Stinging Nettles

Common Names Stinging Nettle , Stinging Nettle, Common Nettle
Botanical Name Urtica dioica
Family URTICACEAE Nettle

Common Uses:Allergies * Amenorrhea * Asthma * Childbirth/Breastfeeding * Fibromyalgia * General Health Tonics * Kidney * Menorrhagia * Osteoarthritis * Osteoporosis * PMS * Prostate health * Rheumatoid Arthritis * Sexual tonics * Women's Tonics *
Properties: Analgesic* Astringent* Tonic* Depurative* Diuretic* Anodyne*
Parts Used:Leaves, stems, and to a lesser extent root
Constituents:formic acid, mucliage, ammonia, carbonic acid, water

Stinging Nettle Health Benefits :
Nettles are a potent herb with a long history of use. This herb is one of natures best nutraceuticals, containing protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, beta-carotene, along with vitamins A,C, D, and B complex, all in a form that is easy for the body to use. The stinging comes from the presence on the bristles of histamine that delivers a stinging burn when the hairs on the leaves and stems are touched.

Stinging nettle contains natural antihistamines and anti-inflammatories (including quercetin), that open up constricted bronchial and nasal passages, helping to ease hay fever, and nose & sinus type allergies symptoms.

Extracts of nettle roots are reliable diuretics that encourage excretion of uric acid, but simultaneously discourage nighttime bathroom urges, making this remarkable plant useful for such disparate problems as gout, bed-wetting, and, the overnight urinary woes of benign prostate enlargement.

Nettles use a tonic of the female system goes back to the Native American women who used it throughout pregnancy and as a remedy to stop hemorrhaging during childbirth. It is considered one of the best all round women's tonics.

http://www.anniesremedy.com/herb_detail107.php

Nettle - for :Bronchitis, Asthma -
Nettle is anti-asthmatic, the juice of the roots or leaves, mixed with honey or sugar will relieve bronchial and asthmatic troubles, and the dried leaves, burnt and inhaled will have the same effect.

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Nettle - for :Childbirth -
Used to stimulate mothers milk, and to restore a woman's energy after childbirth.
Nettle - Oatstraw for :Pain relief -
Magnesium is needed to moderate pain response. Large amounts are available in oatstraw or nettle infusions, whole grains, legumes and leafy greens.

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Nettles - for :Reproductive system tonic -
Nettles are a good general tonic of the female reproductive system, excellent for young women just starting their monthly cycle,as well as women entering menopause.

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Stinging Nettle - for :Water retention, PMS -
Helps reduce water retention and soothes PMS symptoms.
Stinging Nettle - for :Excessive menstruation -
A specific remedy for excessive menstruation, it helps control and prevent hemorrhaging.

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Stinging nettle - for :Hay fever/Sinus -
Stinging nettle contains natural antihistamines and anti-inflammatories (including quercetin), that open up constricted bronchial and nasal passages. Some herbal authorities assert that no other remedy eases hay fever, and nose & sinus type allergies symptoms so markedly.

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Stinging nettle - for : osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, tendinitis and bursitis -
The anti-inflammatory substances join with the rich concentration of the minerals boron and silicon to help ease the pain of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, tendinitis and bursitis. The leaves can be used raw and applied directly to the rheumatic pain area, they increase circulation and draw out pain.
Stinging nettle - for :Enlarged prostate -
For the purposes of men's sexual health, the key ingredients in stinging nettles are the sterols, that appear to lessen the action of DHT, the form of testosterone that causes the prostate to enlarge.
Stinging nettle - Dong quai for :Amenorrhea - Loss of Period -
Nettle leaf infusion has reportedly returned the monthly flow to women drinking it regularly, even in their sixties. Dong quai tincture, especially when combined with white peony root and licorice, is a superb remedy for women whose menses cease unaccountably.

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Stinging nettle - for :Water retention, kidney -
Frequent use of nettle tea, a cup or more daily, rapidly relieves and helps prevent water retention. Nettle is a superb nourisher of the kidneys and adrenals.

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Stinging Nettle - for :Acute arthritis, osteo, rheumatoid -
In a scientific study of patients with acute arthritis, stewed stinging nettle leaves enhanced the anti-inflammatory effect of diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID)

. Stinging Nettle. (2007-12-13), www.umm.edu
Stinging Nettle - for :Calcium for Osteoporosis -
The best way to take calcium rich stinging nettle for osteoporosis is in a tea. A cup of nettle herbal tea delivers as much calcium and boron, important herbs for bone health, as a whole cup of tincture would.

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Stinging Nettle - for :Vitamin A, Boron and Calcium -
Stinging nettle tea provides essential nutrients and vitamins, containing protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, beta-carotene, along with vitamins A,C, D, and B complex.
Stinging Nettles - for :Testosterone -
Several studies have shown that stinging nettles can keep your testosterone circulating freely and keep you feeling sexually vital.

The sting of the nettle can cause a rash in some people. It is a strange fact the the juice of the nettle can provide relief for its own sting. It can also be relieved by rubbing leaves of rosemary, mint or sage.

Preparation Methods & Dosage :Teas, poultice, tinctures. Use two teaspoons of dried nettles per pint of boiling water for table or afternoon tea and increase to three to four teaspoons per pint for medicinal tea .The completely dried herb can be sprinkled onto food. The fresh young plants cooked until tender are excellent with just a little butter.

Plant Description

Nettles, despite their perfect adaptation to North America, are not native but where brought over from England by John Josselyn. This hardy plant can be seen on nature walks throughout temperate regions throughout the world and presents a pretty and delicate array of greenish-white flowers, and of course the bristles and hairs that put the 'sting' into stinging nettles.


History and Traditions & Folklore

In Hans Andersons fairy-tale of the Princess and the Eleven Swans, the coats she wove for them were made of nettles. Indeed nettle fibers, like hemp and flax have been used for textiles. A quaint old superstition exited that a fever could be dispelled by plucking a Nettle up by its roots, reciting therby the names of the sick man and also the names of his family. Called "wergulu" in old Wessex in the tenth century, nettle was one of the nine sacred herbs, along with mugwort, plantain, watercress, chamomile, crab apple, chervil, and fennel.

How to Make Nettle Tincture: Recipe and Uses

Read more: How to Make Nettle Tincture: Recipe and Uses | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5392238_make-nettle-tincture_-recipe-uses.html

Nettle, also known as bull nettle, stinging nettle, and itch weed grows along the banks of rivers and creeks. It is used as a detoxifying tonic. Nettle is particularly useful for treating hay fever, seasonal allergies, gout, rheumatism and arthritis. The recipe below is for an alcohol based tincture prepared from fresh or dried nettle leaves, plant or roots.

Instructions

1

Fresh Nettle Tincture

Collect and rinse the nettle. Wear gloves while doing this to prevent an itchy rash and nettle has itch inducing needles on the bottoms of the leaves. Allow the nettle to air dry. Chop 1 cup of fresh nettle and place it in a clean glass jar. Cover the nettle with 2 cups of vodka.
2

Dried Nettle Tincture

Chop 1/2 cup of dried nettle. Place the nettle in a glass jar. Add 3/4 cup vodka and 3/4 cup water to the jar.
3

Seal the jar of nettle tincture with a tight lid. Shake the jar well.
4

Allow the nettle to infuse into the alcohol for 2 weeks. Shake the nettle tincture daily as it infuses.
5

After 2 weeks has passed strain the nettle from the tincture.
6

Place the tincture in dark colored, glass jars with a dropper. Label the jar "nettle tincture" and put the date of preparation on the jar. Nettle tincture will last several years if stored properly.
7

Use 2 ml of tincture 3 times a day as an adult dose for the conditions listed above.