Herbs may hold key to health for sage gardeners

Whether it's yarrow for colds and flu, sage for sore throats or turmeric to relieve the symptoms of arthritis, there's a veritable medicine cabinet in your garden.

Now herbalism is enjoying something of a renaissance. Along with the huge new popularity of allotments and a revival of the grow-your-own culture, there has been a steady rise in the use of complementary therapies and medicinal herb growing.

And a second series of BBC Two's Grow Your Own Drugs with ethnobotanist James Wong is cultivating even more interest in the ancient art of herbalism.

About half of the scientific medicine sold over a chemist's counter is derived from plants and medical herbalist Bel Charlesworth believes is it possible to skip the pharmacy and head out to the garden instead.

At her apothecary in Otley, near Leeds, she uses plant remedies to treat a range of common ailments and is running walks to collect herbs along the River Wharfe and up to Otley Chevin.

Her colourful dispensary of dried herbs, tinctures and potions offers treatments for everything from insomnia to infertility and high blood pressure to migraines. There are elderberry tinctures, comfrey repair creams and old-fashioned bottles of arnica oil.

Some of the ingredients sound like they have come straight out of a sorcerer's book of spells; tinctures of devil's claw root, skullcap herbs and bottles of myrrh sit next to the more familiar tubs of lavender face cream and lip balm.

Yet these magical sounding ingredients are at the root of many of the most popular drugs used today. Aspirin, for example, was created from a mixture of willow bark and meadowsweet.

As well as offering consultations and herbal prescriptions, she is keen to introduce more people to the power of plants through courses, workshops and herb walks. She says many of the simplest plant remedies, such as dandelion leaf, elderflower or camomile can be grown in a garden or found in a hedgerow.

"Ideally everyone should have a local herbalist and they should all have their own home remedy kit with plants grown in their garden," said the 35-year-old who has been a practising herbalist for seven years.

Plants have long been cultivated for their powerful healing properties.

"The use of plants such as yarrow and peppermint for colds and flu would have been passed down through the generations up until the industrial revolution. They would have gathered yarrow from May onwards and stored it for the winter."

Plant remedies have been used to combat illness and promote good health for thousands of years. It's only in the last 100 years or so that synthetic drugs have replaced traditional herbal remedies.

"There are so many herbs you can use, we generally find ten or 15 on the walks, including hawthorn, elderflower and peppermint," she said.

"They are great effective herbs to treat some of the most common things, such as digestive complaints."

Her workshops show people how to use herbs for everyday maladies. For example dandelion leaf and nettles can be brewed into a tea to cleanse the kidneys.

Other herbs such as sage and rosemary can easily be grown in the garden, where a few sprigs can be picked to create an uplifting tonic.

She also sells her own mixture of hand-blended teas, such as the Springtime Tonic, which uses nettle, dandelion leaf, peppermint, calendula and marigold or Hayfever Tea which is a special brew of nettle, elderflower, plantain and peppermint.

She always recommends that people see their GP to diagnose any serious complaints. Herbalism may not be a cure for all, but its complementary effects can alleviate many common symptoms.

"Herbs can be used for most minor complaints," she said. "They can help you sort your diet out, increase vitality and are an ideal way to help you stay in optimum health."

Move to tighten acupuncture law

The Government moved yesterday towards tightening the law on acupuncture and herbal and Chinese medicine.

Health Secretary Andy Burnham said he was "minded to legislate" so all practitioners supplying unlicensed medicines had to register with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC).

Mr Burnham said: "Emerging evidence clearly demonstrates that the public needs better protection, but in a way that is measured and does not place unreasonable extra burdens on practitioners.

"I am therefore minded to legislate to ensure that all practitioners supplying unlicensed herbal medicines to members of the public in England must be registered with the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). I will be considering the similar measures we need to put in place to afford an appropriate level of protection for people using acupuncture treatments."

Mr Burnham also announced a pilot scheme for treating back pain sufferers with complementary and alternative medicine on the NHS in England.