Herbal remedies or herbal medicine or medicinal herbs or....

[puglogic]

Hi all,
For those of you who are interested in that whole herbal alternative thing, could you help me brainstorm? I'm writing a paper on the topic of easy, simple remedies that come from plants -- you know, the kind on the shelf at the organic grocery store's pharmacy area.
But there are lots of terms for this, and I can't decide which is the one that most people will resonate with.

Which one do YOU hear most often, if you travel in these circles at all, even a little? :
Medicinal herbs
Medicinal plants
Herbal remedies
Herbal medicine
Natural remedies
Healing herbs
Something else?

Thanks. My mind's all muddled up about this.

[ApatheticNoMore]

do a google hit count?

(I think I personally would search for herbal medicine. Basically I think there is a different focus to the terms, if I was sick and wanted to try a herbal remedy I'd seek herbal medicine, which is the most likely reason I'd be searching that. If I was merely trying to enhance my ability to identify wild plants or something I'd seek medicinal plants - you'd be surprised at how many plants I've seen pictures of and then identified from nothing more than the picture - but this is very casual compared to actually wanting medicine)

[try2bfrugal]

puglogic - You can use the Google Adwords keyword search tool for related search terms. There is also a related terms feature in Google spreadsheets.

I tried to copy the Adwords list here for you but got a ran out of space error.

[herbgeek]

How about kitchen herbs or kitchen medicine cabinet or medicines from your kitchen/garden? Or herbs for <ailment>? I think people search by symptom more than looking for general herb info.

[Rosemary]

There are subtle differences in some of the names you've listed.
Herbal remedies, for instance, come from herbs, obviously. but "natural remedies" may include other things that aren't from plants - such as omega-3 fatty acids or glucosamine.

For "easy, simple remedies that come from plants," I would use "herbal remedies."

[JaneV2.0]

I might try to find a way to work "traditional" into the mix.

[rosarugosa]

I like "herbal remedies" the best.

[Tussiemussies]

I would call it medicinal herbs. They are medicinal, you have to be very careful with them because of that and then they are usually called an herb. Medicinal plants sounds like the whole plant is medicinal when only a certain part of it is.

When you go to the health food store you are buying a medicinal herb but casually they are usually called herbal remedies.

Just my opinion though... Good luck with your paper!

[try2bfrugal]

I think I have heard the term herbal remedies most often.

I did related terms in Google docs in a spreadsheet. I filled in the first 3 and let Google add in the terms it thinks are related -

medicinal herbs
medicinal remedies
herbal remedies
home remedies
herbal supplements
herbal medicine
natural remedies
diet
vitamins
health care
womens health
mens health
natural herbs
beauty tips
herbal health
acne
natural cures
cellulite
beauty
recipes
fitness
dog care

[Tiam]

I think it would depend on the herbs. Some are medicinal. Some have more research backing them up than others. Some are strictly anecdotal, or tradtional, whereas some actually have the ingredient that is used in treatment. So, would a combination be acceptable? At least in the title? Like Medicinal herbs/remedies?