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Nettle Herb - Benefits, Uses And Side Effects

INettle has left traces throughout history. Archaeologists found Bronze Age burial shrouds made of nettle fabric. Some 19th-century hair-growth preparations contained nettle. Native American women used nettle tea to ease delivery and stop uterine bleeding after childbirth. Nonetheless. the Food and Drug Administration lists nettle as an herb of undeflned safty.

The nettle plant can found naturally in most temperate regions of the world. The tough fibers from the nettle stem have been used to make cloth and cooked nettle leaves have been consumed as a vegetable. This flowering perennial can be found growing wild in the wastelands of the United States, Canada, and Europe. It's even used as a kitchen herb in many parts of world.

Many people like to steam the leaves to eat like spinach, or simmer them in soup. The young shoots are actually quite rich in vitamin C.

Common doses of Nettle

Nettle comes as:

• capsules (150 and 300 milligrams) . dried leaf and root extract
• tincture.

Some experts recommend the following doses:

• For nasal allergies, 150- to 300-milligram capsules taken orally.
• As a tea, mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried herb in 1 cup of boiling water. Drink up to 2 cups daily.
• As a tincture, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tincture taken up to twice daily.

Uses of Nettle herb

The herb and leaf have several known therapeutic qualities: They fight inflammation, act as an antihistamine, and have a diuretic effect, meaning they increase the flow of urine. Specifically, nettle may help to:

• Asthma
• Benign prostate tumors (adenomas)
• Cancer
• Cough
• Diabetes
• Eczema (a type of skin inflammation)
• Fluid retention
• Gout
• Heart failure
• High blood pressure
• Muscle spasms
• Nasal allergies
• Nosebleed
• Rheumatism
• To promate hair growth
• Tuberculosis
• Urinary, bladder, and kidney disorders
• Urinary tract inflammation
• Uterine bleeding
• Wounds

Side effects of Nettle

Call your health care practitioner if you experience any of these possible side effects of nettle:

• decreased urine flow
• hives
• stomach irritation
• diarrhea
• swelling.

Nettle also can cause digestive tract irritation.

Interactions

Combining herbs with certain drugs may alter their action or produce unwanted side effects. Don't use nettle while taking diuretics.

Important paints to remember

• Don't use nettle if you're pregnant or breast-feeding. It may stimulate the uterus.
• Don't give this herb to children under age 2.
• Check with your health care practitioner before giving nettle to older children and before using it yourself if you're over age 65.
• If you take nettle as a diuretic, eat foods high in potassium, such as bananas and fresh vegetables, to replenish body salts lost through increased urination.
• Check with your health care practitioner before you use nettle for benign prostatic hyperplasia or fluid build-up caused by heart failure.
• Know that rubbing nettle against the skin can cause intense burning for 12 hours or even longer. Wash thoroughly with soap and water, use antihistamines and steroid creams, and wear heavy gloves if you must handle the plant again.

What the research shows

Despite its traditional use in treating several conditions, nettle has been proven effective only as a diuretic. Researchers consider the herb relatively safe in the amounts recommended, and side effects from oral forms of nettle are rare. More studies must be done to find out if the herb has a role in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia and nasal allergies.

Other names for Nettle

Other names for nettle include common nettle, greater nettle, and stinging nettle.

Products containing nettle are sold under such names as Nettles Capsules and Nettles Liquid Extract.