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Some keep the faith in herbal remedies
McALLEN, June 12, 2005 — The warm smell of mint and lemon tea filled María Liliana Patlán’s childhood home in Michoacán, Mexico, offering soothing remedies for aching throats or poor digestion.
“My grandmother knows all the herbs,” said the owner of Yerbería Ouix, a pastel blue and pink store on an industrial stretch of West Business 83. “She knew how to prepare them, to cook them.”
Patlán’s faith in herbal remedies perseveres, even in the face medical advancements. She has seen the herbs work time and time again for ailing family members back home, for a fraction of the cost associated with prescription drugs, she said.
“Even (local) doctors use herbs,” said the 40-year-old Mission resident, stacking bags of brown cornsilk, known as pelo de elote, and green závila, or aloe vera.
She said the Mexican culture does not distrust medical doctors, but a lack of transportation or limited income often curbs access to them for minor symptoms.
“If we had a serious problem, we went to the doctor,” she said. “If you have bigger problems, you can die unless you get attention.”
Her tidy store, stocked with traditional candles, religious figurines and even a gold Buddha with oranges around its protruding stomach, draws Mexicans and Anglos alike.
“Americans ask for ajo, or garlic, and cancer tablets,” she said, fingering a gold cross pendant resting against her purple shirt.
In Zamora, Michoacán, she recalled, residents would seek out the fragrant leaves and stems used by her grandfather, a curandero, or faith healer. Residents would barter with him instead of offering cash payment.
“The difference is the herbs are fresh (in Zamora),” she said. “They grow them in their backyards and the patios.”
Her brother James, a lawyer, and her sister Alma Cristina, a teacher, are firm believers in herbal remedies.
“My husband didn’t know anything about plants,” she said. “But now we’ve been married 21 years, he’s into herbs.”
Two of her three children use their mother’s herbal remedies. But the youngest, 14-year-old Alex, has adopted a reserved stance toward traditional solutions.
“The youngest doesn’t want to take teas,” she said, a smile creeping across her face. “She trusts what the doctor gives her.”
Combining certain herbs and prescription drugs should be avoided, said Patlán’s mother, Clotilde Sahadi, 61, of McAllen.
“Some herbs have tranquilizers,” she said in Spanish. “You don’t know what chemicals it has. You can use teas with medicines, but other herbs you have to watch out for.”
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