Nettles grow where the soil is enriched with minerals. Their presence often indicates a site of previous human settlement. It should be no surprise therefore that they absorb minerals to provide a nutritious food. They are rich in iron, calcium and silica, as well as vitamin C (which aids iron absorption). Before the availability of imported vegetables, nettles would form a welcome green food after the deprivations of winter. The formic acid, which causes their stinging property, breaks down quickly on cooking. I have tried them myself but disliked the rather ‘woolly’ texture. I prefer nettles as a tea, the dried leaves infused in boiling water, then strained off before the liquid is drunk.
Herbalists do prescribe nettles for those who are weak and anaemic but perhaps the main use is in allergic conditions, particularly allergies affecting the skin (including, by coincidence, urticaria!). Strangely, they contain histamine, which you might expect to make allergies worse, but this does not seem to happen. Perhaps the therapeutic effect is a homeopathic one (‘like treating like’). They are also used to treat gout, on the grounds that they promote the excretion of uric acid.
Traditionally, it is the leaves that are used in medicine
but, recently, the root has been found helpful in treating benign enlargement
of the prostate gland. The Romans used nettles to 'flay' arthritic joints and
this may in fact be beneficial, as is the application of bee stings. The
inflammation created by stinging the skin over a joint will, if it does nothing
else, increase the blood supply to it.
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