Grow your own drugs (medicine) in garden

Grow your own drugs with James Wong

Marianne Kavanagh meets James Wong, a young ethnobotanist, who grows his medicine in the garden. By Marianne Kavanagh (Telegraph, UK)

Flower power: James Wong turns to his garden rather than a chemist to treat anything that ails him

Most of us look for a dock leaf when we've been stung by a nettle, but that's as far as it goes. We wouldn't dream of using plants to treat everyday ailments like eczema, sore throats, indigestion and insomnia. But James Wong, a 27-year-old ethnobotanist (a scientist who studies how people use plants), wants to change our minds. He passionately believes that safe, natural remedies can be made from the everyday plants you find in hedgerows, the back garden or local garden centres.

''Nowadays we think of plants as pretty objects, as soft furnishings in an outdoor room," he says. "But just two generations ago they were your hardware store and chemist all rolled into one." In Malaysia, where Wong grew up, everyone treated themselves with natural remedies. Food, too, was used as medicine – not only herbs, but ginger, chilli and garlic to ward off the symptoms of a cold. "My grandmother had a tiny patch of garden," says Wong, "which to anyone else would just look like a bunch of flowers, but she could make soup, or a face pack, or something to treat insect bites, in a matter of minutes. It was magical – real Harry Potter stuff.''

The problem, Wong believes, is that there's a big cultural dividing line between conventional medicine, which is thought of as effective, proven and serious, and herbal medicine, which has the reputation of being a bit flaky. But, as Wong says, up to 50 per cent of over-the-counter medicines are based on chemicals that were first isolated from plants. "Aspirin, for example, is made from the same chemicals that were first isolated from willow, which has been used for thousands of years as a painkiller.''

But don't you need green fingers to grow the kind of plants that are good for your health? Not at all, says Wong. ''Most herb species live in poor environments with low water and low fertiliser, and you probably have to keep hacking them back or they'll take over the whole garden. You might as well make something from them instead of throwing them on the compost." Common plantain, for example, which brings down inflammation and is good for insect bites and stings, makes up a quarter of most garden lawns.

Of course you should always consult your GP before using natural remedies, especially if you're already on medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding, but Wong, who trained at the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, is quick to point out that the herbs and plants he recommends all have a long history of use and no record of toxicity.

They also, in these uncertain times, have the distinct advantage of being cheap. Peppermint tea, which is brilliant if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion or heartburn, is made from just fresh peppermint leaves and hot water. In his new book, published next month, Wong has also come up with recipes for body scrubs, deodorants and lip balms, most of which use ingredients that you already have in the kitchen cupboard. The basics for a lavender bath bomb, are citric acid, bicarbonate of soda and a splash of vegetable oil.

As a lecturer at Kent University, James is used to making the dry, academic facts about plants relevant and exciting, and he's enjoyed making his first television series, starting on BBC Two on Monday. ''Although,'' he says thoughtfully, ''I'm a bit worried about being recognised in Tesco's.'' If pressed to pick a favourite home-grown remedy out of the wealth of recipes he has gathered together, he admits to having a soft spot for the restorative powers of chilli. ''Scotch Bonnet or habanero boosts circulation and numbs pain,'' he says. ''We've used it to treat a whole team of battered rugby players.''

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alternativemedicine/4807237/Grow-your-own-drugs-with-James-Wong.html)

It had to be Coming: Six Days in Fallujah

Get ready for an Iraq video game :

Six Days in Fallujah.

It's tempting to over-simplify the controversy surrounding Six Days in Fallujah by saying that it's simply "too soon" for this kind of treatment. The scars of the Iraq war remain fresh, both in the nation itself and on the public consciousness of the western world - and blood is still being spilled on the streets of cities like Fallujah. Let time heal the wounds somewhat, detractors urge, before making entertainment from such events.

Yet this exhortation seems to apply exclusively to video games. Other media teems with representations of Iraq. Countless books, newspaper and magazine articles, films and TV shows about the Iraq war have been created in the past few years, ranging from straight-laced documentaries to HBO's critically acclaimed TV drama Generation Kill. Some of these have been controversial in their own right, but none has had their basic right to exist questioned in the way that we are now seeing with Six Days in Fallujah.

This debate isn't about whether it's "too soon". It's about a popular viewpoint which believes that video games are not equipped to deal with the raw complexity and subtlety of an unresolved, multi-faceted conflict such as Iraq. Say the word "game" to a certain part of the public, and it conjures up an entirely inaccurate mental image. The straightforward "kill bad guys to earn points" system which many people erroneously believe exists is no reflection of the narrative power and interactive subtlety of the best modern games.

The horrified response in some quarters to Six Days in Fallujah is a consequence of that outdated viewpoint. If, indeed, this were a game where you simply blasted enemies to boost your score, it would be a disgusting exploitation of the events in question - but talented game developers evolved the medium away from that long ago. War games, both modern and historical, are now often exercises in accuracy and balance, concerned with documenting the reality of conflict as much as with providing an entertainment experience.

In this, they serve the same educational purpose as movies such as Saving Private Ryan, or TV series such as the aforementioned Generation Kill. The best war games inform and provoke thought by placing the player in a combat context and challenging them to experience both the tactical and moral decisions faced by soldiers. Crucially, this is entertainment for adults - not merely because it is often horrific, as war itself is, and rated accordingly by the BBFC - but because such moral or strategic challenges simply aren't entertaining to children.

Games, like all other forms of media, have an important role to play in provoking informed debate over the issues facing our world. Their interactive, immersive nature can give them a unique narrative power. Games like Six Days in Fallujah are not just ultra-violent Space Invaders, as the knee-jerk response to them suggests - they're a vital, thriving and intelligent part of our media and culture. (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6072924.ece)