Urtica Dioica—or you can call it Common Nettle and Stinging Nettle. Also known as a ‘folk remedy’ for its popularity in folklore all over the world, the plant is often uprooted as a weed. That is a pity because it holds within itself a number of health benefits! The plant grows to its full potential of around 1 to 2m during summers and has widely spread bright yellow rhizomes and stolon. The plant has a very fine, thin hair around its stem and leaves, which are painful to touch and sting badly. That is where the name stinging nettle comes from. But once you look beyond the stinging, the nettle leaf is chock full of nutrients and can give your body a ‘sting’ of good health!
Nutritional Information:
So, how does nettle leaf do so much for our health? It does so with the help of nutrients that fill it!
Top 15 Benefits Of Nettle Leaf:
Nettle has been known for its health benefits from medieval times. Its root, leaves, seeds, and flowers all have different benefits and are used for treating diseases.
Nettle Leaf Benefits for Skin:
Call us shallow, but we do care about how we look. Our skin largely determines our level of attractiveness. Nettle leaves in great way help to get that flawless skin:
1. Helps In Treating Acne:
2. Astringent Properties:
Nettle leaves have astringent properties, which helps in treating skin diseases like eczema, insect bites and chicken pox. Its extract or an oil concoction prepared with nettle leaves can be applied topically to treat eczema.
3. Anti-inflammatory:
Nettle leaves have anti-inflammatory properties and can be used for treating skin burns and reducing the burn scars.
Nettle Leaf Benefits for Hair:
Can nettle leaves help our hair too? They surely can! Here are some of the benefits of nettle leaf for hair:
4. Treats Hair Loss Problem:
Using stinging nettle is one of the oldest treatments for combating hair loss. Stinging nettle capsules and tea can be consumed to treat hair loss internally while a good scalp massage using nettle oil combats hair loss effectively.
5. Helps In Hair Re-Growth:
Not only does stinging nettle help in combating hair loss, it also helps in hair re-growth. Nettle leaves are rich in silica and sulfur. This helps in making hair shinier and healthier. Rinsing hair with nettle extracts and water results in re-growth of lost hair and also helps in restoring the original hair color.
6. Treats Dandruff:
Massaging your scalp with coconut or mustard oil infused with dried nettle leaves and leaving it overnight is a very effective treatment for dandruff. Juice extracted by crushing fresh nettle leaves is also massaged on the scalp to treat dandruff.
Health Benefits Of Nettle Leaf:
As mentioned before, the nettle leaf packs a punch when it comes to nutrients. It also gives a number of health benefits, some of which are:
7. Treats Arthritic Pain:
Stinging nettle has pain relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, which makes it a good cure for arthritic pain. It also treats other joint related diseases like rheumatism, gout, bursitis, and tendonitis. Nettle juice or nettle oil rubbed and massaged over the joints relieves the pain. Nettle tincture and tea consumed orally also helps to alleviate the pain.
8. Treats Benign Prostate Hyperplasia (BPH):
Stinging nettle is used in medicines for the treatment of BPH and other prostate related diseases. Though the studies have found that nettle does not effectively reduce the size of an already enlarged prostate, it is effective in reducing and treating the disease in its early stage when symptoms begin to show. This herb helps in stopping cell growth and division around the area and help in improving prostate health.
9. Treats Urinary Tract Infection:
Stinging nettle has diuretic properties and aids in urination. It is used in the treatment of urinary tract infection, bladder infection and other urinary problems caused due to kidney and bladder stones as it breaks down the stones into miniscule sizes and flushes them out with urine. It is also helpful in treating diarrhea and dysentery.
10. Reduces Allergies:
The leaves of stinging nettle plant are used to treat and relieve allergies. It is believed that consuming stinging nettle leaf before meals can cure food sensitivities. Nettle has anti-histamine properties, which act against the histamine present in the body and also against the allergic rhinitis. These leaves are helpful in treating seasonal allergies, hay fever, coughs, sneezing, hives and asthma.
11. Stimulates The Libido:
Stinging nettle acts as a libido stimulant as it increases testosterone level and also helps the body in retaining it for a longer period. It is an effective remedy for improving the sex drive.
12. Acts As A Styptic:
Nettle is also known for its styptic properties that means ‘an arrestor of local bleeding’. It helps with internal bleeding like excessive menstruation, vaginal bleeding, hemorrhoids, lung and stomach bleeding, and bleeding piles formed in the body. It also helps in stopping external bleeding like nosebleeds.
13. Acts As A Blood Builder:
Nettle leaf is used for treating anemia as it is high in iron. It is known for its blood building and blood purifying properties. Consuming a bowl of nettle soup regularly is a good remedy for treating anemia and also for lowering blood sugar levels.
14. Helps With Women Related Problems:
Women are advised to consume nettle regularly. It is not only effective for skin and hair, but also prevents and cures many women-related issues. Nettle helps in relieving PMS pain and strain, as well as menopausal pain. It is also known to help in easing labor and can be used by women to help with breastfeeding by increasing lactation.
15. Other Benefits:
Apart from the above mentioned benefits, nettle has some other benefits too and they are:
How Nettle Leaf Is Used?
Stinging nettle is used in many varied ways. It is used for food, medicines, skin and hair treatments, fiber, dyes, etc. Nettle is used in preparation of nettle tea, tincture, nettle soup, nettle puree and chutneys. Its extracts, tonics and dried leaves are used for beauty treatments. Nettle is also used in the preparation of many capsules and tablets as it is useful in treating many diseases.
A Word Of Caution:
Nettle leaf is legendary for its benefits and even finds mention in the folklore of diverse cultures. But the beneficial herb also has its side effects. The nettle leaf side effects are directly related to their combination with other drugs and also with the health condition of individuals.
Though this herb is great for skin, hair and overall health, nettle capsules should only be taken under the supervision of a doctor. It is fine to use nettle in cooking, but too much consumption of even the nettle soup or tea can have adverse effects. So, play safe and consult your doctor before you start using nettle.
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