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Sixty-year-old Bien Agila is among the many certified plantitos in the country. But he's not into rare and expensive plants like most plantito collectors. Bien is actually fond of growing and using medicinal plants like oregano and serpentina.

Bien's love affair with herbal medicine began when he was diagnosed with kidney stones and gallstones in 1999.

He said he tried taking pharmaceutical drugs but reportedly experienced untoward side effects.

Plus, he didn't want to shell out Php125,000, which was his estimated hospital bill at the time, had he opted to be treated in the hospital.

“Hindi ako masyadong hiyang sa mga commercial drugs. Kaya kapag ako ay nagkakasakit ay puro halaman ang aking ginagamit, kasi ito ang aking nakalakihan,” Bien said during his interview in 'iJuander.'

For kidney stones, Bien said he took a mixture of leaf extracts consisting of banaba, pandan, and sambong leaves.

After two months, Bien was allegedly able to naturally release the stones from his kidney.

According to Dr. Rodrigo Ong, Chief Science Research Specialist from the Philippine Institute for Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), sambong leaves are really recommended by the Department of Health to aid in naturally getting rid of kidney stones through urination.

But since sambong leaves are a diuretic, Dr. Ong warns that people should still be cautious in drinking sambong leaves extract because too much urination can lead to dehydration.

As for Bien's gallstones, he also opted to treat them the natural way.

“Ang na-research ko, ang sabi doon ay huwag akong kumain for one week.

“Ang kakainin ko lang ay mansanas tapos iinom lang ako ng apple juice at tsaka pineapple juice. For one week 'yon.

'So, five days kong ginawa 'yun. On the sixth day ay kumuha ako ng castor oil then inihalo ko sa pineapple juice at saka nilagyan ko ng Epsom salt.

“And then ininom ko 'yon nung gabi, nung umaga, lumabas lahat 'yung mga stones sa aking gallbladder.”

After having great experiences using herbal medicines, Bien established a Facebook group about naturopathic medicine to help others who are seeking natural remedies for their ailments. It now has more than 600,000 members.

Watch Bien's inspiring story in the 'iJuander' video below.

For more inspiring stories like this, watch 'iJuander' every Sunday at 7:45 p.m. on GTV and its reruns on DEPED TV every Monday at 9:30 p.m., starting July 26.

Viewers abroad can also watch iJuander via GMA's flagship international channel, GMA Pinoy TV. For the program guide, visit www.gmapinoytv.com.

And for more lifestyle content, head out to GMA's Lifestyle page.

You might also want to check out this gallery of plants that double as natural pesticides.