We both do very different things. A person would be very foolish not to go to the doctor when they have a medical problem, but they would also be pretty foolish not to recognize some of the value of plants, too. Over 40 percent of prescription drugs are derived from natural sources, and over 25 percent come from flowering plants, Mr. Lapierre said. Digitalis, a prescription drug used to treat heart arrhythmia, comes from foxglove, a plant that grows in the many areas of the United States. He says that he has been successful at using plants to overcome many health problems.
Most health problems require a combination of more then one herb.
His favorite way to use many plants is in teas, but some herbs must be applied to the body. With a combination of mullein, plantain, vinegar, and water he makes a mixture that quickly soothes and heals the skin, from the effects of sunburn. Meadowsweet, which has the same active ingredient as aspirin, has been used by Native Americans for thousands of years as a tea to help relieve headaches. On another occasion, during an educational program with children, Mr. Lapierrre dug up the root of a trout lily and applied it to an infected sliver that had been bothering one of the children for a couple of days. The pain stopped, and the sliver was pushed out by the root's chemical action, he said.