Apothecary Now

Welcome to our blog site Apothecary Now!

These blogs are our musings about life, health, herbs & wellbeing.

You will find tips & information on herbal medicine, nutrition, aromatherapy, stress, sleep, gut health, diet tips, cardiovascular health, immunity, lifestyle changes, hormones, skin health, aging, & emotional well-being, all from a holistic perspective.

Feel free to share, make a comment or post online to your friends. Enjoy!

Homemade Fabric Softener Using Essential Oils

by Simone Reddington | 14 June 2020 | Herbal Medicine | Aromatherapy | 0 Comments

How to make your own fabric softener using essential oils. This simple and easy recipe involves 1 ingredient and some essential oils to make your washing smell divine. Place it in the fabric softener compartment of your machine so it goes through the wash on its final...

Our Story, Our beginnings

by Simone Reddington | 23 April 2020 | Herbal Medicine | Aromatherapy | 0 Comments

6 years later & mid-way through a Covid-19 pandemic, I reflected on 6 years in business and how sharing our herbal remedies with the locals of Chirstchurch has been. I always say you learn the most from your customers and clients. You are the ones who tell us what...

Covid-19 – A Herbal Approach

With cases now in New Zealand we have had a lot of requests for cold and flu remedies a lot earlier this season! So is there any evidence for Herbal Remedies treating Coronavirus? We like to keep a traditional and up-to-date evidence based approach here at the...

The Refillery

by Simone Reddington | 20 February 2020 | Herbal Medicine | Aromatherapy | 0 Comments

We are serious about bridging the gap between shopping locally & sustainably so we have partnered up with local business and taken the plunge to make refilling a viable option for you - our favourite customers. We aim to have lots more things available for refill...

Climate Change & Herbal Medicine

by Simone Reddington | 27 October 2019 | Herbal Medicine | Aromatherapy | 0 Comments

Hell on earth - yes that’s what climate change above 4 degrees will be. I know it’s a bit doomsday and some people don’t even want to acknowledge that it’s even true but deep-breath. Leave them to their conspiracies and complacency. Closer to the year 2100 we will...

What to do with old supplements?

We know what it's like. You bought that supplement thinking it was going to solve your (insert XYZ problem here) and it didn't work, or you thought it wasn't helping, so you stopped it & its now sitting in the cupbard taking up room. But what if I still will use...

How to make your own scented sticks with essential oils

by Simone Reddington | 12 July 2019 | Herbal Medicine | Aromatherapy | 0 Comments

Making your own Reed Diffuser at home from reused materials and lovely essential oils is easy. Here is what you need: A jar {or reuse your original reed diffuser bottle or jar} Bamboo skewers {or reuse some original reed diffuser sticks - we also sell sticks} Spirit...

Essential Oil bottle refills at the Apothecary

by Simone Reddington | 4 March 2019 | Herbal Medicine | Aromatherapy | 0 Comments

To kick 2019 off with a bang we decided to do something outrageous. Refill your little essential oil bottles. We weren't sure how exactly to do this so we teamed up with Zurma Botanical Oils and came up with a plan, slept on it and made it happen.Throwing out those...

Echinacea root ~ An immune tonic

Echinacea root has such an interesting and varied use as an immune tonic. Native Americans valued the remedy for wound healing, when there was no antibiotics, herbs were used to support the body's immune response. Echinacea was highly valued for this and for this...

Can herbs help relieve anxiety?

Herbal remedies have been used for thousands of years in all parts of the world for many different ailments as both emergency and tonic medicine. One of the most powerful ways herbal medicine is used is in reducing nervous tension and anxiety, inducing sleep and...

Hay – Fever – leave them kids alone!

Symptoms such as runny nose, itchy nose & eyes, especially on windy days & from season to season are a giveaway that you have seasonal allergies. What are seasonal allergies & what has this got to do with our immune system? How can we use foods, plants...

Iodine – why are we running low?

by Simone Reddington | 6 November 2019 | Nutrition | Gut | 0 Comments

Iodine deficiency is something of the past and the 'goitre' which is an enlarged thyrdoid no longer exists. We set out to eradicate this largely preventable health issue by adding iodine (potassium iodate) to table salt. Since this introduction, goitre have been...

Eating for climate as well as health. Is it possible?

by Simone Reddington | 28 October 2019 | Nutrition | Gut | 0 Comments

With the climate crisis well and truly upon us, individual actions to bring about change are just as important as government level, business & system change. Some major adaptations will need to take place. The world we live in now will look very different in 20...

What to do with old supplements?

Prebiotics or Probiotics? A quick lesson

by Simone Reddington | 24 October 2019 | Nutrition | Gut | 0 Comments

With the advent of probiotics and the focus that surrounded them as the research first appeared about their myriad of health benefits(1), prebiotics have been forgotten about and come to the fore again. Specific probiotics (live bacteria) and their strains have been...

Kids school lunchbox ideas

I've had a bit of lunchbox envy when I have seen what creative ideas my own friends have included in their kids lunchbox so I thought I would write about it just in case you needed some inspiration! (As we all do!) When it comes to kids lunch boxes, we need things...

The Many Uses of Collagen

Collagen is such a useful type of protein that has many many benefits that span the whole body. We get really excited about our Collagen supplement because of the results and feedback we get from people. So why is it so good and who should take it? What results will I...

10 positive thoughts to help with weight loss

by Simone Reddington | 1 February 2017 | Nutrition | Gut | 0 Comments

Instead of telling you what not to do we are going to give you some positive things to consider when losing weight instead: If you fall off the bandwagon - don't worry! Just get back on it. Never beat yourself up with unnecessary guilt - it wasn't meant to be a ride...

Is fruit juice as bad as fizzy drink?

by Simone Reddington | 17 January 2017 | Nutrition | Gut | 0 Comments

When drunk on a regular basis - yes, fruit juice is as bad as fizzy. Some people find this hard to believe but what is there left in a processed fruit drink apart from sugars and some stale vitamins? Many people feel that juice is a better alternative to fizzy. But...

Probiotics | Friends with Benefits

by Simone Reddington | 17 January 2017 | Nutrition | Gut | 0 Comments

Probiotics form part of the Microbiome - the vast array of beneficial bacteria, yeasts and fungi that live inside us - and off us - without harming us. In fact, these bacteria form beneficial arrangement with us ~ These are our friends with benefits. We feed them,...

Stress & Immunity

Stress – Stress is a normal part of life - we are designed to be able to cope with stress and the mechanisms with which we are designed to cope with stress are maintained by ‘Stress hormones’. These hormones alter body chemistry so that we can deal with stress to get...

Can herbs help relieve anxiety?

Why Health-care is Self-care

Many men and women haven't yet learnt to put themselves first. This means putting your needs in front of others, not at all times but enough to know that when you need to - you do it. The consequences of not putting yourself first are such that people end up in our...

Ingredients for a Good Sleep

Follow this recipe to learn the ingredients for a good sleep! Preparation: Part 1 - Length 5 days: Preferably one whole day each free of immediate stress. If this cannot be managed even in the face of a grueling and pressured work day and family commitments,...

The 3 Major Underlying Causes of Health Issues

The majority of health issues are caused by three major underlying factors. These 3 body systems play a very big role in our overall health. When we experience sickness we experience symptoms. Symptoms are the things you notice in your body that cause discomfort or...

Guidelines to an Anti-inflammatory Lifestyle

This is a brief how-to guide to living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. Old healers said that ‘toxicity’ was the root of all dis-ease. Now we know that ‘inflammation’ is the cause of all disease. Inflammation is the body’s way of reacting to infection, injury, chemical...

Be Patient ~ You are one!

How long does it take to get results when seeing a Medical Herbalist such as ourselves? We all tend to want a quick fix and whilst there are some cases that are a quick fix {one issue that needs dealt with quickly} most of our cases are chronic conditions which means...

A Health Checklist

This page is for those who aren’t sure what to do about their health but know they need to do something. Because we run a general practice and treat common ailments we know that some health problems can be easy to treat, and others can be tricky to pin down, harder to treat, and can take a lot more effort.

Research bites: PCOS Herbal Medicine & Lifestyle Support

A research paper by Susan Arentz, et al titled 'Combined Lifestyle and Herbal Medicine in Overweight Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): A Randomized Controlled Trial' has shown promise when using multiple therapies in a clinic setting as well as indicating...

The Art of Successful Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding a baby is a special thing - one that in the modern day world has become a challenge rather than a blessing for some. Having successfully breastfed 2 children and having learnt more about the reasons people struggle to breastfeed I thought about some tips...

Reflections on Natural Childbirth

Much is said about the experience of pregnancy and childbirth. Humans have a long and chequered history with this natural process. With our large heads and upright posture, combined with our body's somewhat unique way of reproducing compared to other mammals,...

Sperm Health – Why it Counts

This one is for the men and women out there who are wanting to conceive but haven't because of a low sperm count. If you aren't sure whether your sperm are healthy then it is really easy. Talk to your doctor and ask to get tested - you can do this before you even...

Why all pregnant women should take a vitamin & mineral tablet

Because we need all the vitamins & minerals when we are pregnant, not just folate, iodine and iron. That's the short answer. The long answer is that we need all the vitamins and minerals when we are pregnant, not just folate, iodine & iron. Notice that both...

Guidelines to an Anti-inflammatory Lifestyle

The Skincare Puzzle ~ How to feed your skin

The Skincare Puzzle ~ Would you be enticed by an advertisement for a coat that is waterproof, stretchable and washable, that automatically repairs small cuts, rips, and burns, and that is guaranteed to last a lifetime with reasonable care? Sounds too good to be true...

Stress & Immunity

Hay – Fever – leave them kids alone!

Covid-19 – A Herbal Approach

Kids school lunchbox ideas

Echinacea root ~ An immune tonic

Why don’t pharmaceutical cough remedies use Liquorice anymore?

This is a question I often ponder to myself. Why don't pharmaceutic preparations use herbs anymore? Is it that they have forgotten about their efficacy? Is it that they find the cost too prohibitive? Is it because they believe that their compounded chemical...

12 Steps for Tooth Decay Prevention

by Simone Reddington | 22 July 2016 | Immunity | Kids | 0 Comments

Tooth decay is largely preventable. Here are 12 tips to help you prevent tooth decay. If you follow these rules you should have better dental health and less decay. Tooth decay is like rotting wood. Once it starts it becomes contagious. Treat early for the very best...

Chronic Urinary Tract Infections

by Simone Reddington | 4 June 2016 | Immunity | Kids | 0 Comments

UTI's. Nobody likes them. They are a pain, quite literally in the urethra! The immune system gets compromised from the very fact that it hasn't been able to clear the infection, and the only orthodox treatment that work are Antibiotics. These antibiotics are largely...

Key Nutrients for the Immune System

Why are nutrients so important for the immune system? When you listen to a Medical Herbalist, Naturopath or Nutritionist talk about the immune system, inevitably the topic of nutrients comes up. White blood cells are the main fighters in the immune army. To make these...

The 3 Major Underlying Causes of Health Issues

The Many Uses of Collagen

What is a Mitochondria {& why do I need to know}?

A brief introduction to a human cell in any text book will teach you about the role of the mitochondria. This is the 'battery' of the cell, where the energy is made and dispersed throughout the cell for it to go about its daily processes. It is where carbohydrate in...

Why fasting is good for you

Many people hold a subconscious belief that if they somehow go hungry for too long, fast or simply eat less that their metabolism will somehow deem them to be in famine and hold onto fat. The reality is this is simply not true. Because of this belief many people think...

What is Cardiovascular health?

As winter approaches and we think of ways to keep warm, hot chilli's and exercise come to mind. The Cardiovascular system is often something we don't even think about, until something goes wrong. Yet this is New Zealand's biggest killer. And it is stealthy and silent....

Aging & the Brain

Aging is our topic for the month with a specific focus on the brain. Brain tissue ages as we age and it is important to know what to do about it. Feeding a brain takes hard work and a lot of patience as one needs to focus on high density foods like oily fish and organ...

Anti-aging | What does it really mean?

Anti-aging is a term that has been flown around since the advent of the beauty industry's realm of facial treatments for sunspots and wrinkles started to come onto the market ~ but what does this really mean and can we truly reverse aging with a skincare cream, or at...

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