Alternative Medicine with Nettle Leaf

Posted on | Monday, August 22, 2011 | No Comments

After years of being ignored or held in contempt, the nettle star is rising. Perhaps it is the disenchantment with modern drugs or the cost of those drugs that is sending plenty of back the the ancient wisdom of the healing power of plants. Nettle is a major player on this stage.

In simpler, slower paced times than that in which they live, people all over the world were savvy about the healing power of plants such as nettle leaf. In fact, nettle has been included in herbalist writings for hundreds of years. For the last fifty or sixty years in the United States nettle has grown unnoticed by streams, has been cursed by campers who got in to it, and has been sprayed with herbicides by those who thought about it an intolerable pest.

Over the centuries herbalists have agreed that nettle leaf is a diuretic, astringent, galactagogue, hemostatic, and a tonic. This is an impressive list. Modern research is tying these properties to the vitamins and minerals plentiful in nettle leaf. For example, this herb is high in vitamin K which helps blood to clot. No wonder females approaching childbirth were encouraged to drink plenty of nettle tea.

What might have one time been passed off as folklore now has a scientific explanation. As more is discovered about the connection between vitamin/minerals and the alleviation of common health issues, the nettle leaf score will continue to increase. This is herb to take a close look at, to study, and to experiment with.

Nettle is a perennial plant growing dormant in the winter and returning with gusto in the spring. It loves moisture and grows merrily where there is ample groundwater: around spring holes, by streams, near leaky irrigation pipes. A stand of nettle can reach seven feet given the right growing conditions.

The wise nettle forager wears long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and a heavy pair of gloves. Do less than this and you will never forage for nettle leaf again!

The herb is often known as stinging nettle and for a nice reason. The nettle is covered with little needle-like spines. In the event you don't know this in advance, you could be in huge trouble on the front finish of a foraging campaign. Each small needle injection a stinging potion in to your skin. The stinging can continue for some time.

Use clippers on the nettle stems, the longer handled, the better. Keep as much distance as feasible between the nettle plants and you. Place the pruning in a box or huge bag for the trip home.


Enjoying Nettle Leaf Benefits

Left to itself, nettle makes a insipid tea. Well, add lemon and honey and you have some flavor. Think about it a hot lemonade. But, you can add a variety of flavor-filled herbs like mint, lemon verbena, chamomile, or orange blossoms.

In case you require to drink the tea through the day, use a giant tea pot for brewing one time. Drink at room temperature after the pot cools. Heating the tea after the preliminary brew could destroy some of the nutritive value.

To brew the tea, put about three tablespoon of herb in a cup and fill with boiling water. Cover the cup with a saucer or such to keep the brew warm while it works its magic. Oils, vitamins and minerals are released in to the hot water, leaving them highly absorbed for you. Sweeten to taste in case you desire.

Giant, dense infusions can be made for baths. In her Herbal Body Book Jeanne Rose recommends nettle baths to stimulate the skin and increase circulation. He even suggests it might help with arthritis. This is herb to experiment with.

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