Nettle tea is one of the most consumed herbal tea varieties in the world. It is often drunk as a medicinal juice as it has amazing healing properties. The tea has a mild soothing taste that overwhelms a tired body. Being a healing herb it also comes with many allergic conditions that affect some people.
So, let’s get started to know more about this tea……
What Is Nettle Tea
The nettle tea is brewed from the leaves of stinging nettle or scientifically known as Urtica dioxide. The tea made from the perennial flowering plant has been termed to be an herbal drink that was once traditionally brewed by Native Americans and Asians to be used as a medicine.
It is easy to find these stinging nettle leaves as they grow in a bunch in one place and that they will sting if come in contact. These dark green heart-shaped stinging leaves grow in the spring season and die in fall. And the significant fact about nettle plants is that they always grow in the same spot every following spring as they die in the fall season.
Nettle leaves can be eaten after soaking in water to remove the stinging properties or they can also be consumed as an herbal drink.
How To Properly Brew Nettle Tea?
To enjoy the best natural nettle tea is not by simply soaking nettle tea leaves for a minute or two in a pot of water as the traditional people do to obtain the herbal drink but it requires some steps to follow.
- Ingredients
A bunch of nettle leaves
3-4 cups of water
Optional Ingredients
Sugar or honey
-
Method
- In an empty pot put the nettle leaves inside. (preferably the older ones)
- Pour all four cups of water and put it to flame.
- Bring the water to boil till it simmers.
- Remove the pot when the aroma of the tea is spreading.
- Strain the tea in a cup leaving the leaves on the strainer.
- Add sugar or honey if required.
- Enjoy the tea hot.
- Optional Method: If you want an iced tea serving, then after straining the tea in a cup, refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes and enjoy the tea with some ice inside.
Benefits of Nettle Tea
The nettle leaf tea benefits widely that range from having a soothing taste to the herbal healing medicinal drink. The stinging leaves are considered to contain high quality and a huge variety of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fats, amino acids, polyphenols, and pigments.
Some of nettle tea health benefits:
-
Can reduce arthritis pain
Nettle tea has proven to reduce inflammation in the joints of the human body and that it can treat the pain and soreness in the muscles when consumed regularly. Study shows that nettle tea aids in osteoarthritis type of arthritis pain.
-
Reduce blood sugar level
Nettle tea also aids in reducing blood glucose levels by helping and boosting the pancreas to stimulate more insulin to lower the sugar levels in the body. The compounds of the nettle leaf maintain the sugar levels which act as external insulin.
-
Urinary tract health
The stinging leaf product is said to treat enlarged prostate and kill harmful bacteria from the urinary tract. People suffering from urinary problems can benefit from drinking tea on a regular basis. The tea is seen in treating symptoms of the urinary problem called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) that causes discomfort while urinating.
-
Can treat hay fever
Hay fever, an allergic symptom from reaction with pollen, is also viewed to be cured by the stinging nettle tea leaves. The nettle tea inhibits the release of hormonal allergic chemicals that can cause hay fever.
Harmful Effects Of Nettle Tea
As said before, nettle tea can also be an aid and can also produce many side effects to some people when consumed. The reason is the incompatibility of the human body to accept the new product and then which produces allergic reactions.
Possible side effects of nettle tea;
- Rashes
- Skin bumps
- Itchiness
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
The herb is safe to consume but to some people, it can bring nightmares as consuming the nettle tea means some of its compounds are deposited in the body, and prohibiting the compounds to react can produce these side effects.
Although, some of these side effects are through consuming but by having skin contact while finding one to brew. Careful measures are to be kept in mind while handling the nettle leaves as they can sting and to some people, their skin is so sensitive that just a touch of it can bring side effects such as skin irritations.
The sting of the nettle leaves contains many chemical compounds that can cause skin rashes, bumps, hives, and itchiness in the skin.
The sting contains the following chemicals;
- Histamine
- Serotonin
- Formic acid
- Acetylcholine
- Leukotriene
Caution Measure
The nettle leave or the nettle tea cannot be consumed by some group of people; the pregnant women, children less than 12 years of age, and people with some existing particular health conditions on medication.
- Pregnant women and children under 12 years old should avoid drinking the nettle tea or consume the nettle leaves as it can interact and trigger the effect on the human body and for pregnant women it can lead to failure of uterine contractions which then can enhance the risk of miscarriage.
- People who are taking certain medications such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, diuretics, calcium channel blockers, and diabetes medicines for some of their particular health problems should also avoid consuming nettle leaves or nettle tea as it can change the source and trigger the medications.
- It is important to consult with a doctor before taking the nettle tea to check whether the body can accept its product or will it prove to procure allergies and symptoms in the body.
Conclusion
The famous stinging nettle leaves can be made to produce a favourable product that can be consumed as an herbal drink which can be an aid to many health problems but to some extent; it can also be a severe product that can harm the human body. Overall the nettle tea is found to be an herbal drink that was used as medicine for many years in several places of the world.