A programme called Grow Your Own Drugs, to show how common plants can help with everyday ailments, is to go out on BBC Two next year.
The show is described as a “delicious mix of gardening, cooking, health and beauty”.
It introduces James Wong, an ethno-botanist and gardener, who is passionate about sharing his knowledge of plants to make natural remedies – from readily-available plants in gardens, to hedgerows, meadows and woodland.
Wong makes simple preparations to help soothe a range of common conditions including acne and eczema, anxiety, insomnia, cold sores, and general aches and pains.
Inspired by his grandmother in Malaysia who taught him about the health-giving properties of plants, Wong uses his top class academic knowledge of them to show how easy it is to make creams, lotions, lozenges and more which can help relieve symptoms of complaints.
He will also rustle up a few natural beauty treatments.
Wong said: “Natural remedies are sometimes portrayed as rather wishy washy and ineffective. This series will reveal that many plants contain the same active ingredients as over-the-counter drugs.
“It’s just that, over the years, we’ve lost the knowledge of how to make the most of their health benefits in our daily lives. The fact that many remedies are cheap to make and can be prepared in five minutes at home, makes them all the more appealing and convenient.”
The series covers the potential uses of various flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs, trees, roots and bulbs commonly found in the UK.
Covering more commonly known uses, such as echinacea to boost the immune system, the series gives insights into less well known uses for plants, such as hops for insomnia, pine as a natural deodorant, and liquorice for coughs.
