Andrea Hughes Medical Herbalist- Functional Medicine

24/12/2025

Seasons Greetings to you all & many thanks for your support throughout 2025.

Wishing you all a wonderful festive season and a very healthy, herby 2026!

I am back to Herba Medica for Clinic & Dispensing on the 5th January ~ see you then!!

Bright Blessings,
Andrea ###

09/12/2025

I've got 8 bottles of Elderberry Elixir, for those who ordered I'll be in touch regarding collection or post

22/11/2025

This was a bit of a shocker for me today, as it may be for you.. but consumer reports are there to do this kind of work..

Heavy metals in your dark chocolate??

This report lists the safer and unsafe brands.. I was surprised to see 3 very common brands in there.. a lot of them I don't actually know or eat, thankfully...

We cannot detoxify these heavy metals and they mess up our methylation, which basically impacts everything..

Consumer Reports tested 28 dark chocolate bars and found cadmium and lead in all of them. Here's how to limit your heavy metal exposure.

16/11/2025

The large jar at the back is the Elderberry Elixir... It'll probably be ready in a couple of weeks. I'll be in touch with those who expressed interest in buying some.

I also have some raw honey/ginger ferment and a fermented beetroot/rosemary drink just made today.
Although these are for us and not for sale, they're easy enough to make at home x

15/11/2025

Today's learning - Nutrigenomics and Alzheimer's disease.

There are 3 types:

Hot (Inflammatory)
An up-regulated immune system can increase
inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular
disease, insulin resistance, arthritis and the 'hot'
sub-type of Alzheimer's disease.
Variants on APOE, TNF (Tumour Necrosis Factor)
and IFN-gamma (Interferon Gamma) genes can
up-regulate carriers' immune and inflammatory
response.

Cold (Atrophic)
The 'cold' sub-type of Alzheimer's is associated
with reduced support from hormones - thyroid
(T3), adrenal (cortisol), s*x hormones (oestrogen,
progesterone, testosterone) - and Vitamin D, and
is often accompanied by increased
homocysteine (see Methylation) and insulin
resistance.

ile (Toxic)
The 'toxic' sub-type of Alzheimer's disease is
atypical, partly in that it occurs at a younger age,
with no family history,
It is characterised by hypothalamic-pituitary-
adrenal axis (HPA) disfunction, metal toxicity
(mercury, lead or iron), high homocysteine and
low zinc (and elevated copper) and/ or chronic
inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) - a
reaction to mycotoxins (found in mould).
The GST (Glutathione S-Transferase) family of
genes play an important part in detoxification
and individual responses to these toxins.

30/10/2025

Well, that was a bad one! It takes a lot to put me in bed and I stayed there for 2 days.

This little group of herbal medicines pulled me through, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Copious cups of Cinnamon and Ginger tea, each with a spoon full of elderberry elixir and 10 drops of the 1860 cough drops as well as the beautiful decongestant chest rub made with essential oils.

I woke up this morning and took the dogs for an hour long walk in beautiful sunshine over the fields.

I'm still not 100% so won't be back to consultations until Monday, but so grateful to be out of bed!

I'm thinking everyone should have a little kit for winter, the elixir does need a few weeks to macerate so if anyone is interested I'd need to know in advance...so do get in touch if you would like a winter medicine kit

26/10/2025

I have the leurgy... and I feel awful... Sore throat, headache, painful sinuses, body aches, chills...

I'm at home but I have some items in my kitchen as well as my beautiful elderberry elixir, which as you can see, I have been dipping into.

Honestly, what do people do without herbs!!

So.. ingredients of my potion:

A k**b of ginger, sliced, in a pan with a cinnamon stick and cold water. Simmer for 10 minutes.
A spoon of elixir and a spoon of honey.

Drink hot... ad lib.. probably doing about 4 cups a day.

Epsom salt bath with diluted ravensara essential oil.

Hopefully I'll be good for clinic Tuesday but I'm cancelling tomorrow, sorry 😔 sniff.. groan... whimper

25/10/2025

Oh yes...

Oral Bacteria May Drive Multiple Sclerosis

Scientists have mapped the oral microbiome of people with multiple sclerosis, revealing a breakdown in the mouth’s bacterial ecosystem.

MS patients showed reduced levels of “good” bacteria that support oral health and higher levels of microbes linked to inflammation.

They also had lower concentrations of hypotaurine, a metabolite that protects nerve cells.

The results suggest the mouth’s microbiome could become a powerful diagnostic and therapeutic target for understanding and treating MS.

25/10/2025

It's a beautiful day, warmed up a tad, wind dropped and the sun came out.
Spanners on leads to keep them from swimming, not that Tara seems too keen today, but Mr Bean would swim no matter how cold or rough the sea!
Have a lovely evening all!

25/10/2025

Chicken of the woods... A little past her best but still beautiful!

20/10/2025

Exercise and glucose lowering effects.... phew. right then!!..that's doable.. isn't it?? :)

Both the WALK and SQUAT strategies led to a 21% reduction in blood sugar spikes compared to uninterrupted sitting. That's nearly double the glucose-lowering benefit of a single 30-minute walk.

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/10-squats-for-metabolism?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mbg-daily%20revamp%202025-10-20&utm_id=mbg-daily%20revamp%202025-10-20%20(01K7SHVRZGRXBTPBZSYJHB0H0N)&mbg_mcid=01K7SHVRZGRXBTPBZSYJHB0H0N&mbg_hash={{%20email|md5_hash%20}}&bxid={{userId}}&_kx=7CtTOyMFVGA2f4HbLlyK6Qgf1J1zfSYAqwisJVM1A9nACvzd7jMvx7grMEY32gRQ.TKHRHv

And it couldn't be more simple.

19/10/2025

Amanita muscaria.

I do not advocate you make this medicine at home, it is potent and toxic when taken internally. This preparation is for external use only, particularly for sciatica and only dispensed after a one to one consultation.

I wanted to share it's beauty with you though.. so very special!