Hi, I’m Brenda Grate
Herbalist and Holistic Health Coach
Natural healing has been a passion my entire life. It began when I was a child, even though I didn’t know it. I was raised by a hippy mother from California who believed that sugar came from the devil. She wasn’t far off the mark, but I didn’t understand why I wasn’t allowed to eat the same food all my friends were eating. When I had my first child at nineteen and developed hyperthyroidism, I finally understood. That’s when I reached out for a cure that didn’t involve irradiating my thyroid or taking medication for the rest of my life.
I was nineteen with a newborn, losing weight I couldn’t afford to lose, and my heart felt like it was racing all day. The doctor gave me two options: radioactive iodine to destroy part of my thyroid, or medication for life. Neither one sat right with me. I didn’t have the benefit of internet searches, so I headed to the local library and did my research.
What I found was that kelp, a seaweed, is rich in natural iodine. The doctor wanted to give me radioactive iodine, so I thought, why not try the natural version first? I changed my diet, cut out coffee and simple carbs, and took kelp daily. My thyroid was highly stressed and I’d been feeding it everything that kept it firing, but all I was doing was wearing it out. Once I stopped pushing it and started supporting it, things began to change.
It took months. I was diligent, and I was scared, but I also made a decision that changed everything. One evening I took my baby daughter out for a walk, looked up at the stars, and said to myself: I have children who need me. I refuse to be sick. You can’t dismiss the power of the mind in healing. That decision carried me through the hard days when I wasn’t sure it was working.
My family doctor sent me to an internist for tests. He worried that I had done damage to my body by forgoing conventional treatment for several years. When the internist finished his battery of tests, he sat me down at his desk, baffled. “I’ve never seen this before and can’t explain it,” he said. “Thyroids don’t fix themselves. You are perfectly fine.”
I have since successfully treated other conditions with herbal medicine, conditions that doctors insisted were either untreatable or needed medication. I’ve learned that both allopathic (conventional) medicine and herbal medicine work best in harmony. I respect medical doctors and their training, but neither they nor I have all the answers. I haven’t needed to see a doctor in many years because I’ve learned to care for my body with food and herbs. But I also know my limits. If something is beyond my scope, I’ll be the first to say so.
My path has been much like a plant’s root system, spread out and going in many directions. I was born in Santa Rosa, California, grew up in Canada, and now live in the Mani region of Greece, where I’m helping my husband restore a beautiful stone house and garden. I’ve been a healer my entire life, raising four children, mothering four stepchildren, and training with Wild Rose Herbal College. I’ve also trained as a holistic health coach, Reiki master, and yogi. I’ve written several books and created botanical artwork.
Today, Mugwort & Meadow is the living expression of all this work. I’m building an herbal apothecary rooted in Mediterranean plant wisdom, drawing from the unique potency of Greek herbs and ancestral practices. I’m publishing my first herbal book, The Mediterranean Herbalist: Stories and Herbal Remedies from Italy and Greece with Book Shelter in 2026. I offer one-on-one herbal consultations, share recipes and herbal medicine-making tutorials through my newsletter and social media, and create handmade herbal products for my growing community.
My mission is to make herbal medicine accessible, practical, and rooted in real experience. If there is anything I can do to support your healing, I am here to help.
Training and Certifications
My personal healing journey eventually led me to pursue formal training in herbal medicine and holistic health.
