by Fiona Hollis
Nettles, nettles everywhere! ‘Ouchy’ weeds that grow in and on anything. Resilient and persistent, nettles grow tall and proud in almost any location. This mysterious plant has some of the best security systems in place, designed to protect their precious leaves with millions of tiny syringes loaded with poison. A veritable electric fence of defense surrounds this plant. Who would have thought this needle wielding warrior could be such a holistic health hero!
Aside from being a super plant - vitamin and mineral packed with many, many healing and therapeutic values - nettles are used to make paper, dye, rope, linen like fabric, and insect repellent. A green that serves many a need.
In England, there is an annual nettle eating competition at a pub called, The Bottle Inn. I called and asked them about the art of eating raw nettles - it seems that as the sting is only on the upper side of the leaf - the trick is to fold the sides of the nettle in, and then roll the nettle up - so there is no upper side exposed to the mouth. I was a little confused, “Doesn’t the sting escape when chewed?” I asked… “Yes, sometimes - your mouth goes kind of numb,” was the reply. If that option sounds a little unnecessarily traumatic, - why not make a smoothie, juice or tea?
Nettle tea is widely available - but to ensure optimum live food nutrition - greens are best eaten raw and straight from the earth. Now when I see nettles growing wildly in abundance, I marvel at how wonderful the earth is to give us such readily available sources of nutrients and goodness. Nettles are in fact our FREE vitamin reserve waiting silently for us to get with the program!
What do nettles do once they are in our system?
♥ High levels of chlorophyll, vitamin C, serotonin, histamine, acetyl-choline, minerals including iron, calcium and silica.
♥ Amphoteric effect on breast milk production - which means it regulates your milk flow. Nettles will stimulate mothers to make more milk if their flow is low, or reduced amounts if flow is excessive. Very, very, clever indeed.
♥ Blood tonic - their high levels of easily absorbed iron and chlorophyll are great for anemia.
♥ Reduce blood sugar levels and stimulate circulation. This can support the treatment of diabetes.
♥ Nettles are a diuretic, great for the kidneys and liver and helps lower blood pressure. Help clear the blood of toxins and urates.
♥ Antihistamine - great for treating hay-fever allergies and reduce the severity of asthma attacks.
♥ Nettle tops make a tea for treating gout and arthritis - very good for the joints.
♥ Natural immunity booster with very high levels of anti-oxidant vitamin C.
When to harvest? Nettle tops (top 10-15cm) are best in spring - but if you keep your nettles cut back they will send up fresh shoots which you can then harvest through to Autumn. They will sting - so be careful and wear gloves. These can be frozen to use later in the year.
Eating raw nettles without getting stung
Blitzing them in your vita-mix with some fruit to make a yummy green smoothie will neutralise the sting and make for a super charged smoothie.
Infuse fresh nettle tops in a teapot for 10-15mins. Tastes much better than any nettle tea bag! If you don’t drink it all - use as a hair rinse and massage into the scalp to promote hair growth!
Fiona talks about the power of greens on her raw nutrition site, www.iloveraw.co.uk.
Also check out iloveraw’s pregnancy page for lists of great foods sources to obtain essential nutrients to grow happy healthy babies.
Tags: anti-fungal, anti-histamine, breast feeding, calcium, fiona, Fiona Hollis, Green Juice, Green Smoothie, hollis, iron, nettle, nettles, raw greens, serotonin, tea
