Mother Nature Knows Best

The Common Stinging Nettle

Nettles are another of those hedgerow  plants that has been used by the Gypsies for centuries to treat various allergy symptoms especially Hayfever which was and still is the most common allergy suffered by humans. Not just humans, during the time we had horses I remember two particular animals who suffered from Hayfever very badly, I know that sounds strange when grass and hay are their normal diet but it’s true. The easiest way to enjoy the benefits of the common stinging nettle is to make an infusion, brew it like tea using  a good handful of leaves to 1 litre of boiling water, it can be taken hot or cold and if you prefer sweeten it with either sugar or honey to your own taste.

Modern Medications

Today there are a dozens of medications both off-the-shelf and medically prescribed to help with these Allergy symptoms ranging from

Decongestants,

Antihistamines,

Eye Drops,

Allergy Injections, etc.

But all of these only treat the symptoms of the allergies and the benefits tend to be very short lived and over time they become less and less effective as our body gets used to them.  They can also cause unwanted side effects too like drowsiness, dry sinuses, insomnia and high blood pressure. The common Stinging Nettle has none of these side effects and can be used on a regular basis.  The Common Stinging Nettle also has some other interesting uses; it makes an excellent soup which is very rich in iron, the young leaves can also be used in a summer salad and one of my favourites is to chop the leaves together with mint when making your mint sauce for the Sunday Roast Lamb.

Until next time ………….

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Category: Blog, Health, Herbal, Remedies & Recipes, Wellbeing