Nettles useful properties
The genus unites about 30 annual and perennial grassy and semi-shrubby, more often dioecious plants. The leaves are serrate along the edge, covered with burning hairs. Flowers are small, greenish-yellow, collected in axils of leaves in earrings. Blooms from May to July. It grows mainly near human habitation: in gardens, kitchen gardens, along the edges of ditches, on vacant lots.
In medicine, nettles( U. dioica L.) and nettle stinging( U. urens L.) were most widely used.
Nettle aspiration ( Urtica dioica L.) is a perennial weed from the nettle family, up to 150 cm high, with a long creeping rhizome. The hanging spicate inflorescences are longer than the petioles of the leaves. Toothed opposite petiolate leaves are covered with burning hairs. Touching the plant causes pain, itching and inflammation - a nettle rash - due to the fact that hairs, stabbing into the skin, break off and pass into the dotted line of caustic juice. Stinging nettle grows everywhere - near housing, along fences, along roadsides, ravines, fringes, along shady and damp forests.
Almost as widespread is another species of nettle - nettle burning ( Urtica urens L.), which should not be confused with dioecious. This is an annual, monoecious plant of considerably smaller size( height 15-60 cm), the stem branched, the inflorescence shorter than the petioles of the leaves.
Better than stinging nettles, nettle has been studied. The leaves of the latter contain vitamins of group B, vitamin C, K, carotenoids, pantothenic acid, mineral salts, histamine, chlorophyll, tannins, protein and other active substances. More on nettle dandruff, see here.
Nettle has long been widely used in folk medicine of different countries as a good hemostatic and early-healing remedy. And in modern medicine, valuable therapeutic properties of infusions and extracts from nettle leaves have been experimentally proved. Preparations from it are used in many diseases - pulmonary, uterine, renal, intestinal bleeding, as well as atherosclerosis, anemia, peptic ulcer, cholecystitis, etc.
Nettle leaves are included in many charges. For example, in mixture with the fruits of mountain ash they are recommended as a vitamin tea, which can be prepared as follows: 3 parts of dry crushed nettle leaves mixed with 7 parts of dried rowan fruit. One tablespoon of this mixture pour two cups of boiling water, boil for 10 minutes, insist 4 hours in a tightly closed container( as if in a thermos), strain and take half a cup 3 times a day.
The leaves of nettle dioecious in a mixture with an equal number of young( collected at the end of May) leaves of coltsfoot are used as a means to strengthen the hair. Three tablespoons of a mixture of dry leaves of these plants pour a liter of boiling water, insist and rinse the resulting hair after washing, and rub the infusion into the roots of the hair 2-3 times a week.
For the strengthening of hair, a mixture of equal numbers of nettle leaves and burdock root in the broth is also used, based on: a tablespoon per cup of boiling water. This broth moistens the hair after washing, lightly rubbing it into the skin.
For medicinal purposes, the leaves of nettle nettle can be harvested from the middle of June to September, only from flowering plants. The collection is carried out in leather gloves. For mass billets, the flowering nettle is mowed and allowed to wither, after which the leaves lose their burning sensation.
Dry in well-ventilated areas or outdoors, but not in the sun. Store in paper bags or cloth bags.
It is worth recalling that the young shoots of nettle in the early spring go to the food for soups, cabbage soup and salads( to eliminate the burning, they must be doused with boiling water), as well as to feed livestock and poultry. As ZE Zellinsky points out, the nettle nutrition is not inferior to the best beans.
There are reports that cows, receiving nettles, give milk more and better quality, and hens increase egg production.
From nettles receive harmless green paint for food, perfume, pharmaceutical industry. Bast fibers are used for the preparation of coarse cloth, for example burlap, and paper can be made from them. In the past, the nettles produced yarn for fishing gear, ropes and ropes.
Professor of Traditional Medicine Professor VP Makhlayuk points out that "the leaves of nettle, due to the contents of phytoncides in them, have the property of preserving quickly deteriorating products( for example, gutted fish stuffed and netted with nettles are kept very long)."
The medicinal properties of nettle were appreciated by scientists and doctors of the ancient world. In medicine, nettles are used mainly because of its haemostatic effect, which is determined by the presence of a significant amount of vitamin K and tannins. Nettle is used as a preventive agent for the treatment of avitaminosis, as well as atherosclerosis: 2 tbsp. Spoon the crushed nettle leaves with 2 cups of boiling water. Infuse for 2 hours. Eat 1/2 cup 4 times a day.
Nettles treat anemia, it increases the hemoglobin content and increases the number of red blood cells, use it as a diuretic, carminative, anti-febrile, blood-healing and wound-healing remedy. Nettle has a wide range of uses: for diseases of the liver and gallbladder, kidney stone disease, uremia, dropsy, rheumatism, tuberculosis, boils, etc. Nettle juice is treated with old wounds, ulcers and fistulas. To the suppurating wounds, apply washed fresh leaves or sprinkle them with powder from the dried leaves.
The rich chemical composition of both fresh and dry nettle leaves is useful for strengthening the roots of hair, against excessive fatness of the scalp, for the elimination of dandruff. To this end, nettle is used in household cosmetics.
Against hair loss in Bulgaria they use a decoction of 100 g of crushed nettle leaves, filled with 0.5 l of water and 0.5 l of vinegar. The broth is boiled for 30 minutes, filtered and in the evening before going to bed they wash their heads without soap. In France, to strengthen the hair once a week after washing the head rubbed into the scalp infusion of dry leaves. Infusion is prepared as follows: 1 tablespoon chopped nettle pour a glass of boiling water and insist like tea;Cooled infusion filter.
In cooking, nettles have been used since ancient times. Our ancestors used nettles in the form of salads, cabbage soup, various purees, sauces, pie fillings, etc. To make the filling, take 1 kg of young nettle leaves, pour them with steep boiling water - for 5 minutes, then grind, mix with 5 chopped steep eggs and boiled rice, salt to taste. It is very tasty and nutritious stuffing.
In Yugoslav cuisine, a dish of nettle with horseradish is very popular: 750 g of nettle, sort, rinse and boil in salted water. Throw in a colander, drain, keep the broth. Cut the nettle. The head of onions is chopped, fried until golden, add 3 tablespoons of flour, pepper and mix. Combine the passerel with nettle, pour in the broth and cook for 20 minutes on low heat. At the end, add finely chopped parsley and 1/2 cup dried walnuts. When serving, sprinkle with grated horseradish.
Therapeutic use. Nettles has long deservedly enjoyed a reputation as a plant-healer. In the very first written sources, there are indications of the therapeutic use of this plant. For example, Dioscorides recommended the use of nettle in gastrointestinal disorders, for the treatment of purulent wounds and allergic diseases. And according to Avicenna, nettles arouse lust, especially her seeds, with wine. Medicinal dressings from a mixture of juice of nettle with vinegar, in his opinion, contribute to the maturation and dissection of abscesses. The roots of nettle in the form of gruel or mixed with oil were considered in the Middle Ages the best way to treat gout and other very diverse joint pain. The Russian healers, in order to avoid suppuration of wounds, advised the crushed raw nettle herbs to apply to fresh wounds for their cleansing and early healing. And the nettle leaves, pounded with salt, and her raw seed were recommended to be applied to "raw, rotten ulcers".Such treatment, in their opinion, "of them wild meat will exterminate and heal."
The sum of active substances, mainly vitamins and trace elements, normalizes the metabolism of fats and proteins in the body, has an effect of stimulating character on the formation of erythrocytes and hemoglobin. Nettle preparations have a pronounced hemostatic property, which is associated with the presence of a large amount of vitamin K in the plant, which stimulates the production in the liver of one of the most important factors of the coagulation system - prothrombin protein.
Among folk healers, there is an opinion that nettle and its preparations can quickly improve the blood composition, which they use to treat anemia and various skin diseases.
High content in nettle of phytoncides causes its harmful effect on microorganisms. Romanian researchers in the late 80's proved that the liquid extract of nettle causes the death of Staphylococcus aureus, one of the most malignant microbes, also very resistant to traditional methods of treatment, including antibiotics. Apparently, thanks to the contents of phytoncides, the fresh leaves of nettle have the property of retaining rapidly deteriorating foods, such as fresh fish and meat. This property of nettle has long been known to fishermen, hunters and tourists.
Nettle has a stimulating and toning action, strengthening the main metabolism, improving the activity of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Therefore, preparations from nettles are successful in asthenia, arterial hypertension, they are also used in neuroses, hysteria, epilepsy and atherosclerosis.
But the "balm of nettles", prepared as follows: 20 g of nettle pour 500 ml of vodka or 50-60% alcohol, the neck of the container in which they prepare the balm, knotted with gauze. The first day the mixture is kept in the sun, and the remaining 8 days - in a dark cool place. After nine days, the composition is filtered. The medicine is taken 1 teaspoon on an empty stomach and 30 minutes before meals, and also before bedtime. In the author's opinion, a person who uses this "balm" becomes vigorous, he restores the work of the heart system, improves blood composition, reduces the phenomenon of atherosclerosis.
Water extracts from the leaves of the nettle are an excellent remedy for uterine, hemorrhoidal, intestinal and pulmonary hemorrhages. Very good effect is the leaves of nettle with debilitating uterine bleeding, accompanying uterine fibroids. In these cases, one more pharmacological property of nettle is used - an increase in the tone of the uterine muscles, and in addition, this weed has a pronounced estrogenic( hormonal) effect, including steroid structures and a large amount of vitamin E( tocopherol).
In case of painful and profuse menstruation, take the following collection: yarrow( flowers and leaves), nettle( leaves of the May harvest), take equal. One tablespoon of this collection is poured with a glass of boiling water, boiled for 2-3 minutes, insists 30-40 minutes. Take during the day for '/ 4 cups 20 minutes before meals 3 times a day, the fourth dose at night.
You can also recommend another composition:
Nettle, nettles, 30 g Shepherd's bag, grass, 20 g Beehive, grass, 10 g Yarrow, inflorescence, 30 g
One tablespoon of collection pour a glass of boiling water, insist 30 minutes,strain and take 50 g 3-4 times a day with uterine bleeding.
For the same purpose, fresh juice of nettle, obtained from the leaves and tops of the plant, is used. It is taken 1 teaspoon 3 times a day with hemoptysis, nosebleeds, hemorrhagic diathesis and excessively heavy and prolonged menstruation. To prepare the juice, the young apex of the plant is collected and, after washing in running water, is passed through a meat grinder. Then they filter through a two-layer gauze filter. You can make juice with a juicer. The juice is stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Fresh juice is also used in the treatment of gallstones, kidney stones and lung diseases, it is recommended by healers for rubbing with radiculitis and myositis.
With gout, external bleeding, skin diseases such as furunculosis, eczema, dermatitis, trophic ulcers and long-term non-healing wounds, fresh juice along with water extracts is applied topically, can be combined with ingestion. Fresh juice or infusion from the leaves are washed head with hair loss.
Most often from the preparations of nettle used infusion, for its preparation 2 tablespoons of nettle leaves are poured with 2 glasses of water. Boil in a water bath for 15 minutes, then filter and cool. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day. At home, it is allowed to brew dry leaves of nettle like tea.
Nettle is used for the treatment of bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma, tuberculosis, add to the collection with reduced appetite, diarrhea, constipation, gastritis and inflammation of the intestine.
It is recommended to use drugs from it for diseases of the liver and biliary system, and also as a diuretic for nephritis, pyelonephritis, cystitis and urolithiasis.
Combination of nettle with Ledum, according to the healers, gives an excellent effect for an old cough with hard-to-separate sputum, this combination improves the patient's state of bronchial asthma: seizures become rare and less severe, and with systematic treatment can go away altogether. With flu or other common cold, nettle can be well combined with Ledum, Tavolga, raspberry and birch leaves.
For a long time, nettles have been used to treat skin diseases, for this it is used in various forms: topically as a lotion with trophic ulcers of the lower leg, dermatitis, eczema, in the treatment of burns and long-term non-healing wounds.
Nettle is also used for the treatment of thrombophlebitis, in the form of baths as follows: 5 kg nettle for 5 liters of boiling water for 5 hours( heat container wrap) or 2-3 kg of dried nettle pour 10 liters of boiling water and stand for 1 hour. Then filter and pour into a bath with a temperature of 36 ° C, a bath time of 30 minutes.
For furunculosis, various rashes, intense itching, chronic constipation and other situations, that is, when talking about "blood contamination", apply a mixture of equal parts of the leaves of nettle, dandelion and bud of blackthorn. On a daily portion take 2 tablespoons of the mixture, pour 2 cups of boiling water and cook in the oven for 2-3 hours. Use this medicine for two weeks, eating at the same time exclusively vegetable food. The diet should be free of meat, eggs, fish, the reception of alcoholic beverages, including beer, is prohibited.
Inside preparations of nettles( infusion and juice) accelerate the healing of wounds, ulcers and various fistulas, by accelerating the recovery processes in tissues. Purulent and wetting wounds are treated with powder from dry leaves or applications of napkins soaked in fresh juice of nettle.
For the treatment of burns the following recipe is used - 8 teaspoons of crushed leaves insist on a glass of boiling water for 30 minutes. The compress is applied 3 times a day for 10-15 days.
Simultaneously it is possible to give a tincture of nettle, which is done as follows. Fresh nettle, rinse, cut, put into a jar to the brim, pour vodka so that it covers the nettle completely. Soak 5-6 days in the dark, then strain, a napkin soaked in tincture, apply to the burned area of the body or on the wound until they are fully healed.
For the treatment of an eczema in the hands of the people the following method is used: a pan of 6-8 liters is stuffed tightly with nettle, poured with boiling water, after the temperature of the mixture has allowed, put hands( or legs) into the pan and hold them untilthe medicine will cool.
For children suffering from allergies, folk herbs recommend the following recipe: in April-May, when young leaves of nettle appear, cut off the tops of the plant, fold them into a liter jar, without ramming, and pour cold boiled water, insist the night. The next day, give the child to drink infusion together with compotes and juices without restrictions. Such treatment has a beneficial effect on the functions of the liver and nervous system.
Some researchers found that the infusion of herbs has a number of properties characteristic of adaptogens, since its reception accelerates the correction of vital activity parameters against the background of acute stress and increased physical exertion. Nettle leaves are often included in the composition of vitamin, gastric, hemostatic and other charges.
Traditional healers mark another important property of nettle - the ability to improve vision. It is believed that in adolescence, a child suffices during the summer holidays to provide a nettle diet in order to avoid the progression of myopia. In addition to nettle, it is also necessary to include various berries and a blueberry leaf in the diet.
For the suspension of rapidly progressing myopia, it is recommended to take in the early spring 5 tablespoons of nettle collected before flowering, pour 200 ml of boiling water over them, insist 3-5 minutes, then strain.
Take 3 times a day for 30 minutes before meals. At the same time, take 1-2 teaspoons of barley malt 2 times a day after meals.
Not as wide as the leaves, but with a high efficiency the rhizomes of nettle are used. They have long been considered a good tool for treating "chronic kidney stones, especially if cooked with sugar."
According to B. and P. Tice: "People who are predisposed to stone formation, should regularly drink tea from the roots of the nettle, in time to remove sand from the kidneys."In addition, the roots of nettle can be used as antidiabetic agent, which due to the presence of secretin in them stimulates the production of their own insulin.
Liquid extract from fresh rhizomes with roots of nettle is quite effective in the treatment of patients with prostatic hypertrophy. Prepare it as follows. Fresh rhizome with roots are ground, placed in a glass jar, poured 45% alcohol( can be vodka) so that the alcohol barely covers the raw material from above. Insist for two weeks, then strain. Take in the first week of 30 drops of extract 3 times a day, and then in the 90-150 drops. The course of treatment is from 2 months to 1 year.
It is believed that pounded nettle seeds mixed with honey and grape juice, strengthen spermatogenesis and sexual desire, the same action is produced by young leaves of nettle, if there are them along with onion and egg.
Used as a means to enhance the erection of the following collection:
All components must be ground into a powder and evenly mixed. Take 6 g of this powder at the reception, mixed with a diluted dessert wine.
Another recipe: A 50 gram glass of nettle seed is added to 500 ml of red grape wine. Insist for a month, periodically shaking. Take 1-2 tablespoons 20 minutes before meals 3 times a day. Course 1-2 months, then you can take a break in 1 month and repeat the course. This recipe is used in the treatment of prostate cancer in men.
The good curative properties of nettle and pharmaceutical companies were not disregarded, having set the release of many preparations based on this weed. For example, the drug "Urticon", produced in Sweden, contains an extract from the root of the nettle. The use of this drug inhibits the enlargement of the prostate, prevents inflammatory changes in the genito-urinary tract and reduces dysuric disorders. At the beginning of treatment take 1 capsule 3 times a day after meals. After reducing symptoms and alleviating the condition, the dose is reduced to 1 capsule 2 times a day. Usually treatment lasts 6-8 weeks. If necessary, the course can be repeated in six months.
Prostagut forte, produced in Germany, contains nettle extract and is used for prostate adenoma, chronic prostatitis, hypersensitivity of the bladder and with weakness of the sphincters of the bladder in women.
Nettle extract is a part of many drugs and domestic products, for example allochol, which is used to treat acute and chronic diseases of the liver and biliary tract.
A water-soluble urticillin preparation has been developed that strengthens the epithelial repair process, accelerates the maturation of connective tissue and transitions to the scar tissue, eliminates inflammatory infiltration already in the first days of treatment, in addition, it has an antimicrobial effect. All of the listed properties of this drug contribute to a significant reduction in the timing of wound healing and burns.
Phytocosmetics. From ancient times to the present, nettle is considered an excellent cosmetic. Especially it is revered in France. On the basis of extracts obtained from the plant, shampoos are produced, which are very effective for the treatment of dandruff and with excessive head grease, and various lotions. The history of the use of preparations from the nettle to enhance growth and strengthen hair has more than one century.
"Juice with nettles if you start to lubricate your head, as Galen tells you, hair loss stops," says Odo from Mena.
This is a valuable weed growing in your garden or near the house.
But that's not all, nett nutrition is not inferior to bean cultures, soup, salads are made from young shoots, and a harmless green dye is also made from leaves, which is widely used in the food and medical industries.
Economic application. Bast fibers of nettle are long and strong and give threads to rough fabrics, so called burlap. In the past, from nettles, as today from flax, they produced yarn and produced strong fishing tackle, ropes, ropes, etc. Nettle can serve as a good material for the preparation of paper.
Feeding chicken with oats in a mixture with nettle allows you to get eggs throughout the winter, it is useful to add to feed pigs, especially pregnant uterus. Young nettles increase milk yield and fat content of cows. Leaves placed in milk, warn him of souring.
Contraindication of for the appointment of nettle is an increased coagulability of the blood.