This morning after snipping up my experimental bunch of 2 ft long dried nettles I had collected in the summer, I made my first dose of tea. As it was boiling I was wondering to myself if I was doing myself more harm than good and I'm glad to say it's all good! Have a look at what I found:
Eight Health Benefits of Stinging Nettle | HealthMad
Stinging nettle, or commonly know with it’s botanical name Urtica Dioica, is a plant growing in the tropical areas around the world. The homeland of nettle is Brazil and other South American countries. It is also abundant in Northern Europe and Asia. Nettle has a well-known reputation for giving a sting when the skin touches the hairs and bristles on the leaves and stems. It grows 2 to 4 meters.It has white,green and yellow leaves. When someone feels being stung by nettle, this is actually because of the irritants in the nettle. Some of those irritants are formic acid,histamine and acetylcholine. After this little introduction about stinging nettle, let’s talk about our main topic, that is, the health benefits of it.
Here is some of the well-known curative properties of nettle.
- It is used as diuretic
- It is used to treat anemia since nettle leaves contain high amount of iron content. It also helps to formation and coagulation of blood cells.
- It is used in the treatment of arthrites and rheumatism
- It protects respiratory and urinary problems
- It decreases the risk of eczema and other skin disorders. Additionally, it is used in asthma treatment.
- It is used in the treatment of benign prostate
- It is used in the treatment of sinusitis and rhinitis
- It protects hair loss (Alopecia)
Also this:
The benefits of nettle leaves.
THE NETTLE, a stinging plant grows wild in the jungles and forests of Papua New Guinea. Many villagers in the rural communities use it as a remedy for pain relief, muscle aches and back problems.
They use the plant’s leaves with its tiny needle-like spikes to rub it on the part of the body that aches and the aches just simply vanish within minutes.
I have used it often but I boil the leaves in hot water until it darkens than I remove the leaves and drink it as herbal tea.I now affectionately call it ‘nettle tea’. I often drink two cups in the morning as an energiser. My experience with nettle has shown me that it also has other benefits as well.
It makes the skin, particularly the face glow. It also helps in hair growth and cleanses the blood from possible clotting.
My friends wife lives in a rural village recently gave birth with the assistance of midwives. She drank nettle tea every morning to stop the heavy bleeding that resulted from the childbirth.
I drink it every morning to boost my energy levels but the benefits are unlimited.
You can use stinging nettle as a soup base and add shitake mushrooms, or seaweed. Or make it into a tea (which is what I did). The base of tall plants isn't very good to eat anymore so chop it up and leave it in a bucket with water until fermented and use as an excellent compost for the garden.
