Bespoke Botanicals

24/12/2025

Keeping it real

This is not me, it’s an AI generated image based on a picture of me. Why am I sharing it? Well partly for fun, but mainly to get your attention.

This year a study by the AI-detection firm Originality.ai found that 82% of herbal medicine books published on Amazon in 2025 were likely written at least partially by AI. The study raised significant concerns about health and safety due to the unverified and potentially dangerous advice contained in these books.
Some books misidentified poisonous plants as being safe to forage and eat or make medicine from. Others oversimplified or ignored major contraindications.

It’s really important to make sure the source of your information is reputable.

My herbal medicine degree was 5 years long. I trained in all the general medical sciences as well as how to identify plants and how their individual components act within the body, as well as how they may interact with medication. I’ve then spent another 18 years in practice, continually learning more about the art and science of herbal medicine. I’ve also started to share my knowledge with students of herbal medicine.

I’m now looking forward to 2026 when I will be sharing a series of herbal medicine workshops for any budding home-herbalist. If you are interested in learning how to make herbal remedies to improve you or your family’s health and wellbeing please get in touch to be added to my mailing list. More info to be revealed in January!

23/12/2025

Fascinating fact of the day.

Could you imagine that a hormone, invisible and intangible, can imprint itself as a visible geometric pattern in a bodily secretion — turning endocrine signalling into crystallised biology?

🌟 Oestrogen induces ferning patterns in vaginal (and cervical) secretions because it profoundly alters the biochemical composition and physical chemistry of the mucus, driving it towards a highly ordered crystallisation state upon drying.

▶️ Under high oestrogen levels — classically around the peri-ovulatory phase — vaginal and cervical secretions become rich in electrolytes, particularly sodium chloride, and relatively poor in proteins and mucins.

▶️ Oestrogen upregulates ion transporters and aquaporins in the epithelial cells, increasing water content and ionic strength while simultaneously reducing viscosity. The result is a fluid secretion optimised for s***m survival and transport.

▶️ When such a secretion is spread thinly on a glass slide and allowed to dry, salt crystallisation dominates.
Sodium and chloride ions self-organise as water evaporates, forming arborescent, fractal-like structures that resemble fern leaves.
This is not a biological structure per se, but a physicochemical phenomenon driven by ionic concentration, surface tension, and evaporation dynamics. The low concentration of macromolecules allows ions to crystallise freely, producing the characteristic dendritic pattern.

▶️ In contrast, during progesterone dominance (luteal phase, pregnancy), secretions are thicker, protein-rich, and mucinous.
Proteins disrupt crystal lattice formation, water content is reduced, and ion mobility is constrained. As a result, ferning disappears and the dried secretion appears amorphous or granular.

▶️ The ferning phenomenon is therefore a readout of oestrogenic action at the epithelial level, integrating hormonal signalling, ion transport, and fluid biophysics.
Its reproducibility made it a useful clinical tool long before molecular endocrinology existed, not only in gynaecology but also in obstetrics (e.g. detection of amniotic fluid leakage).

19/12/2025

Burnout, stress & the pillars of health 🌿
After sharing about burnout, many of you resonated deeply — which tells me how common chronic stress has become. So I want to take this a step further and talk about the foundations that support resilience and recovery: the pillars of health.
No herb, supplement, or protocol can replace these. They are the ground everything else stands on.
✨ Sleep & Rest
Quality sleep is non-negotiable. It’s when the nervous system resets, hormones rebalance, tissues repair, and emotional resilience is restored. Poor sleep alone can mimic anxiety, low mood, pain, and exhaustion.
✨ Social Connection & Joy
Humans are wired for connection. Laughter, fun, meaningful conversation, and feeling seen are powerful regulators of stress hormones. Isolation quietly fuels burnout.
✨ Diet & Nourishment
Regular, nourishing meals support blood sugar, adrenal health, and mood. Chronic stress increases nutrient demand — but under-eating or rushing meals only adds to the load.
✨ Movement & Exercise
Gentle to moderate movement supports circulation, mood, sleep, and stress regulation. This doesn’t have to mean intense workouts — walking, stretching, strength, and time outdoors all count.
Alongside these foundations, herbal medicine can be supportive, particularly during periods of prolonged stress.
🌱 Adaptogenic herbs may help the body adapt to stress more effectively, including:
• Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha)
• Eleutherococcus senticosus
• Schisandra chinensis
These herbs don’t remove stress — they help improve resilience and recovery when the foundations are in place.
🧂 Supplement support
Magnesium is a key nutrient often depleted during stress and plays a role in muscle relaxation, sleep quality, and nervous system balance. It can be a valuable part of a wider support plan.
But — and this is important — all the supplements in the world will not compensate for unbalanced foundations.
Herbs and supplements are not a magic cure. They work best when paired with practical tools:
🌿 Adequate rest
🌿 Good sleep hygiene
🌿 Regular movement
🌿 Time in nature
🌿 Meaningful connection with loved ones
Stress management is not about doing more — it’s about restoring balance.
Your body is not failing you; it’s asking for support.
If this resonates, take it gently. Small changes, consistently applied, are powerful.

06/12/2025

Metabolic health: where lifestyle (root-cause) interventions shine
Many chronic, non-communicable conditions (type 2 diabetes, most hypertension, much dyslipidaemia, obesity, many cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease) are driven in large part by lifestyle and social determinants: diet quality, physical activity, sleep, stress, socioeconomic context and social connection.
Evidence highlights the potency of lifestyle interventions:
The Diabetes Prevention Program (large RCT) found that an intensive lifestyle intervention reduced progression from impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes by ~58%, compared with 31% reduction with metformin. Lifestyle change (weight loss, increased activity) therefore produced substantially greater prevention than a common drug intervention. The preventive effect persisted in long-term follow-up.
PubMed
+1
Systematic reviews and guidelines show that dietary patterns (Mediterranean/DASH), regular physical activity, smoking cessation and weight loss meaningfully reduce cardiovascular risk, improve glycaemic control and lower overall morbidity.
AHA Journals
+1
Social connection and community are measurable determinants of health: meta-analytic evidence shows strong social ties reduce mortality risk substantially, and loneliness/social isolation increase risks of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cognitive decline and depression. Public-health agencies now recognise social connection as a key target for population health.
PMC
+1
Taken together, these data support the idea that for many chronic metabolic and lifestyle-driven illnesses, root-cause interventions (diet, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, social support) often produce larger, more durable benefits than symptom-suppressing drugs alone.

30/11/2025

Once upon a time I watched something peculiar at the garden centre.

A woman bought arrowhead for her pond. *Sagittaria sagittifolia*. Arrow-shaped leaves, white flowers with purple centres. Six quid. "Adds visual interest to water features," the label said.

Earlier in the year I had been at an Asian supermarket. Same plant. Different aisle. Food section. £4.95 per 250g. Labelled 慈姑 in Chinese. OK it's actually a different species but used the same way as our native version.

One marketed for looking at. One marketed for eating. Both accurate descriptions of the same plant.

The garden centre version sits in your pond looking decorative whilst the Asian market version, well, the tubers are fried with soy sauce, aromatics, sugar until they're sweet and nutty. Added to winter soups.

The tubers are starchy, slightly bitter, filling and bland, but they possess a remarkable ability to absorb liquids and fats without disintegrating.

For centuries, arrowhead was food. Evidence goes back to the paleolithic and mesolithic era. Native Americans harvested it. Still cultivated across China, Japan, Korea. The cooked leaves are edible too.

But somewhere between Victorian ornamental gardens and modern landscaping, we forgot. We split plants into two categories. Pretty or useful. Never looked back.

Now we walk past edible plants every single day, seeing only "ornamentals".

Why this matters?

Your perception determines what you see. If you think ponds grow nothing but mosquitoes and algae, you'll never kneel at the water's edge and pull up dinner. If you think ornamental means inedible, you'll pay six quid for a plant you could eat.

The knowledge isn't lost. It's just filed in the wrong category.

Once you know arrowhead is both beautiful and edible, you start seeing other plants differently.

The categories we inherit shape what we notice. Change the category, change what you see.

All plants are equal. Your ancestors didn't separate ornamental from edible. Neither should you.

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* "It is illegal to uproot any wild plant without landowners permission"

26/11/2025

Not my words, but they could have been, the way to feel better and ‘survive’ the menopause is to take a proper look at the root causes of your symptoms. Call me for a chat if you want to know more about how I can support you through this stage of life

I’m not pro HRT.
I’m not anti HRT.

I’m pro root-cause medicine.

There’s a lot of noise out there about HRT.

Some women swear it saved their lives.
Some women feel unsure.
Some are told it’s their only option.
Others are told it’s dangerous.

Here’s where I stand:

I’m pro understanding what’s really happening beneath the surface—
the hormonal imbalances, the stress load, the mitochondrial depletion, the nervous system dysregulation, the micronutrient gaps, the decades of “good girl” conditioning that quietly drain our reserves.

I’m pro treating that.

I’m pro women reclaiming their power, not outsourcing it to supplements, patches, or quick fixes that never ask the deeper questions.

Because when midlife symptoms show up—fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, insomnia, weight changes—they’re not random.
They’re messages.

Signals.
Invitations.
Clues.

And yes—HRT can be a brilliant tool for some women. Evidence supports its benefits for symptom relief, bone health, and quality of life when used thoughtfully and individually.

But it’s not the whole story.
It was never meant to replace deep healing.
And it should never be positioned as the only path to thriving.

I’m pro health from the upside down and the inside out.
I’m pro science and soul.
I’m pro an approach that honours biology and lived experience.
I’m pro women being fully informed, fully empowered, and fully in choice.

Because midlife isn’t a decline.
It’s a recalibration.

And when we treat the root causes—physiological, emotional, and energetic—women don’t just feel “better.”

They feel alive again.

26/11/2025

It seems like it’s a day to share other people’s wise words. Trust me I understand what it is like to have a chronic condition that is misunderstood or disbelieved. In my clinic I listen to your story and believe your lived experience.

“What if being believed is the medicine no one prescribed? 🫶🧠🤝

Pain feel lighter when it’s shared, not silenced!

I’m not a clinician. I’m a husband who wakes up grateful for his health and spends each day trying to make the world softer for the woman he loves. I'm a paramedic by trade but I work with medically disabled children. After work I come home to support my chronically ill wife.

Seing other's misfortunes and struggles made me appreciate what I've got - health. So again, I'm not a clinician, but having so many years of experience caring for others and endless curosity to learn, I noticed a thing or two...

If you’re reading this with pain in your body, fog in your head, or heaviness in your heart, let me say this as clearly as I can:

You are seen. You are not imagining it. You should not have to prove your pain to be cared for!

Across hundreds of communities - chronic pain, autoimmune, mental health - so many people quietly share the same eight burdens:

• Invisible—but real—symptoms. Pain, fatigue, brain fog, sensory overload that don’t always show on scans or blood tests. The body can be screaming while the outside looks “fine.” That mismatch is brutal—and it is not your fault.

• Unpredictability. A good hour followed by a collapse. Plans pencilled, erased, pencilled again. Uncertainty itself becomes a stressor; your nervous system stays on alert because tomorrow keeps changing its mind.

• The medical maze (a second illness). Referrals, forms, phone queues, side effects, scheduling, “try this, wait six months.” The admin of staying alive can steal the energy you need to feel alive.

• Not being believed. Minimised, misread, or told it’s “just stress.” Disbelief injures twice—once in the body, again in the soul. No one should have to become a lawyer to earn comfort.

• Identity and grief cycles. Chronic illness redraws the map of who you are—work, friendships, hobbies, dreams—then redraws it again with each flare. Grief and courage often sit at the same table.

• Isolation and loneliness. Pain pulls you from plans; loneliness grows in the empty spaces. Humans heal better in company, but symptoms can make company feel far away.

• Guilt, pressure, stigma. The world moves fast; your body asks you to move slow. Saying “no” starts to feel like failure. You apologise for being human when you should be applauded for enduring.

• Financial strain. Missed hours, missed chances, extra costs. Decisions measured not in preferences but in spoons and bank balances. It’s not “poor planning”—it’s survival math.

I’ve watched versions of all eight play out at home. My wife lives with both physical and neurological pain and the mental weight that trails them; your story is your own, but the shape of the struggle feels familiar. I share this not to center us, only to say that I recognise you.

And underneath these burdens, most people want the same few things - simple, human, hard to ask for in a loud world:

• To be believed first. No debate, no defence—“I hear you. Your pain makes sense.”

• Relief and a little predictability. Small, repeatable things that soften today and plans that flex tomorrow.

• Clarity. Words to explain symptoms and ask for what helps—at home, at work, in clinic.

• Agency. Options they control: pacing, boundaries, permission to stop without guilt.

• Compassionate support. Presence before advice; curiosity before judgment; patience before plans.

• Community and dignity. A place to belong where you are bigger than your diagnosis.

• Realistic hope. Not miracle promises—steady, evidence-aware next steps that add up.

If you’re carrying any of this, know that your limits are information, not failure. Your body is not the enemy but the house that’s asking for quieter days and kinder plans.

If you love someone in this storm, become the safest person in the room. Believe the first time. Ask, “What would make this hour gentler?” Then do exactly that, humbly and well.

Different future? Yes. Lesser life? No.

There is so much life inside smaller circles, softer mornings, truer friendships, boundaries that protect what matters. Humans are social animals. When we carry it together, it is always lighter than carrying it alone.”

Lucjan 🎗