyle changes.

Semen analysis may reflect the overall health of men, not just their fertility. Men with infertility or abnormal semen are at a higher risk for hospitalisation and early death. For example, men with infertility had a 26% higher risk for death (95% CI, 1.01-1.59), and men with oligo- or azoos***mia had a 67% higher risk (risk ratio, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.26-2.21) than those with normal s***m counts.

Abnormal s***m parameters often reflect poor health or disease and are linked to a higher risk for cancer. Studies have shown that men with infertility have an increased risk for prostate and testicular cancer.

For more information see: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/what-your-s***m-says-about-you-2025a1000kve?ecd=wnl_tp10_daily_250807_MSCPEDIT_etid7624212&uac=48709HJ&impID=7624212
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40481278/
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34184957/