The nettle herbal tea: which substances and beneficial properties
Nettle is full of substances that are good for the body. Instead of being a bad herb, as is often thought, due to its "pungent" character, nettle is a versatile plant that can help humans to heal and feed themselves in a natural way. Nettle primarily contains flavonoids, substances that can protect the capillaries and blood vessels; the nettle then has a strong mineral base: calcium, nickel, potassium, phosphorus, iron, chloride, silicon, sodium, manganese, titanium, copper, magnesium, among others. Iron sees it, for example, as the protagonist in vegetarian diets. Among the vitamins found in the nettle we find: B1, B2, B6, C, D, K, pantothenic acid, and folic acid. High amounts of protein are also present in the nettle.
The functionality of the nettle is noteworthy, as its intake contributes to eliminating acids and waste from the body: a nettle tea helps to reduce body weight and purify the body. Nettle is also an excellent antidiabetic, an astringent, an antirheumatic and natural diuretic. It should not be forgotten that the nettle prevents the formation of the gravel, acts against the ailments caused by rheumatism and is "galactogenic", that is, it increases the milk supply during pregnancy.
Nettle tea: how to prepare it
Given the properties of the grass, let's see how the nettle is prepared. First of all it is good to collect the most tender leaves carefully, usually during the flowering period (June-July-August) using a pair of plastic gloves. There are two types of nettle equally valid for preparing the herbal tea: urtica urens, which has rounder, lighter leaves and is lower, and urtica dioica, which has sharper leaves and is taller and darker.
Once picked, the nettle leaves are washed and can be used in two ways: making an herbal tea with fresh leaves or leaving them to dry and then use them or buy them ready directly from the herbalist. In the first case, to prepare a fresh nettle tea, just pour a cup of boiling water on three leaves, leave to rest for five minutes, sweetening with honey if desired. In the second case, a couple of teaspoons of dried nettle herbs are used for each nettle tea that you want to prepare, leaving it to infuse with boiling water for about ten minutes. Not boiling the nettle is important, to prevent the plant from losing some of its fantastic healing properties.
To learn even more, we recommend the author Ingrid Pfendtner, who wrote a book entirely dedicated to nettle : "Treating naturally with nettle"
Curiosity : the funny names of the nettle: garganella, mascianti tingling, rittica, pistidurri!
