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Buy your prescription tincture blend here. Select the size that you need. At 5ml three times a day: 100ml will last a...
Ease and relax your hardworking joints and muscles Napiers warming cream is used to comfort muscles, joints, backs an...
Quick moisturising relief from dry, irritated, itchy skin Moisturises and soothes dry, itchy skin Cools and calms ho...
A cooling, soothing, calming eye cream for itchy, puffy eyes. Cooling, refreshing, and soothing to puffy, irritated ...
A complete blend of friendly bacteria, vitamin D, digestive enzymes & prebiotic fibres
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Sleep regression can be a challenging phase for both babies and parents. It's a period when your baby's sleep patterns may be temporarily disrupted, causing more frequent night waking and fussiness. But don't worry; we're here to help you navigate...
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We all know the importance of a good night's sleep. It's essential for our overall health and well-being. However, sometimes, despite our best efforts, sleep can be elusive. If you've been struggling with sleep issues, you may be surprised to lear...
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Magnesium is a vital mineral that plays a crucial role in numerous physiological processes in the body. It is involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions and is essential for maintaining good health. In this article, we will explore the best methods ...
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Sleep is essential for our overall health and well-being, yet many people struggle with sleep issues such as insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and more. If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, it's time to take steps towards...
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Alan is a fully qualified Five Element Acupuncturist and has been practising this wonderful system of medicine at Napiers Clinic in the West End of Glasgow for the past 18 years.
Angela practices Herbal Medicine at Napiers Bathgate, Edinburgh & Glasgow, as well as with the Napiers CLAID Clinic.
Ania is a face massage therapist. I also work as a fitness instructor teaching yoga and other disciplines. I studied Public Health and Health Promotion in Poland and HND Sports Coaching course at Dundee College.
Audrey is a Medical Herbalist, graduating in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Herbal Medicine & Phytotherapy from Edinburgh’s Napier University and is a registered member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (MNIMH).
As a fully qualified, experienced Holistic Therapist, Bettina works with clients on a one-to-one basis to establish an optimal treatment plan or therapy to best support your skin health and well-being.
Cat offers a range of massage including holistic, deep tissue, trigger point therapy, advanced sports stretching and pregnancy massge.
Claire is an experienced Western Medical Herbalist (BSc), a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (NIMH) and works at Napiers online clinic.
Clare is an experienced medical herbalist based in the West Highlands of Scotland, home to deer, livestock, ticks, and Lyme disease. She works for the Napier's CLAID clinic on a Thursday morning.
Clare began training at Edinburgh’s Napier University in 2005, gaining a Bachelor of Science Degree in Herbal Medicine in 2009. She joined the Napiers Clinic team shortly after her graduation, initially working in the dispensary before beginning her herbal practice in 2010. Since then she has been a key member of our clinical team, working alongside Dee Atkinson in running the general herbal clinics, as well as heading the Baby & Child Clinic.
Cybele is a passionate Sophrologist and founder of Chamapola, Healing Yourself - Healing Together.
Dean is a Naturopathic Practitioner experienced in Nutrition and Herbal Medicine. With interests in nerve problems, cardiovascular health, digestive disorders as well as male and female reproductive system wellbeing.
Dee is the senior herbal practitioner at Napiers the Herbalists in Edinburgh. She runs a general medicine clinic with a special interest in women’s health, managing hormonal health and ageing. More recently, Dee set up the Napiers Long Covid Clinic to facilitate an integrated approach between doctors, herbalists and nutritionist to this new disease.
Isabelle has over 20 years helping individuals and couples achieve their fertility goals through nutrition.
Jill is a fully qualified and insured Advanced Clinical Massage Therapist offering Outcome Based Treatments
John is a friendly and experienced counsellor offering 1-1 sessions on Fridays at Napiers Clinic in Edinburgh city centre and online via FaceTime/Skype. He has worked in private practice supporting people for over 18 years and brings a wealth of experience.
Kate is a BANT registered Nutritionist who owns and runs the Edinburgh Clinic of Nutrition. She trained for three and a half years at Patrick Holford's renowned Institute of Optimum Nutrition in London and is currently studying with The Institute of Functional Medicine in the US.
Kim is qualified in Aromatherapy Massage and Indian Head Massage. Working with the needs of her massage clients led to a deeper interest in their health and Kim studied the BSc (Hons) Herbal Medicine degree at Napier University, Edinburgh.
Kirstin is a fully qualified member of the Society of Homeopaths and holds an RSHom distinction in Classical Homeopathy. Kirstin qualified from the Northwest College of Homeopathy's four-year training course in Manchester.
Lynn is a registered osteopath and has been practicing osteopathy for nineteen years. She studied osteopathy and cranial sacral therapy at the European School of Osteopathy and graduated in 1991. Lynn has a background in physiotherapy and is trained in structural, craniosacral, functional, fascial and visceral osteopathy.
Malgorzata graduated from the College of Naturopathic Medicine where she studied Western Herbal Medicine and Naturopathic Nutrition /Diplomas in Herbal Medicine (2017), Naturopathy (2017), and Naturopathic Nutrition (2020). She is also qualified in KORE Therapy, Anmo-fu - 5 Element Abdominal Massage, Craniosacral Balance and Stress Release Therapy and Cupping. Her first degree is a PhD in History.
Margaret practices Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy at Napiers Edinburgh.
Mark runs the podiatry clinic, offering diagnosis and treatment of various disorders relating to the feet, ankles, legs and lower back. He offers podiatry, chiropody, orthotics and nail surgery.
Mary is a qualified therapist in Swedish, Indian and Thai Foot Massage.
Mary trained in Edinburgh, and has been working as a complementary therapist since 1999, holding diplomas in Clinical Aromatherapy, Reflexology, Therapeutic Massage and Hopi Ear Candling gained from the International Therapy Examinations Council (ITEC). She is a member of, and is fully insured to practice with, the Complementary Therapists Association (CThA).
Mike is a body worker and NLP Practitioner who is passionate about working with the person as a whole; offering treatments that integrate body and mind.
Monica has a Masters degree in herbal medicine from the University of Central Lancashire. She is the research herbalist heading up the Napiers Lyme Clinic. The Lyme Clinic specialism is Lyme disease Borrelia burgdorferi and co-infections - crypto-infections Bartonella, Babesia, Rickettsia, Erlichia, Anaplasma, Mycoplasma, etc. A research herbalist is not the same as a medical herbalist and Monica does not run a general clinical practice. This allows her to focus on Lyme disease and bacterial and viral infections.
Natasha is an experienced and qualified medical herbalist in Western herbal medicine, a forager and mycotherapist.
Nikki was awarded a first class honours degree in Herbal Medicine from the University of East London and trained at clinics in Glasgow and London. She was also awarded the Arthur Barker prize for her final examination grades. Nikki also has ITEC Diplomas in Holistic Massage and Aromatherapy. She is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists which is the UK’s leading professional body representing herbal practitioners. NIMH members follow a strict code of conduct and are committed to ongoing and continual practitioner development and training.
Pearlyn is a licensed acupuncturist and a registered member of the Acupuncture Society, and is fully insured to practice acupuncture, tuina, cupping and moxibustion.
Rebecca is an Associate Nutritionist, specialising in gut health and women's health, from hormone imbalance to fertility, pregnancy and beyond.
Sara is qualified Medical Herbalist, Ayurvedic Therapist and Yoga teacher, holding an MSc. in Western Herbal Medicine from Middlesex University.
Sheila is a Holistic Therapist who qualified in KCR in 2019 with the KCR Academy. After a long career in retail, an ankle injury led her to seek an alternative approach to healing.
Shona has worked at Napiers Clinic for 30 years where she has picked up a wealth of knowledge about various complementary therapies. She trained as a Food Sensitivity tester with The Health Partnership Company, where she was taught how to use the 3 point marker system.
Thanos is an experienced Medical Herbalist and practises as a Herbalist and Orthopaedic Acupuncturist at Napiers in Edinburgh and at Napiers Bathgate.
Wendy qualified in 2002 with a BSc(Hons) in Phytotherapy. Since then she has practiced in Fife, Angus and the Lothians. She is a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists.
Many people start to take seaweed as part of their diet if they become concerned about developing an underactive thyroid. This is because an underactive thyroid can develop if you do not have enough iodine in your diet. Learn more here.
by Monica Wilde
17 November 2014
If a thyroid test still shows high TSH levels, despite adequate iodine intake, there may be other factors influencing your thyroid function. In fact, it might even be due to the increase of iodine transport into the thyroid and not a problem. Read more about the issues.
Many people start to take seaweed as part of their diet if they become concerned about developing an underactive thyroid. This is because an underactive thyroid can develop if you do not have enough iodine in your diet.
Ensuring you have adequate iodine in your diet is essential to prevent one of the main causes of underactive thyroid (called subclinical hypothyroidism). Sufficient iodine can be got from eating any ONE of the following EVERY day.
We know from both our work with patients and also our research with Glasgow University1 that taking one Napiers Seagreens Organic Hebridean Kelp Capsule a day provides sufficient iodine to stimulate greater production of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) in people with iodine insufficiency and low levels of TSH1.
In the first instance, without symptoms of any other conditions, it is sensible to ensure sufficient daily dietary iodine to see whether this corrects the underactivity. If it does then the thyroid imbalance has been corrected and you are now euthyroid (normal).
However, sadly in some cases taking seaweed to ensure sufficient iodine intake does not correct an underactive thyroid. This can be for a variety of reasons.
TSH, free T4, and free T3 tests are just a "snapshot" of what is going on in your body on a given day and test results can vary, influenced by quite a few things. If you have an underactive thyroid gland that has not responded to seaweed intake, it may be due to a range of factors.
Severe stress can affect your thyroid test results. We often find that if someone has suffered stress over a prolonged period of time then they need more than seaweed to correct dietary imbalance but that they need support for their adrenal glands and endocrine system. This is usually done with adaptogenic herbs. If you have been very stressed it is worth consulting a herbalist for expert advice.
Being ill can affect your thyroid test results. If you have been in hospital, have had a long-term illness, have had liver disease or are recovering from a nasty illness it is best to delay your thyroid test until you have fully recovered when, typically, your thyroid hormone levels should return to normal. FT3 levels in particular can be lower than usual in a nonthyroidal illness (NTI).
Being pregnant (especially in the first three months) can affect your thyroid test results. The developing baby needs a lot of iodine as this is crucial to normal brain development. So ensure you have the best diet possible, including seaweed and other sources of iodine, vitamins and minerals, and ask to be retested later.
Some medicines may influence thyroid test results. Thjs includes aspirin, oestrogen and levothyroxine among other drugs. Make sure your doctor is aware of all medicines (including those you have bought yourself) before your thyroid test.
Thyroid dysfunction can affect your thyroid test results. Acute or chronic thyroid dysfunction may be diagnosed and very occasionally there is a problem in the pituitary gland producing unregulated levels of TSH. Your body may also have developed a resistance to thyroid hormones or there may be increases, decreases, and changes in the proteins that bind T4 and T3.
TSH is the hormone responsible for facilitating sodium-iodine symporter. Pituitary-derived TSH has been known for decades to stimulate iodide transport into the thyroid gland via the adenylate cyclase cAMP pathway. So when you increase the amount of iodine in your diet, you may also increase the amount of TSH that enables the iodine to be imported into the thyroid gland. This is often a temporary increase. If your TSH level increases rather than decreases when you start seaweed supplementation then ask your doctor for a full spectrum of tests. As long as your thyroid hormones remain stable or improve, the TSH increase is not necessarily anything to be concerned about.
If your doctor has only run tests for TSH and FT4, they will probably now ask for tests for Free T3 (FT3), Reverse T3, and thyroid antibodies. If not, check that you’ve had these tests done and if not then it is worth asking for them to be carried out.
If your thyroid has become permanently underactive or damaged, you will have to take a thyroid hormone replacement. In the UK, the Royal College of Physicians only recommends levothyroxine which replaces T4. If you wish to try desiccated pig thyroid (Armour), which some people prefer, you will need to purchase it yourself.
When your doctor gives you levothyroxine (a thyroid hormone replacement), or makes a change to your dose, you should wait one to two months for the drug to work consistently before testing your TSH again.
It is important that when you start treatment that you do not change your diet. To suddenly withdraw seaweed and return to a diet lacking in sufficient iodine is only going to compound the issue. Unless your doctor suspects that you have an iodine sensitivity†, keep taking your seaweed supplement as this is supporting your baseline health.
*Non-organic milk is higher in iodine than organic milk, because iodine is an ingredient in the disinfectant used in modern dairy milking practices and gets into the milk.
†Seaweed can sometimes, in individuals with extreme iodine sensitivity caused by conditions such as Hashimoto’s disease, lower TSH results toward overactivity (hyperthyroidism) and may have to be withdrawn on advice of a doctor. However, chelated iodine in seaweed is not absorbed in the same way as potassium iodide and some people with Hashimoto’s disease are not sensitive to the iodine in seaweed.
References
1. Combet E, Ma ZF, Cousins F, Thompson B, Lean ME. (2014). Low-level seaweed supplementation improves iodine status in iodine-insufficient women. Br J Nutr. 1-9. PubMed PMID: 25006699.
