Stinging Nettle, A Nutritive Herb and Energizing Tea

Superfood Evolution presents Stinging Nettle, a nutritive herb and energizing tea. Stinging nettle is a leafy herbaceous plant that grows as a wild green all over the world in mild to temperate climate zones. One of nature's top nutritive herbs and vitamin mineral rich plant-based supplements, nettles are available free for the taking in many forests, foothills, and coastal locations worldwide. The common nettle plant has been valued for centuries as a nutritious tonic tea, extremely dense and energizing substances, and unique plant constituents that are nourishing to the blood as well as cleansing to the body. Containing antioxidant activity and a number of phenolic compounds, research studies analyzing the leaves, roots, and stalks have discovered many phytonutrients including quercetin and rutin flavonoids in addition to chlorophyll, lecithin, beta carotene, and lutein content. Utilized as a food source and medicinal herb taken as a folk remedy for a number of health issues such as anemia, gout, eczema, and arthritis, the wild stinging nettle plant has a rich history of use in European herbalism. Today it is commonly used among modern day herbal practitioners for the treatment of urinary disorders, hay fever, and is shown to be helpful for prostate gland enlargement and reducing the symptoms associated with menopause. Acting as both a diuretic and lymphagog, stinging nettle is stimulating to the lymph system and helpful for alleviating conditions like hyperuricemia and metabolic acidosis. The most predominant species, Urtica dioica, is said to get its name from the Anglo-Saxon word noetil, which means needle, and its Latin name urtica, which means to burn. This gives reference to the stinging effects of the tiny hairs on the stems and leaves which cause a burning sensation and temporary rash when rubbed against the skin. While nettles can be quite invasive, similar to dandelion, they are one of the most common wild herbal foods used around the world for their health enhancing qualities. Although they can grow like weeds, they are also widely cultivated and sold commercially as a dried herb, freeze-dried powder, encapsulated supplement, or tinctured extract. In the words of herbalist Rosemary Gladstar, nettle may be one of the herbal wonders of the plant queendom. Its usefulness can be traced to antiquity and its popularity as a medicine and a food has hardly waned. True, if you've never been introduced to the virtues of herbs, you've probably never even heard of the positive side of nettle. As a matter of fact, the very word probably conjures up visions of painful welts and dermatitis, but nettle is beloved in the herbal community and is one of our personal favorites. What are Nettles? Common stinging nettle, Ertica dioeca, is a perennial plant native to parts of Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa. There are several subspecies of Ertica dioeca with some stingless varieties like Ertica galliopsiphilae, a European variety that actually do not have hairs present on the leaves and stems. Most do, however, have tiny, nearly invisible hairs referred to as trichomes or needle-like tips that when touched by the skin can inject a fluid containing certain substances like formic acid, the same chemical that causes ant and bee stings. Several other compounds present in the trichomes may also include histamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin. Generally, when rubbed against the skin, stinging nettle causes a prickling or burning sensation that usually lasts for several hours and may cause swelling or a red rash depending on one's level of sensitivity. These hairs, naturally designed to help protect the plant from insects and predators, are deactivated when the plant is steep, steamed, macerated, dried, or prepared in an alcohol or vinegar solution. The juice of nettle, as well as other herbs that grow next to it, like dock or purslane, can be applied topically as a remedy for the sting to relieve the itchiness. Although the roots, stalks, stems, and seeds can all be used therapeutically, the leaves are the primary part consumed as a prepared food source, infused, juiced, or tinctured. While all stinging nettle species have similar nutritional properties, the large and robust varieties are believed by some herbalists to be of greater nutritional value. Nettle, with its tough, fibrous stalks, have also been used by cultures around the world for industrial purposes and utilized for centuries as a fiber source for making textiles, twine, and rope, much like that of the linseed or hemp plant. Wild Nettle Identification Nettle leaves are oblong and pointed with a sawtooth edging. They produce green seed pods and tiny green-white flower clusters which develop on the leaf axils in the summer season. The plant often grows in partially shaded, moist soils next to other wild edible species like mallow, dandelion, and chickweed. Once located, you can typically expect patches of nettle to propagate in the same place every year. Reaching heights of between two to four feet, they tend to grow well in nitrogen-rich garden soils and even disturbed urban habitats, but are also very common in wild woodland regions, meadows, coastal locations, as well as along riverbanks and creek beds. For stinging nettle harvesting tips, please see the link in the description box below this video. Health Benefits of Stinging Nettle A Nourishing and Energizing Tea and Food Source Nettles are a powerful herb, food source, and natural plant-based multivitamin. Their high concentrations of nutrients are easily assimilated as a tea infusion, providing a wealth of liquid nourishment that has energizing effects on the body systems. Likewise, the fresh leaves and young nettle shoots can be prepared as a lightly steamed leafy green vegetable or used as an ingredient in green juicing recipes. Dark brown-green nettle teas are full of highly digestible vitamins and minerals like iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin K. Nettle leaves are also found to contain many phenolic compounds and flavonoids, salicylic acid, folic, and pantothenic acid, in addition to chlorophyll, lecithin, and carotenoids like lutein and beta-carotene, vitamin A. Concentrated tea infusions are a rejuvenating, restorative tonic for malnourished, depleted, anemic, or excessively weak individuals. Containing free amino acids, juiced or lightly steamed nettle leaves are also a protein-rich vegetable source and very beneficial for post-traumatic healing from wounds or surgery. Appropriately prepared, raw nettle shoots or the pressed juices are often known to boost energy levels and uplift one's mood. This is thought to be in part due to its alkaloid content and nutritive value as well as some of the transferred phytochemical compounds like histamine and other neurotransmitters like acetylcholine and serotonin. Nettle Tea for Menopause and Pregnancy Iron and calcium-rich nettle teas are very beneficial to menopausal women and when consumed on a daily basis are useful for diminishing hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, and help to provide nutrients that may prevent bone loss. Nettle can also be a valuable herbal supplement used throughout pregnancy as a nourishing energy tonic and natural diuretic. It is a long-used remedy for hemorrhaging during childbirth and for increasing the flow of breast milk in lactating mothers. Beneficial for the Urinary System Consuming nettle leaf teas, juices, and extracts in concentrated doses on a regular basis are cleansing to the body and especially therapeutic for the urinary system and related health conditions involving the kidneys and bladder. According to Rosemary Gladstar, because of the importance of the kidneys, nature is generous in her proportion of herbs beneficial to their functioning. Prolifically growing wild nettles are one of these herbs that are particularly respected for such purposes. Herbal diuretics like nettle leaf specifically increase the flow of urine and are helpful in removing excess fluids, encouraging greater elimination of waste material from the tissues and joints. Nettle helps to stimulate and maintain normal kidney functioning, soothe the irritation of the urinary tract, and provides antiseptic qualities. Dried or fresh nettle tea infusions are very alkalizing to the body and urinary systems, assisting in the reduction of acidic conditions and the removal of uric acid buildup, especially beneficial to those with hyperuricemia, gout, and metabolic acidosis. Nettle Root Benefits for Men The roots of the nettle plant have also been shown beneficial in some research for their effects on the male genitourinary system, which includes both the urinary and reproductive organ systems. Nettle root extracts have been proven valuable for men with acute bladder infections caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia or enlargement of the prostate gland. When the prostate gland is enlarged, it presses on the urethra, the tube that releases urine from the bladder. In a study published in the World Journal of Urology, elderly male patients suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms were tested in a double-blind study using a combination of sabal fruit extract and nettle root extract. Results indicated that the extracts were advantageous in obstructive and irritative urinary symptoms and in patients with moderate and severe symptoms. The tolerability of the herbal extract was excellent. According to a 2015 study, it was concluded that prostatic hyperplasia could be reduced by oral administration of nettle root extract and that it has protective effects on prostatic hyperplasia with similar effects to that of finasteride, a drug used to treat the condition. This influence is still under investigation, but it's currently believed to be due to its properties as an anti-inflammatory agent as well as its ability to inhibit the aromatase enzyme. According to the 2014 Journal of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, urtica dioica agglutinin, a specific lectin from stinging nettle root, is widely used in prostate cancer treatment. Nettle root is often used in herbal formulations along with testosterone-boosting herbs like ginseng, ashwagandha, maca, and pine pollen for its actions as a natural aromatase inhibitor, promoting the circulation of free testosterone in the body so it can be utilized as an androgenic molecule rather than as an estrogen. Cleansing effects and allergy relief. Nettle leaves contain specific substances like histamine, which reduces the amount of histamine produced by the body in response to types of pollen in the atmosphere. While it might seem counterintuitive to use an extract or tea containing histamine for allergic rhinitis or hay fever, studies show that nettle inhibits the pro-inflammatory pathways related to allergic rhinitis by antagonizing histamine 1 receptor, inhibiting prostaglandin formation, and preventing degranulation. Nettles are additionally a blood and lymph cleanser. When your liver is overburdened with toxins, seasonal allergy symptoms are less likely to be a problem. Free stride powders are often recommended as the preferred choice for treating asthmatic and allergic conditions, but many find that tea concentrates consumed several weeks before allergy season also provides benefits. As an expectorant, nettle leaves are helpful for expelling mucus and can be an effective ingredient in herbal teas specific for coughs, flus, colds, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Soothes inflammation, arthritis, and joint pain. The cleansing effects of nettle leaves are additionally helpful for their cooling effects that soothe inflamed conditions and have been long used as a folk remedy for arthritic disorders. Traditionally used directly on the skin as a poultice or by soaking in strong nettle-infused bath water, nettles have been known throughout the ages for offering relief for painful joints and sore muscles. Good for the skin and hair. The cleansing, antiseptic, and nutritive properties that nettles have on the body are also very health-enhancing to the skin and hair. For this reason, nettle is often a top ingredient used in natural skin and hair care products. Nettles can be used as a tea or poultice incorporated into paste, creams, and salves good for treating various skin conditions. Strong nettle tea infusions also make a nourishing scalp and hair wash. Stinging nettle from permaculture design. It is very easy to grow your own nettle, either from wild seeds, nettle cuttings, or purchased nettle starts. Rudolf Steiner, who promoted the use of nettle tea consumption, also recommended it for use as a biodynamic spray to increase vegetative growth and as a useful insect repellent. Nettles make a great companion plant in permaculture design, known to benefit the growth of other herbs and vegetables, and encourages the proliferation of beneficial insects. Types of nettle. One fresh nettle leaf. Harvested nettle can be prepared appropriately to remove stinging components and used as a leafy green vegetable or in herbal teas or tinctures. Two dried leaf or powders. Fresh dried herb and ground powders can be infused in hot water, encapsulated, and tinctured in alcohol or vinegar. Three freeze dried leaf powder. Freeze dried nettle leaves ground into a powder. Four nettle leaf extract. An alcohol-based tincture of the fresh or dried nettle leaves and or stems. Five fresh or dried nettle roots. Nettle roots can be simmered as a tea decoction or tinctured. Six nettle root extract. Nettle roots prepared in an alcohol menstruum are commonly sold commercially as a powdered hot water extract. How to use. Stinging nettle needs to be appropriately prepared by hot water infusion, maceration, drying, or tincturing methods. This allows for their safe consumption and deactivates the formic acid content found in the stinging hairs. Some people eat nettle leaves raw in salads after skillfully rubbing off the hairs, but this is not something we recommend attempting. Fresh or dried nettle leaves make a great vitamin mineral rich tea and are an easy way to assimilate the benefits of this energizing plant. Nettle tea has a mild to strong flavor depending on the amount used and tastes similar to vegetable broth. Concentrated tea infusions can be used as soup stocks or as a liquid base in drinks, green smoothies, or as a nutritive replacement for water in most recipes. The leaves and shoots can also be prepared as a lightly steamed or blanched leafy green vegetable or used to make fresh nettle juice. Cooked nettles have a similar flavor and texture to that of spinach and can be used in many dishes as a spinach alternative. Raw nettles make an excellent ingredient processed into pesto sauces or blended into salad dressings and dips. Nettle root can be taken as a liquid or powdered extract or used dried in tea decoctions. Precautions. Excessive nettle tea or juice consumption may cause a skin rash for some individuals. Although it is very rare, there have been reported cases of swollen membranes and allergic reactions when ingesting raw, pureed, blended, or juiced fresh nettle leaves. Consult a qualified health care practitioner before using nettle products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking prescribed medications. Thanks for watching, and for more on wild herbs and greens, visit our website at superfoodsforsuperhealth.com. For trusted sources of the best nettle products we can find, be sure and check the links in the description box below this video. Please support us with a thumbs up if you found this video useful, and be sure and check out these other related videos.