Nicholas Edwards
BSc, MSc, PGCE, MNIMH
Background
Nicholas's passion for herbal medicine comes from a long-time interest in the natural world, coupled with an acknowledgement of the need for a wider, holistic understanding of health and wellbeing.
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Nicholas trained to be a herbalist at Lincoln University from 2006 to 2009. There, he was trained in clinical skills, including physical examinations and differential diagnoses, and subjects like phytochemistry, pathophysiology, and herbal therapeutics.
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Alongside his practice, Nicholas has worked in the health food and education sectors. He continued to study the natural world by completing a master's degree in Ethnobotany at the University of Kent, graduating with a distinction. This course opened up the amazing world of how plants are used by different people all over the world for food, commerce, construction, and, most importantly, medicine.
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Nicholas bases his practice on a blend of the most recent scientific research and traditional herbal wisdom. His approach is fully collaborative with the patient and entails building a comprehensive and detailed treatment plan. This will include herbal medicines, diet, and lifestyle approaches.
Nicholas is currently working towards a PhD at Durham University, looking into Herbal Medicine use and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
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Nicholas is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists: click here to see his profile.
Approach
Grounded in a holistic understanding of health and disease, I take care to understand the interplay between my patients' emotional, social, mental, and spiritual lives and how this impacts their physical state; affecting one leads to changes in the other.
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That said, I prefer to understand the action of herbal medicines in terms of their chemistry and always seek to find modern research that can inform the best of traditional approaches to health problems. I see the goal of herbal medicines as optimizing the body's already amazing capacity to heal itself.
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My treatment plans will mainly consist of diet and lifestyle changes that are manageable and realistic. I believe it's important to work in collaboration with patients to find consensus on what works best for them. When prescribing herbs to patients, I try to use the simplest formulation. Normally, less is more!
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My research with herbalists has focused on insomnia, chronic fatigue, and energy levels. People find herbal medicines useful in chronic conditions because of the wide lens of a holistic approach and the gentle, yet multi-sited approach of whole-herb medicines.
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In my spare time I like being in the great outdoors, camping, hiking, and staying fit. I also love cooking, of course by including as many interesting plant foods as possible, and learning new languages.
