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? (more…)