Hamblys

16/07/2025

16/07/2025

🌿 Herb of the Month: Meadowsweet - Filipendula ulmaria 🌿

Where Meadowsweet grows, on a warm sunny day you can’t fail to smell those medicinal constituents on the reeze, which some compare to almonds, and others Germolene!

Meadowsweet has been found in Prehistoric graves all over Europe, and has been used medicinally for as long; primarily for relieving pain, fever, diarrhoea, and in the treatment of peptic ulcers. Its anti-inflammatory effects can be accounted for by the presence of several salicylate compounds, including salicylic acid.

To read the full blog written by Jenny Carden-Porrett, visit our website: https://buff.ly/t2kMLm1

Note: When taking herbs, we recommend seeking the advice of a qualified medical herbalist.

18/06/2025

Daily consumption of Montmorency tart cherry juice significantly reduced gut inflammation and improved quality of life in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients in a small clinical trial.

Following positive clinical trials of bilberry extract in UC patients, 35 people with UC were randomly assigned to receive either placebo or a Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate (chosen for its high anthocyanin content, like bilberries), of which they drank 30 mL twice a day for 6 weeks. The primary outcome and health-related quality of life was measured via the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (IBDQ). Secondary measures included other health-related questionnaires, blood biomarkers and faecal samples.

There were significantly greater improvements in the IBDQ (improved by 9%) and the simple clinical colitis activity index in the tart cherry trial arm compared to placebo. In addition, the reduction in faecal calprotectin was significantly greater in the tart cherry trial arm compared to placebo (by 40%), although the trial groups were not well matched for this parameter, with much higher starting levels in the treated group. Blood biomarkers of inflammation were not changed, and neither were faecal microbiome measures of alpha and beta diversity.

Study co-author Lindsay Bottoms, Professor in Exercise and Health Sciences and Head of Centre for Research in Psychology and Sports at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “Montmorency tart cherries have greater anthocyanin levels than most other dark fruits, so we wanted to investigate if cherry juice supplementation had any clinical benefit in patients with mild-to-moderate colitis.”

Previous analysis has shown that 30 mL of the Montmorency tart cherry concentrate contains 9.117 mg/mL of anthocyanins, which is equivalent to eating about 100 cherries.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40003718/
and
https://scitechdaily.com/drinking-this-fruit-juice-may-cut-gut-inflammation-by-40/

21/03/2025

🧘‍♀️✨ A few last-minute spots have opened up! ✨🧘‍♂️
Feeling frazzled, overloaded, or just in need of a reset?

Join me for The Mini Stress Reset Workshop 🌿
📍 Knowle Grange Health Spa
📅 Tuesday 25th March
🕤 9.30–11am

In just 90 minutes, you’ll learn:
💛 How to calm your nervous system
🧠 Practical tools to manage stress
🌱 Small lifestyle shifts that make a big difference

✨ Includes a nourishing brunch afterwards! ✨

💷 Cost per person:
£65 (Knowle Grange members)
£75 (non-members)

📞 To book:
📱 Call: 01892 750055
📧 Email: enquiries@knowlegrange.co.uk

Tag a friend who deserves a mindful morning 💛

25/12/2024

10/12/2024

Still on the topic of chocolate, a recent clinical trial in elite athletes found that supplementation with a polyphenol-rich dark chocolate nullified the increase in gut permeability induced by intense exercise.

Gut barrier disruption can lead to enhanced intestinal permeability, which allows endotoxins, pathogens and other proinflammatory substances to move through the intestinal barrier and into local tissues and our circulation. This phenomenon is now linked to a substantial range of chronic diseases including autoimmunity and, via neuroinflammation, depression, dementia, chronic fatigue syndrome and autism, to name a few. Not surprisingly, given our recent awareness of the clinical significance of gut barrier disruption, any discovery about agents that can improve gut barrier integrity is of substantial medical significance.

Intense exercise over a prolonged period increases intestinal permeability, which can be further worsened by the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Hence intense exercise provides a useful human model to assess effects on gut barrier integrity.

The aim of this study was to assess the degree of intestinal permeability in elite football (soccer) players and to examine the effect of cocoa polyphenols on intestinal permeability induced by intensive physical exercise. Biomarkers of intestinal permeability, such as circulating levels of zonulin, a modulator of tight junctions, occludin, a tight junction protein, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) translocation, were evaluated in 24 elite football players and 23 amateur athletes. Moreover, the 24 elite football players were randomly assigned to either a dark chocolate (40 g per day, >85% cocoa) intake (n = 12) or a control group (n = 12) for 30 days in a randomised controlled trial design. Biochemical analyses were performed at baseline and after 30 days of chocolate intake.

Compared to the amateur athletes, elite football players showed increased intestinal permeability, as indicated by higher levels of zonulin, occludin and LPS. After 30 days of dark chocolate intake and intense exercise, substantially increased intestinal permeability was found in the elite athletes not consuming dark chocolate. In the active group, no changes were observed. In vitro, polyphenol extracts significantly improved intestinal damage in the human intestinal mucosa cell line Caco-2. These results suggest that chronic supplementation with dark chocolate as a rich source of polyphenols can positively modulate exercise-induced intestinal damage in elite football athletes.

The therapeutic effect was quite large. After 30 days of training, the control group showed increased levels of LPS compared to baseline (from 31.5 ± 4.8 pg/mL to 46.5 ± 5.15 pg/mL, p < 0.001). Similar large increases were seen for zonulin and occludin compared to baseline (from 2.63 ± 0.49 ng/mL to 4.65 ± 0.97 ng/mL, p < 0.001 and from 0.96 ± 1.88 ng/mL to 1.42 ± 0.37 ng/mL, p = 0.003), respectively. In contrast, the levels of LPS, zonulin and occludin did not change compared to baseline in the elite football players consuming dark chocolate for 30 days (from 29.2 ± 7.75 pg/mL to 31.7 ± 8.37 pg/mL, p = 0.561, from 3.06 ± 1.40 ng/mL to 3.50 ± 1.25 ng/mL, p = 0.150, and from 0.88 ± 0.32 ng/mL to 0.86 ± 0.37 ng/mL, p = 0.99), respectively.

For more information:
https://www.herbalgram.org/resources/herbclip/issues/2024/issue-746/dark-chocolate-reduces-gut-permeability/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37836487/

09/12/2024

It’s true, eating chocolate does make you happy! A clinical trial investigated the effects of a cocoa-rich chocolate on depression and sleep quality in menopausal women. In this triple blind, randomised clinical trial, 60 menopausal women between the ages of 45 and 65 were randomised to receive 78% dark chocolate (12 g/day) or milk chocolate with less than 2% cocoa (12 g/day) for eight weeks. The primary outcome was the depression score (Beck Depression Inventory-second edition (BDI-II)). Secondary outcomes included sleep quality and anthropometric indices.

Results showed that the mean depression score for the group receiving dark chocolate was significantly reduced, compared to the milk chocolate group (mean difference: -2.3; 95% confidence interval: -3.9 to -0.8; p = 0.003). However, no statistically significant difference in the overall sleep quality score and its subdomains was observed between the two groups after the intervention (p > 0.05). Furthermore, after the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of anthropometric indices, including weight (p = 0.075), BMI (p = 0.137), waist circumference (p = 0.463), and hip circumference (p = 0.114).

The results of this study are consistent with several others that have examined the effects of cocoa-containing products on depression or mood. In a cross-sectional study by Smith and coworkers involving 13,626 adult Americans, individuals who consumed dark chocolate were less likely to exhibit clinically relevant depressive symptoms. In a systematic review and meta-analysis by Gabbiadini and coworkers, nine clinical interventions were examined. Cocoa-rich products had a significant short-term effect on depressive symptoms. In a systematic review by Scholey and Owen, 5 out of 8 studies concluded that chocolate or its constituents positively affect mood. And finally, a clinical trial conducted by Natsume and coworkers found consuming a beverage containing cacao flavanols for eight weeks improved negative mood indicators (such as depression, fatigue, and irritability) and overall mood disturbance scores in middle-aged women.

For more information see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39397049/

09/12/2024

US researchers have discovered why taking a mushroom supplement slows or prevents prostate cancer from getting worse. Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organisations in the United States, now believe they understand why taking an investigational white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) supplement shows promise in slowing and even preventing prostate cancer from spreading among the men who joined a phase 2 clinical trial studying “food as medicine.” Looking at the preclinical and preliminary human data, scientists found that taking white button mushroom extract reduces MDSCs. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are pathologically activated immature neutrophils and immature monocytes with potent immunosuppressive activity that proliferate and expand during cancer progression and spread.

“City of Hope researchers are investigating foods like white button mushroom, grape seed extract, pomegranate, blueberries and ripe purple berries called Jamun for their potential medicinal properties. We’re finding that plant-derived substances may one day be used to support traditional cancer treatment and prevention practices,” said Shiuan Chen, senior author of the study. “This study suggests that ‘food as medicine’ treatments could eventually become normal, evidence-based cancer care that is recommended for everyone touched by cancer.”

In mouse models, researchers found that administration of white button mushroom extract significantly delayed the growth of tumours and extended the survival of mice. It also improved the T cell immune response through this reduction of MDSC levels, meaning it enhanced the immune system’s ability to kill cancer.

The researchers next profiled blood draws from some of the men participating in City of Hope’s phase 2 clinical trial. The men were under active surveillance as they took the white button mushroom supplement. Focusing on eight participants’ samples before and after three months of treatment, the scientists found that there were less tumour-creating MDSCs and more anti-tumour T and natural killer cells, suggesting the mushroom rebuilds anti-cancer immune defence and slows cancer growth.

I have maintained for some time that the use of medicinal mushrooms improves natural killer cell activity via the activation of dectin-1 receptors. This study supports that understanding and also demonstrates other favourable immune effects from mushrooms. I also advise patients to eat around 100 g of mushrooms (fresh weight) every day, in addition to their mushroom supplements. The clinical trial dose was 14 g per day of what appears to be (based on an earlier publication) the freeze-dried mushroom. This corresponds to around 140 g of fresh mushrooms, something that can be readily incorporated into the daily diet.

For more information see:
https://www.cityofhope.org/city-of-hope-researchers-discover-why-taking-a-mushroom-supplement-slows-or-prevents-prostate

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ctm2.70048