Emma Hickey

This is a short consultation, intended to provide you with generalised advice that does not require the amount of information I typically gather during a 1-hour consultation.

I can provide advice around supporting your body to get through winter feeling strong, calm, uplifted and protected against sniffles. If you or your child has come down with something, I can provide more specific advice around herbal and nutritional approaches that may be of benefit to help you feel better sooner.

Working one-on-one with me allows me to assess your current health situation, piece together possible reasons behind symptoms you may be experiencing, and provide you with strategies to improve how you are feeling. My priority is to figure out which approaches will be easiest for you to implement and of greatest benefit to you specifically.

What can I assist you with?

• Digestive health
• Stress management
• Mood issues
• Immune system support
• Hormone balancing
• Skin conditions
• Cardiovascular health
• Brain health
• Gentle detoxification practices
• Food as medicine
• Optimising your wellbeing

What can you expect throughout our consultations?

• A discussion of your health goals - where would you like to be?
• A thorough case history, where I listen to your story and ask you LOTS of questions about your health over your entire lifetime
• An explanation of lab results you may have
• An understanding of how your symptoms relate to your overall health status and behaviours
• Emailed within 48 hours: a detailed outline of concepts discussed during the consultation, plus recommendations for dietary advice, nutritional supplements, herbal medicines and lifestyle habits, as appropriate for you.

In this video I share some key reasons why we can feel chronically fatigued and exhausted. I talk about non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), latent viral infections, digestive issues and compromised liver function. These are just a few of the root causes which I encourage you to look into if chronic fatigue and exhaustion is something you are experiencing.

Long associated with love, beauty and the heart, the rose is also a valuable herbal medicine. Over the past year or so, I have found myself thinking that just about everyone I come across could benefit from incorporating some rose into their life. Buying a bouquet of roses to uplift your home or workspace, or to brighten up a loved one’s day, is absolutely a lovely option – but there are many other ways to harness the power of roses. Read on to discover the spectrum of rose’s benefits and lots of ideas for incorporating them into your daily life.

There are three parts of the rose plant that are medicinal: the petals, leaves and rosehips. In this article I will be focusing on the petals, as these are generally the easiest to harvest or purchase, tend to be much more affordable than rosehips, and there are so many fun ways that rose petals can be used!

Skin health

Rose petals are known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. They contain flavonoids such as quercetin, which help to calm down inflammation and soothe the tissues they come into contact with. Herbalists classify this as an “emollient” action, which means softening and soothing to the skin. Rose petals are also gently “astringent”, which means tonifying. This combination makes rose petals a valuable addition to your skincare routine, helping with redness, irritation, balancing skin quality and enhancing skin appearance overall. In the same way, rose can even be beneficial for remedying sunburns and other minor burns.

You definitely do not need to invest in a line of expensive skincare products to benefit from the skin-healing properties of rose. By infusing a strong tea of rose petals that you strain and transfer into a spritz bottle, you can make a skin toner that can tighten the pores and gently reduce oily skin, while also nourishing and soothing dry sensitive skin. You can even infuse rose petals into almond or jojoba oil that can be added into homemade lotions and creams.

Digestive health

Rose’s anti-inflammatory and astringent properties are just as soothing and tonifying to the lining of the digestive tract as they are to our skin. This means that by ingesting rose in tea or food and allowing it to come into contact with our gut lining, it can exert these helpful actions internally. This makes it potentially useful in cases of gingivitis, heartburn, gastritis, intestinal permeability and diarrhoea. As it is a gentle plant, to address conditions like these rose works best combined with other well-chosen herbs. Nevertheless, taken regularly on an ongoing basis rose can help to provide the conditions for optimal digestion.

A lovely way to get rose in is to add a small spoonful of petals to your cup of tea. Rose pairs nicely with other tasty teas such as chamomile, peppermint or lemon verbena. Strain out the petals before drinking, and you will notice your tea has an extra beautiful aromatic layer. You can also infuse some petals in high-quality honey for up to a week, and then use your “rose petal honey” in hot and cold drinks, baking and drizzled over pancakes.

Rose for the heart

If you have ever literally stopped to smell the roses, you will know what an instant sense of pleasure that brings! Herbalists consider rose to be a “nervine” – the term for a plant that affects the nervous system in some way. Rose is calming and uplifting, and its affinity for the heart makes it a helpful herbal ally during times of grief, loss, heartbreak, loneliness, depression and anxiety – any situation where the heart needs some comforting.

As well as including rose as part of skincare, tea and food as described above, think about other ways you can incorporate rose into your daily rituals. Adding a big handful of rose petals to your bath (or foot bath) is such an easy way to treat yourself, and to calm and revitalise your nerves after a long day. You can also make a linen spray or room spray by making a strong rose tea, straining the liquid and transferring it to a spray bottle. Adding some lavender and lemon balm to the mix can further enhance the uplifting properties.

Considerations for sourcing:

When buying rose petals, make sure to choose organic, and look for petals that are still vividly coloured. When you open the bag, you should be met with a potent fragrance. You can absolutely use domestic roses from the garden, as long as pesticides have not been used. Roses from florists are not suitable. If you are lucky enough to have wild roses growing around you, make sure to harvest from plants away from roadsides and land sprayed with chemicals, and take only what you need. Remember that the roses left on the plant will bring joy to the people walking by, and this too is medicine.

Naturopaths and herbalists are extensively trained in herbal medicine and are excited by the many ways that herbs can profoundly improve health and minimise symptoms. However, I find that many people are actually confused by the term “herbal medicine” and are unsure how herbs can help them. So I would like to outline some ways that herbs assist your body to regain optimal health.

• Herbs are sources of nutrients. Herbs are a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals and unique phytochemicals which support our body to function. As our foods are now mostly grown in nutrient-deficient soils and we tend to eat less fresh foods than we should, herbs are a great way to boost our vitamin and mineral intake. Phytochemicals, or “plant chemicals”, include substances like curcumin which modulates inflammation, and quercetin which helps to reduce allergy symptoms.

• Herbs assist our digestion. Many people contend with all kinds of digestive symptoms, including heartburn, bloating, pain, constipation and diarrhea. We have many herbs that effectively ease these symptoms and support our digestive tract to reduce the occurrence of these symptoms in the first place. And best of all, when we improve our digestion, there are positive flow-on effects in the rest of our body.

• Herbs can improve your energy levels and sleep. Depending on your health history and your current situation, there are many herbs that can provide you with an energy boost, support you through a gruelling time and assist you to get restorative sleep through the night so that you can wake feeling refreshed.

• Herbs assist us to detoxify. Of course we have our own inbuilt system of detoxification, involving our liver and lymph, along with other body systems too. However, our detoxification systems can become overburdened due to our diet and lifestyle choices, and even the environment we live in. Herbs can assist these body systems to clear waste products more efficiently so that we can feel better and function more effectively. Reducing our “toxic burden” simultaneously reduces inflammation in the body, which is a contributor to many of the health challenges we face.

• Herbs tend to work in particular parts of the body, which means the right herbs can be used to help with just about anything – menstrual symptoms, brain function, heart health, skin conditions, anxiety, immune function … and maintaining general wellness and vitality.

Just like there are many conditions herbs can be used for, there are also many ways that herbs can be taken. You do not need to drink herbal tea every day – although for many people that is a beneficial option. Working with an experienced practitioner can help you to figure out which herbs are most appropriate for you and ways of taking them that are most suitable for you and your lifestyle.