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How would you answer if I asked your question “What do you think are the top 5 herbs used in a home kitchen?” Many herbs would immediately spring to mind – oregano, parsley, ginger, rosemary, turmeric, thyme, basil, marjoram, cardamon, garlic and chilli. Perhaps not chilli, but as soon as you start to think about spices associated with a good curry, chilli would probably be the first spice you would think of.

Spices are also classified as herbs as both herbs and spices come from plants. Herbs tend to be from the fresh part of the plant – leaf and flower, while spices tend to be the root, bark, berries and seeds.

The efficiency and the effectiveness of our system of digestion in the gut is dependent on the gut microbiome. This term “gut microbiome” refers to the microorganisms that live within the digestive tract. In fact, this is not the only place that has a microbiome in the body as we also have microbiota in the oral and vaginal mucosa, the respiratory tract, urinary tract, uterus as well as in our skin. Due to the gut-brain access, the link between the health of the gut and therefore the health of the brain, there is potential for microbiota in the brain as well. The microbiome is a diverse collection of not only bacteria, but also fungi, viruses, protozoa and archaea that coexist and live in our body with the gastrointestinal tract being the key driver that affects health overall.

We are in that season of active creepy crawlies, biting things and things that sting. All part of the great British summer, as well as in other countries in the Western hemisphere that we are visiting to enjoy the sun and sea or to simply experience something different.

With the ever-escalating chronic disease, including autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, cancers of various kinds, as well as just being unwell, lacking energy, feeling tired and fatigued, catching one cold after another, it is important that practitioners keep an eye on the cause while treating the symptoms. Of course, we want to alleviate the client from pain and discomfort by treating the symptoms, but not at the cost of losing track of the main cause.