The Green Herbalist Clinic

22/08/2026

ABOUT DIAGNOSES… Finnish style 😂 — not to be taken seriously!

Why bother with a healthcare professional when you can diagnose yourself quickly?

If you p*e at the base of a tree and the ants come running — high blood sugar.

If the flies come flying in — inflammation.

If your wee dries up quickly — too much salt.

If your urine smells of meat — high cholesterol.

If you forget to pull your trousers down — Alzheimer’s.

If you try, but can’t get your trousers down — Parkinson’s.

If you can’t smell anything — Covid. 😂

19/08/2026

Could the key to protecting your brain from dementia be hiding in something we do every night? Emerging research suggests that deep, restorative sleep may help the brain clear away toxic waste linked to Alzheimer’s disease—putting the quality of our sleep, not just the quantity, under the spotlight.
The Green Herbalist Clinic specialises in sleep issues.
https://www.thegreenherbalistclinic.com/book-an-appointment/

What if the single most effective thing we can do to reduce the risk of dementia was not a drug, a supplement, a herb, or even a brain-training program, but instead was getting the right kind of sleep? A growing body of research suggests that during deep, uninterrupted non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep the brain performs one of its most important jobs: flushing away toxic waste products that accumulate during the day. A major new review argues that disruption of this nightly cleaning process may be the common pathway that links ageing, chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease, toxins and poor sleep to an increased risk of dementia.

The review proposes that while we sleep, the brain switches into a remarkable "housekeeping mode." During wakefulness, neuromodulators operate largely independently to support behavior and cognition. By contrast, sleep reorganises their activity into a coordinated brain rhythm. Every 50 seconds or so, key brain chemicals, including noradrenaline, serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine, begin pulsing together in a perfectly coordinated rhythm. These waves gently expand and contract tiny blood vessels, creating a pumping action that flushes cerebrospinal fluid through the brain and removes toxic waste, including the Alzheimer proteins amyloid-beta and tau. In other words, these neuromodulators become vasoactive agents that drive a slow vasomotion, providing the mechanical force that supports glymphatic clearance of metabolic waste.

The dual roles of neuromodulators—as regulators of behavior and mental state during wakefulness and as organisers of sleep architecture and glymphatic clearance during sleep—define a vulnerable system in which imbalance may impair both sleep and brain clearance. This framework may provide a unifying explanation for several long-standing observations. For example, psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, are characterised by disruptions in neuromodulator signaling and sleep architecture, which are predicted to alter slow vasomotion during sleep. Such changes may impair glymphatic clearance, thereby promoting the accumulation of pathological proteins and thus contributing to the increased risk of neurodegenerative disease that has been observed with these conditions.

As noted above, a key point of the article is that many of the things already known to increase dementia risk disrupt this nightly cleaning cycle. This could explain why so many seemingly unrelated conditions end up increasing the risk of Alzheimer disease. Moreover, an extensive body of literature has implicated age-related decline in glymphatic clearance as a driver of proteinopathies and dementia.

Sleep architecture is the carefully organised cycling between different sleep stages that allows the brain to carry out its essential maintenance functions. Healthy sleep architecture ensures repeated episodes of deep NREM sleep, allowing the cleansing cycles to occur throughout the night. Fragmented sleep, reduced deep sleep, frequent arousals or disrupted transitions between sleep stages may all compromise this process.

So perhaps the most exciting implication is that sleep architecture might become an important target for protecting long-term brain health. Instead of simply asking whether people sleep enough, researchers are now investigating whether they are getting the right kind of sleep, including the deep, rhythmic sleep that allows the brain's cleaning system to work at full capacity.

This intriguing idea remains an emerging hypothesis. The review pulls together a large body of animal and human research, but there is not enough evidence yet to prove the mechanism directly in people. Even so, it offers one of the most compelling explanations yet for why protecting healthy sleep may become the best investments we can make for future brain health.

Another fascinating observation by the authors is that heart rate variability (HRV) may provide a simple, non-invasive window into the brain's nightly cleaning system, because the same neuromodulator oscillations that drive glymphatic clearance during deep NREM sleep also regulate heart rate. Reduced HRV is already associated with ageing, chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease and an increased risk of dementia, suggesting it may reflect the disruption of this fundamental sleep rhythm. If confirmed, HRV could become a practical biomarker for identifying individuals at increased dementia risk and for monitoring whether interventions restore healthy sleep physiology and brain clearance.

What about the role of herbs? Very few herbs have been investigated in clinical trials in terms of a specific increase in NREM (especially N3 slow-wave sleep), as measured by polysomnography (EEG). Most herbal sleep studies have instead measured subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, total sleep time or actigraphy, rather than sleep architecture itself.

One of the most fascinating findings in herbal sleep research comes from a small double blind polysomnography study comparing European valerian (Valeriana officinalis) with Mexican valerian (Valeriana edulis) in patients with insomnia. This study measured sleep architecture directly using overnight EEG recordings. Both herbs increased delta (slow-wave, N3) sleep, the deepest and most restorative stage of NREM sleep, while reducing lighter stages of NREM sleep. Mexican valerian also reduced the number of nocturnal awakenings, whereas European valerian produced a somewhat greater increase in REM sleep.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has probably the best clinical evidence overall for insomnia. Repeated RCTs and a meta-analysis show improvements in sleep efficiency, sleep duration, wake after sleep onset and sleep quality. However, there is no evidence yet that it specifically increases N3 sleep. Its benefits may result from reducing hyperarousal and stress, allowing more normal sleep architecture to emerge, but this remains to be proven in clinical trials.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42166599/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11731907/

10/08/2026

Deep sleep NREM is the most powerful way to protect your brain from dementia — deep, uninterrupted sleep?

New research suggests that during deep NREM sleep, the brain switches into a nightly cleaning mode, flushing away toxic waste such as amyloid and tau proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Poor sleep, chronic stress, depression, and cardiovascular disease may all increase dementia risk by disrupting this vital cleansing process.

The key may not be how long you sleep, but how much deep, restorative sleep you get.

Protecting sleep could become one of the simplest and most effective investments in long-term brain health.

The Green Herbalist Clinic specialises in Sleep. Book a free 15 chat on how we can help your sleep.
https://www.thegreenherbalistclinic.com/book-an-appointment/

What if the single most effective thing we can do to reduce the risk of dementia was not a drug, a supplement, a herb, or even a brain-training program, but instead was getting the right kind of sleep? A growing body of research suggests that during deep, uninterrupted non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep the brain performs one of its most important jobs: flushing away toxic waste products that accumulate during the day. A major new review argues that disruption of this nightly cleaning process may be the common pathway that links ageing, chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease, toxins and poor sleep to an increased risk of dementia.

The review proposes that while we sleep, the brain switches into a remarkable "housekeeping mode." During wakefulness, neuromodulators operate largely independently to support behavior and cognition. By contrast, sleep reorganises their activity into a coordinated brain rhythm. Every 50 seconds or so, key brain chemicals, including noradrenaline, serotonin, dopamine and acetylcholine, begin pulsing together in a perfectly coordinated rhythm. These waves gently expand and contract tiny blood vessels, creating a pumping action that flushes cerebrospinal fluid through the brain and removes toxic waste, including the Alzheimer proteins amyloid-beta and tau. In other words, these neuromodulators become vasoactive agents that drive a slow vasomotion, providing the mechanical force that supports glymphatic clearance of metabolic waste.

The dual roles of neuromodulators—as regulators of behavior and mental state during wakefulness and as organisers of sleep architecture and glymphatic clearance during sleep—define a vulnerable system in which imbalance may impair both sleep and brain clearance. This framework may provide a unifying explanation for several long-standing observations. For example, psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, are characterised by disruptions in neuromodulator signaling and sleep architecture, which are predicted to alter slow vasomotion during sleep. Such changes may impair glymphatic clearance, thereby promoting the accumulation of pathological proteins and thus contributing to the increased risk of neurodegenerative disease that has been observed with these conditions.

As noted above, a key point of the article is that many of the things already known to increase dementia risk disrupt this nightly cleaning cycle. This could explain why so many seemingly unrelated conditions end up increasing the risk of Alzheimer disease. Moreover, an extensive body of literature has implicated age-related decline in glymphatic clearance as a driver of proteinopathies and dementia.

Sleep architecture is the carefully organised cycling between different sleep stages that allows the brain to carry out its essential maintenance functions. Healthy sleep architecture ensures repeated episodes of deep NREM sleep, allowing the cleansing cycles to occur throughout the night. Fragmented sleep, reduced deep sleep, frequent arousals or disrupted transitions between sleep stages may all compromise this process.

So perhaps the most exciting implication is that sleep architecture might become an important target for protecting long-term brain health. Instead of simply asking whether people sleep enough, researchers are now investigating whether they are getting the right kind of sleep, including the deep, rhythmic sleep that allows the brain's cleaning system to work at full capacity.

This intriguing idea remains an emerging hypothesis. The review pulls together a large body of animal and human research, but there is not enough evidence yet to prove the mechanism directly in people. Even so, it offers one of the most compelling explanations yet for why protecting healthy sleep may become the best investments we can make for future brain health.

Another fascinating observation by the authors is that heart rate variability (HRV) may provide a simple, non-invasive window into the brain's nightly cleaning system, because the same neuromodulator oscillations that drive glymphatic clearance during deep NREM sleep also regulate heart rate. Reduced HRV is already associated with ageing, chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease and an increased risk of dementia, suggesting it may reflect the disruption of this fundamental sleep rhythm. If confirmed, HRV could become a practical biomarker for identifying individuals at increased dementia risk and for monitoring whether interventions restore healthy sleep physiology and brain clearance.

What about the role of herbs? Very few herbs have been investigated in clinical trials in terms of a specific increase in NREM (especially N3 slow-wave sleep), as measured by polysomnography (EEG). Most herbal sleep studies have instead measured subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, total sleep time or actigraphy, rather than sleep architecture itself.

One of the most fascinating findings in herbal sleep research comes from a small double blind polysomnography study comparing European valerian (Valeriana officinalis) with Mexican valerian (Valeriana edulis) in patients with insomnia. This study measured sleep architecture directly using overnight EEG recordings. Both herbs increased delta (slow-wave, N3) sleep, the deepest and most restorative stage of NREM sleep, while reducing lighter stages of NREM sleep. Mexican valerian also reduced the number of nocturnal awakenings, whereas European valerian produced a somewhat greater increase in REM sleep.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) has probably the best clinical evidence overall for insomnia. Repeated RCTs and a meta-analysis show improvements in sleep efficiency, sleep duration, wake after sleep onset and sleep quality. However, there is no evidence yet that it specifically increases N3 sleep. Its benefits may result from reducing hyperarousal and stress, allowing more normal sleep architecture to emerge, but this remains to be proven in clinical trials.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42166599/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11731907/

26/07/2026

Dill and Blood Glucose
Emerging research suggests that dill (Anethum graveolens) may help support healthy blood glucose regulation. However, the evidence is still limited and it should not be considered a replacement for diabetes medication.
Studies have shown that dill may:
Help improve fasting blood glucose.
Reduce HbA1c in some people with type 2 diabetes.
Improve insulin sensitivity.
Reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, both of which contribute to insulin resistance.
Improve blood lipid levels, including triglycerides and LDL cholesterol.

Thyroid nodules are common and affect half of the general population by the age of 60 years. The causes are believed to be due to hypothyroidism, mutational changes or autoimmunity. They can be associated with over- or underactivity of the gland and may sometimes be malignant.

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) has been used in Turkey to self-treat thyroid dysfunction such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Now a controlled clinical study has evaluated the impact of dill on patients with thyroiditis and benign thyroid nodules. They were divided into two groups: placebo (n =35) and dill group (n = 33). Dried and ground dill (300 mg) was put into capsules and patients on active treatment were given three capsules per day for 90 days. Various tests were conducted at the beginning and end of the study, including thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4), anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO), anti-thyroglobulin (anti-Tg), and C-reactive protein (CRP), and thyroid nodule dimensions were measured by ultrasound.

After 90 days, compared to the control group, the dill group exhibited significantly decreased TSH (by an average of 19% from a mean starting value of 2.69 compared to a 16% increase in the control group, P = 0.009), fT4 (P < 0.001), anti-TPO (P = 0.001), CRP (P < 0.001) and nodule size (by an average of 7.3% compared to a 4.5% increase in the control group, P < 0.001).

The authors concluded that dill suppressed inflammation of the thyroid gland, reduced nodule size, and lowered TSH levels in patients with thyroiditis and nodular goitre. The daily dose used was relatively low and higher doses might deliver a greater magnitude of clinical effects.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40329862/

26/07/2026

At The Green Herbalist Clinic, Passiflora incarnata (Passionflower) is used as a traditional calming nervine to support the nervous system when stress, anxiety and an overactive mind interfere with relaxation and sleep. Often described as the herb for the “mind that won’t switch off,” it is particularly suited to mental restlessness, tension, repetitive thoughts and waking during the night with difficulty returning to sleep. It helps encourage a calmer state, allowing the body and mind to settle naturally

Passionflower is the herb for the mind that won't stop talking.

You know the feeling: tired body, eyes closed, and the same three thoughts circling like they're waiting for a turn. Passionflower is a cooling, relaxing nervine that helps ease that mental churn so the quiet can finally land.

Herbalists use it when the nervous system is wound tight and overactive, especially waking in the night when you can't get back to sleep.

It's one of the five herbs in our free Stress & Sleep guide, matched to the exact kind of night it suits best.

Comment STRESS and we will send it to you.

26/07/2026

For those ladies of a reproductive age. Interesting.

Cervical mucus is the fluid produced by your cervix during your menstrual cycle as a result of hormonal shifts. It’s quite amazing - changes in color, texture, and amount are very predictable in healthy cycles - enough so that cervical mucus can be a reliable indicator of the fertile window and guide to best times for conception or contraception, depending on your goals.⁠
 ⁠
Here’s how it works: As your body ramps up estrogen production before ovulation, the cervix produces more mucus. At first, you may only have the sensation of some wetness. In the 1-2 days before ovulation, when your estrogen is at its highest, and during and right after ovulation, your cervix produces abundant, clear, slippery, wet, stretchy, elastic cervical secretions often described as egg-whites. This is peak fertile mucus and signals the best time for conception. Within just a few days, under the influence of progesterone, the mucus becomes more scant and closer to your period may be more pasty, ‘tacky,’ and you may feel noticeably drier.⁠
 ⁠
 How do you track your cervical mucus? Each morning notice and record your bleeding days, dry days, wet days, sticky days, cloudy days, and slippery days. If you don’t have a 28-day or even a regular cycle, track the pattern according to your cycle. ⁠There are a few ways to check your cervical mucus, depending how up-close-and-personal you want to get:⁠
 ⁠
 ~ Check out the color and texture of the discharge on your underwear each day.⁠
 ⁠
 ~Wipe your vaginal opening with white toilet paper or tissue before you go p*e. Look at the color and feel of the mucus with your fingers.⁠
 ⁠
 ~ Insert a clean index finger just inside your vaginal opening then look at the color and notice the texture of mucus between your index finger and thumb.⁠
 ⁠
 I highly support getting in touch with your cycle, not just for getting or avoiding pregnancy, but to tap into this powerful marker of your hormonal health.⁠
 ⁠
 Have you tracked your cervical mucus?
Comment “CYCLETRACK” and I’ll send you my free cycle tracking chart.⁠

🎨 Başak Notz for Hormone Intelligence

26/07/2026

Herbs that support healthy glucose regulation may also assist with weight management by affecting appetite, blood sugar control and energy metabolism. Of particular interest are bitter herbs, which stimulate bitter taste receptors not only on the tongue but also throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Activation of these receptors may promote the release of satiety hormones such as GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), PYY (peptide YY) and CCK (cholecystokinin), helping to reduce appetite, slow gastric emptying and improve post-meal glucose control. Although their effects are much milder than prescription GLP-1 medications, herbs such as artichoke, hops, gentian and dandelion show promising potential as part of a comprehensive weight management programme.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/artichoke-leaf-helps-weight-control-ann-walker-2hx8e/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hops-extract-aids-weight-control-ann-walker-nfqse/

To find out more, please book a chat via
https://www.thegreenherbalistclinic.com/book-an-appointment/

Appointments are necessary for the prescription of Herbal Medicine. Professional, certified Medical Herbalist appointments (in-person and online) zoom and in-person appointments near you.

11/07/2026

Is Epstein-Barr Virus the Missing Link in Lupus?

A groundbreaking study suggests Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may do far more than accompany lupus—it may help drive it. Researchers found that EBV infects and reprogrammes specific B cells, turning them into powerful triggers of the autoimmune attack seen in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Although EBV alone does not cause lupus, the findings provide some of the strongest evidence yet that, in genetically susceptible individuals, the virus may be a key upstream driver of disease.

Food for thought: Could a common virus be helping to drive autoimmune disease? Growing evidence suggests that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may play a role not only in Lupus, but also in multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, and several other autoimmune conditions.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has already been strongly implicated in the development and progression of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. Now a recent study provides a major mechanistic advance in the EBV-lupus story by showing that EBV does not simply coexist with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but actively reprograms autoreactive B cells into pathogenic drivers of the disease. Using advanced cell-level and genetic analysis, the researchers showed that EBV tends to infect a particular group of B cells (immune cells responsible for making antibodies to fight infections) already linked to lupus. Once inside these specific cells, the virus uses one of its proteins (EBNA2, EBV nuclear antigen 2) to reprogram how they behave, turning them into highly active inflammatory cells that present antigens and strongly drive immune responses. Specifically, the infected B cells produce antibodies against the classic nuclear autoantigens of lupus and directly activate T cell responses, placing EBV-infected autoreactive B cells at the centre of lupus pathophysiology.

The study is particularly compelling because it moves beyond correlation into functional immunology. It integrates multiple high-resolution techniques and shows not only that EBV-infected B cells are autoreactive, but that they actively propagate the disease through the T peripheral helper (Tph)-DN2-plasmablast pathway. However, important limitations remain: the data are cross-sectional, so causality is inferred rather than proven; sample sizes are modest; and EBV infection is nearly universal while SLE is rare, meaning EBV cannot be the sole cause. Nonetheless, this work substantially strengthens the argument that EBV is a key upstream driver in susceptible individuals rather than a passive bystander or a hit-and-run trigger.

This mechanistic insight fits coherently with decades of supporting evidence. Epidemiological studies show higher EBV exposure and reactivation in SLE; molecular mimicry research demonstrates that EBNA1 peptides can cross-react with lupus autoantigens; and genetic studies reveal that EBNA2 binds and activates a large proportion of SLE risk loci. The new data unify these strands into a single model: EBV infects genetically primed autoreactive B cells, reprograms them via EBNA2, and drives a self-amplifying autoimmune loop through T-cell activation and antibody production.

Crucially, this process is contingent on genetic susceptibility. Risk variants in genes regulating B-cell tolerance, interferon signalling, and HLA class II antigen presentation create a permissive environment in which EBV can exert pathogenic effects. Certain HLA alleles (such as DR3, DR15) “frame” EBV peptides so they resemble self-antigens, enabling molecular mimicry and inappropriate T-cell responses.

From a Functional Herbal Therapy perspective, this reframes lupus as a network disturbance in which viral signalling, B-cell dysregulation and immune amplification are intertwined. So the aim is not to “suppress immunity,” but to recalibrate it. Practically, that suggests layering antiviral herbs (such as licorice and St John’s wort) to reduce EBV activity, alongside immunoregulatory/anti-inflammatory herbs that modulate B-cell and interferon signalling (particularly Echinacea root and bioavailable curcumin, together with regulation of gut flora with herbs such as the berberine-rich Phellodendron).

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41223250/

11/07/2026

Fructose: Friend or Foe?

Is fructose really just another sugar?

A provocative review in Nature Metabolism suggests it may be one of the key drivers of obesity, fatty liver, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Unlike glucose, fructose bypasses many of the body's normal metabolic controls, promoting fat storage, increasing appetite and reducing fat burning. The authors argue that this was once an evolutionary survival mechanism—but in today's world of sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods, it may be fuelling chronic metabolic disease.
The Green Herbalist Clinic has helped two clients reverse their type 2 diabetes through personalised herbal medicine and lifestyle support.

Book a free 15-minute discovery call to find out how the clinic can support your journey towards better metabolic health.
https://www.thegreenherbalistclinic.com/book-an-appointment/

25/06/2026

Long before clinical trials confirmed oatmeal's benefits for eczema, one of Britain's best-known botanists David Bellamy told Kerry Bone, that using oatmeal had changed his life.

Still on the theme of herbal topicals for the skin, I once had the privilege of meeting celebrity botanist the late David Bellamy in London. For many people in Britain and around the English-speaking world, he was one of the great popularisers of botany and natural history, rather like a highly exuberant botanical counterpart to Sir David Attenborough. He confided to me that as a child he had very severe eczema that was only cured by regular oatmeal baths. This had made him a quiet lifelong advocate for herbal medicine. There are now several clinical trials that attest to the benefits of the topical application of oat preparations for chronic skin disorders such as eczema.

For example, recently there was a 2025 open-label, single-arm study published that evaluated a regimen using a 1% colloidal oatmeal cream twice daily together with a gentle baby wash in 31 infants and young children (aged 3 to 72 months) with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis. Over 4 weeks, significant improvements were reported in eczema severity scores, pruritus, skin barrier measures, sleep and quality of life, with some benefits reportedly evident from day 1. Twenty-nine participants completed the study, and only two adverse events were reported (papular rash and contact dermatitis).

The study is clinically relevant because it assessed a practical real world skincare routine rather than a moisturiser alone, and the findings are consistent with the known barrier-supportive and antipruritic effects of colloidal oatmeal. However, the evidence strength is limited by the absence of a placebo or comparator group, the open-label design, the small sample size and the short 4-week duration. Mild paediatric eczema often improves with consistent emollient use alone, so it is impossible to determine how much benefit was specifically attributable to the oatmeal in the formulation.

There are better designed trials for colloidal oatmeal. A 2020 randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated a 1% colloidal oatmeal cream as adjunctive therapy in 50 adults with chronic irritant hand eczema. All participants initially used fluocinolone 0.025% ointment for 2 weeks, after which the oatmeal cream or base cream was continued alone for a further 4 weeks. Both groups improved during the steroid phase, but after corticosteroid withdrawal the oatmeal group maintained improvement, whereas the control group showed substantial relapse. By week 6, mean Hand Eczema Severity Index (HECSI) scores had fallen from 68 to 24 in the oatmeal group but rebounded to 54 in controls, with similar findings for itch severity and quality-of-life scores.

This is one of the stronger colloidal oatmeal studies because it was randomised, double blind and placebo-controlled, and used validated clinical tools. The design also clinically reflects real-world steroid step-down management, making the apparent steroid-sparing effect particularly interesting.

For more information see:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41037526/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32273745/