SEPTEMBER 16, 2010 KETTLE FOR NETTLES

"Really being present to the people we care about fills our lives with bliss."

I love this quote. Do you feel blissful when you are present with people you care about? You should be. I wouldn't say I am blissful with every single individual that I care about, especially if the feeling of caring is not mutual. But it is a wonderful feeling to be blissful. It extends the word "grateful". I have much gratitude for all that life has given me.

When you are unhappy in something you are doing, find the best way to stop doing it.
It does change your outlook on life.



"Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel. Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolution: the residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
Sephaniah 2:9 (KJV)

So it is indeed nettles that is mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible. It is also mentioned in the New World Testament of the Bible, as well as Revised Standard Version of the Bible according to Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants.

I want to discuss nettles for the treatment of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia. I personally have used nettle seeds with wild flower honey for colds and flu-like symptoms, as well as allergies. It has been written that the Italians use stinging nettles and elderberry for herpes zoster (shingles). The Russians use it for constipation, hepatitis and jaundice. The Algerians mix powdered nettles with powdered jasmine for gonorrhea. And the French use nettle root steeped in vinegar for tumors of the feet or spleen and steeped in honey for tumors of the lung. This all sounds like song lyrics from Cole Porter or even Noel Coward.

It is thought that b-sitosterol found in nettle root, saw palmetto and pumpkin seeds reduce prostate size. Nettle root has been extensively studied for mild cases of prostate inflammation. I have used nettle root for prostatitis. Nettle root can be taken in any form. I think it makes an excellent tea if you add wild flower honey. Both French and German studies have concluded that nettle root is an effective treatment for mild prostate inflammation. And right they are!

Stinging nettle or common nettle, Urtica dioica, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica. The plant has many stinging hairs on its leaves and stems.


Stinging nettle is a dioecious herbaceous perennial, 1 to 2 m (3 to 7 ft) tall in the summer and dying down to the ground in winter. It has widely spreading rhizomes and stolons, which are bright yellow as are the roots. The soft green leaves are 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 in) long and are borne oppositely on an erect wiry green stem. The leaves have a strongly serrated margin, a cordate base and an acuminate tip with a terminal leaf tooth longer than adjacent laterals. It bears small greenish or brownish numerous flowers in dense axillary inflorescences. The hair of the plant becomes stiff and can cause a sting. This mixture of chemical compounds cause a painful sting or paresthesia from which the species derives its common name, as well as the colloquial names burn nettle, burn weed, burn hazel. The pain and itching from a nettle sting can last from only a few minutes to as long as a week. I have been pricked by a nettle and it hurt for 3 days.

The two common species of nettle are U. dioica subsp. gracilis (Ait.) Selander (American stinging nettle) in North America and U. dioica subsp. holosericea (Nutt.) Thorne (hairy nettle). North America.


Although I am discussing nettles as a treatment for BPH, a clinical trial has shown that the juice is diuretic in patients with congestive heart failure.

Urtication, or flogging with nettles, is the process of deliberately applying stinging nettles to the skin in order to provoke inflammation. An agent thus used is known as a rubefacient (something that causes redness). This is done as a folk remedy for rheumatism, providing temporary relief from pain.I have never used nettles for this purpose. Nettle extracts can be used to treat arthritis, anemia, hay fever, kidney problems, and pain.

Nettle leaf is an herb that has a long tradition of use as an adjuvant remedy in the treatment of arthritis in Germany. Nettle leaf extract contains active compounds that reduce TNF-α and other inflammatory cytokines. Nettle is used in hair shampoos to control dandruff and is said to make hair more glossy. In Ithaca I bought an herbal shampoo that contained nettles.

Fresh nettle is used in folk remedies to stop bleeding because of its high Vitamin K content. Meanwhile, in dry U. dioica, the Vitamin K is practically non-existent and so is used as a blood thinner.

Stinging nettle has a flavor similar to spinach when cooked and is rich in vitamins A, C, D, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. The young leaves are edible and make a very good pot-herb. The leaves are also dried and may then be used to make a tisane, as can also be done with the nettle's flowers.

What is a tisane ? You probably have had a tisane at least once in your life. It is an impressive word. A herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is a herbal infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the tea bush (Camellia sinensis). Camellia is green tea.

Two nettles photographs and dry nettle tea.

Until tomorrow...