Our introduction!
Research-Herbs as home remedies
Jesper and Marvin have visited Valeria Serratura, an expert on our topic and shopkeeper of a small herbs shop in Middelburg, and asked her a few questions:
- Who use herbs for medicines/cosmetics?
- Is the use increasing or decreasing? (And why?)
- What herbs are used most often?
Julia has interviewed her grandfather (Piet, 88)
and Coco interviewed her parents (Thijs, 56, Den Bosch and Janine, 49, Den Bosch). They have asked them:
- Do/did you ever use/used herbs?
- Do/did your parents ever use/used herbs?
- Do you think the use of herbs has increased? (And why?)
- Would you like to use herbs?
We have also done some online research, and we asked the green herbs group from India some questions, during the video conference and in the WhatsApp group:
- Is the use increasing in India? (And why?)
- What kind of herbs are used mostly in India?
Final report
Introduction
Globally, over 200 million people use herbs as home remedies and cosmetics, herbs like ginger, garlic, mint, ginseng, chamomile and Echinacea are used for this. Finding out who use these medicines, why, and the changes in the use, was our main focus. We have based this report on our research, which you can read on the page above!
Conclusion
To answer our two main questions:
Is the use of herbs in medicine or beauty products growing?
In the Netherlands, the use is growing because of some key factors, like: globalization, the unwanted chemicals and side-effects of regular medicine, animal testing on cosmetics and the Internet. This increase does not take place in every country. From our Indian counterparts for example, we have learnt that the use is decreasing in India. You will read more about this in comparison.
Do families still use home remedies as medicines and beauty products?
The answer to this question is similar to the one above. Some families do still use herbs, they use them for teas or facial masks. But, some families do not use herbs at all. A reason for this might be that they think there is not enough proof that these herbs actually work. Again, it depends on where you were born and, more importantly, how you were raised.
Globally, over 200 million people use herbs as home remedies and cosmetics, herbs like ginger, garlic, mint, ginseng, chamomile and Echinacea are used for this. Finding out who use these medicines, why, and the changes in the use, was our main focus. We have based this report on our research, which you can read on the page above!
Conclusion
To answer our two main questions:
Is the use of herbs in medicine or beauty products growing?
In the Netherlands, the use is growing because of some key factors, like: globalization, the unwanted chemicals and side-effects of regular medicine, animal testing on cosmetics and the Internet. This increase does not take place in every country. From our Indian counterparts for example, we have learnt that the use is decreasing in India. You will read more about this in comparison.
Do families still use home remedies as medicines and beauty products?
The answer to this question is similar to the one above. Some families do still use herbs, they use them for teas or facial masks. But, some families do not use herbs at all. A reason for this might be that they think there is not enough proof that these herbs actually work. Again, it depends on where you were born and, more importantly, how you were raised.
(Estimated) growth in the sales of medicinal herbs in the U.S.; an example of a country where the use of medicinal herbs is growing
Comparison
Together with the Hiranandani herbs group we did research about the use of herbs as home remedies. We came to the conclusion that people use more herbs nowadays in Europe because of the unwanted side effects of conventional medicines and chemicals that are processed in conventional medicines. We also found out that the use of herbs was more common amongst the elderly, but nowadays more young people use herbs because more people are specialised in herb sciences and healthcare.
The herbs group from India also did research about the use of herbs as home remedies. However, they found out that the use of herbs is decreasing in their country, because herbs can’t give a speedy recovery, like conventional medicines can provide. Another reason for this is that the farmers and processors of these herbs work without quality control measures, resulting in the poor qualities of certain herbs.
A similarity between the use of herbs in Europe and India is that less conventional medicines are used because of the side effects and the chemicals that are processed in conventional medicines. A difference is that the use of herbs is increasing in Europe and decreasing in India. Additionally, there are more people who are specialised in herb sciences in Europe and less in India.
Reflection
We have learnt a lot more about the use of herbs for medicine and cosmetics, not only in the Netherlands, but also in India. We have all done our part of the report, and now we know about the importance of teamwork even more, and about the importance of not postponing everything… The research we did was successful, and the help of the Hiranandani herbs group was very useful! The video conferences were part of the contact we had with them. The conferences went well, we could understand each other (most of the time), the video connection worked much better than we had anticipated and it was much fun meeting the Hiranandani groups as well! Next time, we would also like to try using herbs ourselves and see if these work, unfortunately we did not have time for this.
Together with the Hiranandani herbs group we did research about the use of herbs as home remedies. We came to the conclusion that people use more herbs nowadays in Europe because of the unwanted side effects of conventional medicines and chemicals that are processed in conventional medicines. We also found out that the use of herbs was more common amongst the elderly, but nowadays more young people use herbs because more people are specialised in herb sciences and healthcare.
The herbs group from India also did research about the use of herbs as home remedies. However, they found out that the use of herbs is decreasing in their country, because herbs can’t give a speedy recovery, like conventional medicines can provide. Another reason for this is that the farmers and processors of these herbs work without quality control measures, resulting in the poor qualities of certain herbs.
A similarity between the use of herbs in Europe and India is that less conventional medicines are used because of the side effects and the chemicals that are processed in conventional medicines. A difference is that the use of herbs is increasing in Europe and decreasing in India. Additionally, there are more people who are specialised in herb sciences in Europe and less in India.
Reflection
We have learnt a lot more about the use of herbs for medicine and cosmetics, not only in the Netherlands, but also in India. We have all done our part of the report, and now we know about the importance of teamwork even more, and about the importance of not postponing everything… The research we did was successful, and the help of the Hiranandani herbs group was very useful! The video conferences were part of the contact we had with them. The conferences went well, we could understand each other (most of the time), the video connection worked much better than we had anticipated and it was much fun meeting the Hiranandani groups as well! Next time, we would also like to try using herbs ourselves and see if these work, unfortunately we did not have time for this.