Useful Websites & Books

Useful Websites & Books

Websites & books for Natural Health, Herbal Medicine & Herb Safety. The big wide web of the internet is a both an infinite treasure of info & a minefield all at once. But hopefully this little section helps as an initial guide

Herb / Nutrient Safety

Herbal Medicine and Nutrition are vast areas and of course there are cautions to take heed. For more info on Herb/Nutrient safety & current research, there are a couple of websites I’ve listed below. However, a few things to mention here:

It is recommended that if you have a chronic/serious health condition, that you seek professional advice from a qualified herbalist rather than self-treating with herbs. Please see the section on ‘Herb Safety’ for further reading on the safe use of herbs

Drug Interactions?

Herb-Nutrient-Drug interactions are a hot topic right now, with so many people taking both pharmaceuticals and herbs, it is more important than ever to stay clued-up. 

This is a new area of research and new our understanding of interactions is ever-evolving. Do your own research and be open with your GP/herbalist about what nutritional supplements/herbs/drugs you are taking.

Websites? There are a few websites out there which are starting to collate info on herb safety and possible herb-drug interactions, however some of the supposed cautions/interactions listed are often speculative, verging on ridiculous! (WebMD comes to mind!) Look at a few different sources (don’t just rely on 1 website) Healthnotes (see below) is a great starting point for interactions/general herb safety.

Find a Herbalist / Naturopath

NIMH – National Institute of Medical Herbalists : https://www.nimh.org.uk/ Find a Herbalist in your area – members have an approved degree in Herbal Medicine. Herbalists provide in depth consultations and prescribe herbal tinctures / teas / topical herbal preparations.

ANP – Association of Naturopathic Practitioners : https://theanp.co.uk Find approved Naturopaths in the UK. Naturopaths often prescribe a mixture of Nutrition, Herbal Medicine and lifestyle recommendations. Naturopathy is essentially ‘Holistic Health’, with a focus on quality wholefoods, digestive health, detoxification etc…

NNA – Naturopathic Nutrition Association : https://www.nna-uk.com Allows you to search for nutritionists who work within a Naturopathic framework.

IFM – Institute of Functional Medicine : https://www.ifm.org Functional Medicine is at the cutting edge of Nutrition research and I think combines the best of Naturopathic Nutrition and Science – particularly good for complex chronic health conditions. There are an increasing number of practitioners from all around the world who have completed the IFM training (Functional Medicine Practitioners)

Natural Therapy Pages : http://www.naturaltherapypages.co.uk/ A popular search page to find natural therapists in your area- plus other resources.

Therapy Directory : http://www.therapy-directory.org.uk/ Therapy Directory: find therapists in your area.

Holistic Community : http://www.holistic-community.co.uk/Another online resource which allows you to search for practitioners or clinics.

British Association of Veterinary Herbalists : http://www.herbalvets.org.uk/ Find a Herbal Vet near you – a growing body of Qualified vets who use herbs / natural means to treat their animal patients!

Herbal Medicine Resources

A small selection of Herbie websites – to get you started (there are many more) plus make sure you scope out any local herbalists or professional foragers in your area. Most offer herbal medicine talks/workshops & foraging walks.

American Botanical Council : http://abc.herbalgram.org The American Botanical Council is one of the go-to’s for Herbal Info.

The Herb Research Foundation : www.herbs.org/herbnews/

Herb Mentor : www.herbmentor.com A membership-style online herb resource with videos, short courses & more. Worth it for the home-herbalist wanting to learn more about herbs, without having to do a professional course.

The Herbal Academy :  https://theherbalacademy.com/ A beautiful herbal learning website for the budding herbalist – based on subscription similar to Herb Mentor. The content is beautifully presented & there is also quite a bit of free info.

Henriette’s Herbal http://www.henriettes-herb.com/ herbal website run by Henriette Kress, a herbalist in Helsinki, Finland. Though it can seem a bit messy to navigate don’t let this put you off as it is full of interesting info based on the traditional uses of many plants

GreenMedInfo :  www.greenmedinfo.com founder Sayer Ji has created a vast resource on natural medicine. I do like his herb research articles.

Herbalists Without Borders : https://www.hwbglobal.org/ a global community of herbalists with the shared goal that herbal medicine & natural health be more accessible, regardless of location / financial situation. Some good growing/community gardening resources too.

Individual Herbalists? There are so many herbalists out there who have fantastic books & personal blogs, too many to list! To get you started, a few well-known herbalists include Rosemary Gladstar, Steven Foster, David Winston, David Hoffman, Matthew Wood, Stephen Buhner, Sevensong, James A Duke, Aviva Romm, Anne McIntyre, Penelope Ody, Susan Weed, Julie-Bruton-Seal & Matthew Seal, Thomas Easley, Rosalee de la Foret & so many more! Do your own research on herbalists in your part of the woods & see what they offer in terms of courses, published books, blogs etc… Like anything in life, there are many different styles of Herbalism & you’ll find you have an affinity to some more than others.

Nutrition – Eat Seasonal  – Eat Local

Eat The Seasons : http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/ Guide to what’s in season in the UK.

BBC Good Food Calendar : http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/seasonal-calendar/all

Big Barn : https://www.bigbarn.co.uk/ Local Foods and farmers markets…

Local Food Britain : http://localfoodbritain.com/ Similar to the above

Social Farms and Gardens : https://www.farmgarden.org.uk: Helping communities to grow. Lots of useful resources.

CSA– Community Supported Agriculture : https://communitysupportedagriculture.org.uk – all about CSA’s, plus a directory & resources section.

 Nutrition & Naturopathy Resources

Holistic health, quality wholefoods, seasonal eating. A few of my favourite websites & educational resources for general health/wellness

Food Matters : https://www.foodmatters.com/ – A valuable resource on all things Nutrition & Natural Health. They also have a subscription film/documentary (FMTV) with a focus on health & wellbeing.

Gaia : https://www.gaia.com/ – another subscription channel for health/wellbeing docos & films

Institute of Optimum Nutrition : www.ion.ac.uk has online short courses for anyone interested in nutrition. They also have a great blog and quarterly subscription magazine.

CNM – College of Naturopathic Medicine UK : http://www.naturopathy-uk.com/ Has some short courses for interest. Also has a blog and lots of general info.

The Weston A Price Foundation : https://www.westonaprice.org/ A famous advocate of ‘real food’ and traditional preparation methods (grass fed dairy, fermented foods, soaked grains/nuts). Both the website and the book (Nourishing Traditions) are valuable resources.

Doctor Murray : http://doctormurray.com/ Dr Michael Murray is a pioneer in the Nutritional field and this is his website which has lots of free resources.

Dr Mark Hyman : http://drhyman.com/ General health website with focus on functional nutrition  for recipes and health articles (Dr Hyman is a Functional Nutrition Doctor and the author of several books).

Heal With Food : http://www.healwithfood.org/ Exactly as the name suggests ‘Heal with Foods’ is all about healing foods – more for general interest than in depth science but informative nonetheless!

Plus… as with Herbalists, there are many great Nutritionists out there – too many to list! But the above links should point you in the right direction. When it comes to Nutrition, I tend to look for Nutritionists with a speciality in Naturopathic & / or Functional Nutrition, as I believe these encompass a more holistic view of health – rather than fad ‘1 fits all’ diets.

Healthy Recipe Blogs

Nutrition is never black & white but as a whole – I’m in favour of a Naturopathic-style of Nutrition (no prolonged fad diets) & I like to get inspiration from a variety of sources. Here are just a few to get you started. Eat quality wholefoods (ideally Organic/Free-Range, Local, Seasonal) in the right portions – lots of veggies & you can’t go too far wrong!

Nourished Kitchen : http://nourishedkitchen.com/ Lovely recipes- based on Weston A Price Principles. ‘Gut Health’ recipes.

Grow forage Cook Ferment : https://www.growforagecookferment.com/ – a visually beautiful website with a wealth of useful info – featuring naturopathic nutrition, herbalism & DIY skincare & more

Gather Victoria : https://gathervictoria.com/ Wild Foods and Hedgerow recipes

Wild Fermentation : http://www.wildfermentation.com/  A fantastic website on food fermenting – by Fermentation ‘guru’ Sandor Ellix Katz. Gut health is such a hot topic right now & naturally made probiotic foods are a daily essential.

Zero Waste Chef : https://zerowastechef.com/blog-index/ Zero Waste Chef… Lots of tips on sustainable living, less waste, better food economy.

Holistic Ingredient : http://www.theholisticingredient.com Lovely recipes

The Nourishing Gourmet : www.thenourishinggourmet.com/ Beautiful recipes and practical tips on food prep

Honestly Healthy Food :  http://www.honestlyhealthyfood.com/ From the authors of the book ‘Honestly Healthy’. A nice selection of Vegetarian recipes. I also like to refer to these recipes during a ‘cleanse/detox’- as they are generally light and well-suited for this purpose (‘Detox’ in Naturopathy generally just means eating a light, ‘alkaline’ diet for a short while).

The Healthy Chef : https://www.thehealthychef.com/category/recipes/ Loads of recipes from this well known ‘healthy’ chef Teresa Cutter.

Irena Macri : https://irenamacri.com/ – I have a couple of her books and love her recipes – they are mostly ‘Paleo’ (though I don’t follow a strict Paleo diet!) but I like many of these recipes as they are nutrient-dense with a focus on vegetables.

Meat-Free Mondays : http://www.meatfreemondays.co.uk/category/recipes/ – For meat free Mondays! There’s no doubt that when it comes to the environment, we all need to reduce the amount of meat we eat, but it needn’t be all or nothing – just 1 day a week vegetarian can make a big difference, so this is a good place to get inspiration – if you’d like to increase the number of veggie meals you eat, but don’t know where to start.