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Turmeric and back pepper: the secret weapons in the fight against Lyme disease Nutrition can play a key role in your recovery from infections including Lyme disease. Optimal nutrition doesn’t just help your body clear such infections more effectively, but also supports faster recovery by improving your energy levels. Turmeric and black pepper are two natural remedies that have long been studied for their therapeutic benefits. Let’s have a closer look at whether turmeric and black pepper can help in the treatment of Lyme disease, and how they work. What is Lyme disease? Lyme disease is a rapidly growing infectious...

This tiny plant is full of surprises. Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis) is very modest, so much so that you may hardly notice her but is flowering now, so worth looking out for. She is found on undernourished soils in heathland, old quarries, railway tracks and gravelly places.  Add a freshly picked handful of eyebright to a cafetière and pour boiling water over to infuse. This tea is surprisingly sweet - like butterscotch. In fact so delicious that I’m not only drinking the tea hot but diluting it into my drinking water too. And I’m dreaming of infusing eyebright into milk and...

Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) are a more classic Lughnasadh gift - in more ways than one. It’s easy to identify blaeberries (as we call them in Scotland) as after their flowers are pollinated by the bilberry bumblebee (Bombus monticola) they produce berries that look exactly like miniature blueberries! The taste is much more concentrated, no watery flavours here. So now the race is on to get your fill before the rabbits, the deer and even stoats, weasels and foxes, get them. Everyone is after a shot of potent antioxidants!  If you manage to collect enough you can make bilberry pie or bilberry jam...

Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) is always to be found. It lurks in clumps by the grasses in pasture and is often found around aging dock stalks as if they offer it special protection or perhaps a mineral boost. Dock has a long taproot which, like dandelion, can bring up minerals from deep underground. Sorrel tastes like green apple skin and lemon. Tart, fresh, tasty. Wild Sorrel Leaves   Traditionally, sorrel sauce was made to accompany fish. I also use it with roast lamb instead of mint sauce on the rare occasion that I cook it. Two summers ago, I had...