Rachael Stott Natural Health

07/09/2026

Every spring my eyes light up with the growth! My herbs start emerging from Mother Earth and I get excited about getting my hands dirty. One little treasure her popped up unbidden in my garden, mullein, Verbascum thaspus. It tends to get incorrectly identified and mixed up with foxglove. Please ensure you ID these properly as foxglove , Digitalis purpurea, could potentially be fatal if you ingest it.

❓How do I ID mullein?
🌿It has large furry grey leaves in a basal rosette
🌿The leaves are fuzzy as they are covered in hairs and they feel soft
🌿It develops a flower spike with 'simple' flat open bright yellow flowers that the pollinators love.

❓What is mullein typically used for?
✅Upper respiratory congestion
✅Ills and chills
✅To soothe a tickly, irritated throat
✅Topically as an oil infusion for ear discomfort, wounds and haemorrhoids

❓How do I ID foxglove?
❌Slightly wrinkly large grass green leaves in a basal rosette
❌The leaves don't feel soft and do not have hairs on them
❌A tall flower spike develops with hooded purple (or pink or white or pale yellow) flowers that only bumble bees like. The flowers have spots on the throat of the inside of the petals
❌Digitalis is what some cardiovasular medicine is based on. It's not one that I've seen any of my clients on so I'm guessing there may be modern alternatives that are considered safer or better

I have deliberately only taken a pic of mullein to avoid confusion. I have both in my garden. Both grow wild.

06/09/2026

A somewhat controversial post this time. Just scroll on by if it's not your thing.

Recently I had a phone call from a woman who was reluctant to give her name but she told me I needed to talk to her as I would learn a lot to help me with ms.

Yes, I have multiple sclerosis, but of course I was skeptical. My guess was she was going to tell me to be vegan. Sure enough, as the conversation progressed it came out that she's vegan and has health issues.

I told her as she was vegan I would need to find a colleague to refer her to as I have no clients who are vegan and wanting to stay that way.

Anyway, it got better than that. She told me to be raw vegan and that would be the answer to my issues.

Hmmm. My remaining issues after a severe first ms event 13 years ago with prognosis of a wheelchair within 5 years ago are fatigue (still severe some days), less sharp brain function than I think I should have and my right foot does less well than it should (unnoticeable to most people). I'm not complaining but I'm still researching for how to improve!

Btw, I have been vegan in the long distant past and it was nothing to do with health and vitality, so no thanks.

❓So why do I recommend people eat animal products?
✅Animal products are nutrient dense and this is why 'the k1ll' and especially the organ meat was prized by our ancestors.
✅Our gut needs the goodies like glycine for our gut walls and to reduce inflammation.
✅Animal products are generally more easily digested, provided you have the stomach acid to break them down and protein is easier to come by.
✅Dairy ferments are something that many people already include in their day to day diet, like Greek yoghurt.
✅Sustainable as long as 'nose-to-tail' eating is practiced along with pastured and wild caught (plus organic if possible).

❓Why do I think Weston A Price Foundation's (WAPF) ideas are so great?
💥To paraphrase WAPF, the poorest quality animal product is better than the best quality plant.
💥Again, to paraphrase WAPF, plants will k1ll you slowly and animals instantly (think of the tiger running you down).
Plants have a lot of antinutrients that animal products lack, like oxalates, phytic acid and naturally occurring toxins andmany of them are cumulative.

❓So what about plants then?
🌿The power of herbal medicine is something I am still truly amazed by.
🌿Stool tests from before and after carnivore diets show a decreased diversity in the gut microbiome.
🌿Ferments from plants are so beneficial to the gut biome, sauerkraut and kimchi are a couple of them. WAPF do recommend eating vegetable (and animal product) ferments.
🌿 There are important nutrients in plants that are not found in animal products, like vitamin C and bioflavonoids.

❓Why not a raw vegan diet?
❌More difficult to digest as cooked food is much easier to absorb.
❌Low in essential nutrients
❌Abrasive to the gut walls, so it's especially harsh on those with leaky or inflamed gut.
❌Stomach acid drops as your body becomes deficient in critical nutrients for digestion and the body has no need for it to the same extent as there are no animal products to digest.
❌Protein is more difficult to come by and it provides the building blocks of our bodies.
❌Unsustainable - think of how much area one cattle beast needs to have to eat in one year vs the many times more of crops to sustain one person. Most of those crops deplete the soil and are grown with artificial fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides.

31/08/2026

Last week I was sick as a dog and I'm only surprised I didn't crack a rib or two coughing! My usual that I take when I feel something first brewing is echinaea and that didn't kick it before it started properly. I began taking a capsule I had here with several herbs in it and then I started improving. I also had a friend who was travelling get sick and that's when I thought back to basics.

What can we take in a pinch when we're sick that's cheap and easily found in many parts of the world?
💚Garlic and other members of the Allium family. Many of them have antiviral actions. You can chop (to release the phytochemicals) and mix in honey.
💚Honey. This has powerful anti-inflammatory and immune benefits.
💚Thyme and oregano leaf are in many immune combos. A lot of us grow these in our gardens or have them in our pantries. Easy to make an infusion (herb tea) from for immune support.
💚Ginger is another food that is an incredible herbal ally. Most people have this in their cupboard as root or ground. anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic (to help you sweat it out) and for lung support.

There are plenty more, some of them more unusual things I have growing in my garden or in my cupbords that most people are unlikely to have.

I am always happy to make herbal blends for people who are sick or I may be able to recommend suitable commercial products.

30/08/2026

How many of you have tried raw milk? There are a lot of reasons why raw milk is so beneficial. We are so lucky to have a raw milk dispenser in South Canterbury who even have the option of delivery. In NZ our herd is mostly pastured so not in feedlots like in some countries.

Before you tell me how unsafe it is, on an industrial scale it needs to be pasteurised as 1000s of sick people would be a real crisis. I'm talking about small scale dairy herds who test regularly and have healthy cows.

Why drink raw milk? 🐄🥛
✅It tastes delicious!
✅Full of enzymes and beneficial bacterial that help with digestion, including lactase that breaks down lactose.
✅Not homogenised so the cream is as it should be and easy to absorb (get a look at that cream in the bottle).
✅Lower allergies and less asthma vs pasteurised.
✅Naturally high in vitamin A and calcium plus B vitamins, vitamin D, iodine, iron and other nutrients. B vitamins are destroyed during pasturisation.
✅Do your own research. It is not intended as a replacement for other milk for infants, for pregnant women and people who are considered vulnerable.

17/08/2026

Not exactly a herb post today but a cultivation one...plus a confession and a realisation.
I've started planting for the season. Peas, broadbeans and echinacea as well as miner's lettuce and corn salad had been sown in the past few days. Lots more seeds to go, even at this time of year.

This growing season I need to expand the amounts of a lot of herbs I have growing in my garden so I have enough raw material to do things with what I have.

Plants have been going in plus Mum gave me some catnip plants that were in a bucket so my daughter has them in a pot for her kitten now.

I started sorting through the seeds I have saved (and some I have bought) and, confession time, I have literally *boxes* 😅

I started saving seeds decades ago. In fact the first seeds I remember saving were marigold when I was 6. Does that tell you how easy it is for many seeds? I started doing it more once I had my girls when I was in my early 20s.

Another realisation - this isn't a little hobby for me, it is an inherent passion. I see so many old varieties of seeds gone. So many old fashioned veges and flowers unavailable. So many herbs are incredibly hard to find. Some herbs are banned from my use in tincture form. My suppliers delete certain types of herb tinctures (yes, understandable commercial reasons).

I have some new herb seeds to grow this season that I feel privileged to have been given or found to buy.

New Zealand herb seed suppliers to check out:
*Setha has a small range with good germination and all NZ grown. Lovely people to deal with https://www.sethasseeds.co.nz/
*Koanga Institute are another small seed grower, all NZ grown. https://koanga.org.nz/
*Kings Seeds are a larger company with mainly imported seeds and they have a larger range https://www.kingsseeds.co.nz/

💚A note about vege seeds. Kings sell some seeds Heritage Food Crops Research Trust...but they give away free seeds of tomatoes and beans each year (donations appreciated). https://www.heritagefoodcrops.org.nz/free-tomato-and.../

Pic is of an heirloom sweetpea that I will plant today. I will interplant this with my peas for the pollinators, beauty and the scent

10/08/2026

Doctrine of signatures is something I first heard about years ago then again when I was studying naturopathy. For some they would say there is a lack evidence. For others they would say it adds to the evidence and helps with correct ID and potential usage of a herb.

What is it exactly?
Certain characteristics of a plan may hint at what the plant may be of benefit for. The first time I heard about it, it was walnuts resembling the brain.

What are some common associations with herbs?
Kawakawa - heart-shaped leaves and an affinity with the cardivascular system.
Dandelion, and the cabbage family (both yellow flowering) and turmeric - connected to the liver. Yellow is the colour that is believed to reflect the liver.
Elderflower - it is thought that the frothy flowers are reminiscent of lung tissue and, yes, many herbalists would use elderflower for lung associated complaints like hayfever and upper respiratory congestion.

On another note, I back up what I use with solid research and I see this as something interesting on the side. I wonder how the ancients discovered the uses of our herbal allies without these clues. They had no access to the information we have now. Pic of my kawakawa with the heart-shaped leaves.

09/08/2026

27/07/2026

Galanghal, Alpinia galanga, is a tropical member of the ginger family that has been turning up in some herbal products recently. It is native to China and it has been in use since 500AD in both TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Ayurveda. It is one of the herbs that has been found to support the brain and mental energy. I know when I skip it, my daughter will give me a hiding in a board game.

This is one to grow in my nurtury as it needs similar growing conditions to ginger (damp and warm). My lovely friend gifted me some rhizomes and says she uses it much as ginger in cooking (freeze then grate it into dishes).

What actions does this delicious herb have? There have been some studies on the effects although it hasn't been as studied as ginger.
🌿Anti-inflammatory and may especially be indicated for lung support
🌿Antimicrobial and antifungal
🌿Antioxidant effects
🌿There have been several studies on obese, diabetic or hypertensive rats which have shown to have a positive influence on the cardivascular system, blood sugar, fluid retention and body weight.
I imagine it's more the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that have a positive influence on brain health.

Photo credit: Creative Commons Anton Winyaro

26/07/2026

Who fasts regularly? What benefits do you see?

20/07/2026

I've been talking to a lot of people recently about practitioner only products (POP) vs over the counter (OTC) and what the difference is and why things are considered to be like that.

What's so special about POP?
✅Safety first ➡️My internal motto with my clients.

✅Products that are not easily accessible ➡️These are often what I would consider are better taken under practitioner supervision.

✅You are buying the right product for you ➡️Have you seen the amount of products out there? Guidance from someone with knowledge takes away the confusion.

✅In depth testing ➡️My suppliers provide products whose companies spend a lot of money on lab tests so they can prove they are what they say they are and that they're free of contaminants.

✅Low excipients ➡️So you get what you think you're buying without a pile of nasty fillers.

One example are the herbal blends I make for my clients. Safety first as some of these are herbs that may interact with medications or may be contraindicated due to pregnancy, lactation or a medical condition. Some, like poke root, are strictly for a very low dose for a short period of time due to how toxic they are.