The stinging nettle is the best blood cleansing herb known to herbalists
and recommended strongly in the treatment of acne and eczema.
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is high in iron and is also the best blood building herb and very beneficial in cases of anaemia and other blood disorders. Together with other herbs it has been used with success in the battle against leukaemia.
People suffering from allergies, including hay fever, should drink stinging nettle. It diminishes susceptibility to colds and helps in cases of gout and rheumatism.
Every part of the stinging nettle has valuable medicinal properties.
It is a nutritive herb rich in vitamins and high in iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.
The juice of the nettle is the antidote for its own sting and once infused with hot water, the sting of the nettle is rendered inactive.
As an anti-haemorrhagic it will stop bleeding from the lungs, intestines, nose, stomach and urinary organs. It is a helpful remedy for ailments in the urinary tract and will expel gravel from the bladder and increase the flow of urine. As an astringent, it is used for blood in the urine, haemorrhoids and excessive menstrual flow, and is very useful for people with low blood pressure and lack of good arterial flow.
Nettle has long been known to stimulate circulation and, because of that property, it has been used as a remedy for baldness.
For cramps, no matter where, means faulty circulation and a herb bath with stinging nettle is recommended.
Even the seemingly distasteful “flogging with nettles” was actually an old remedy for chronic rheumatism and was designed to stimulate circulation. Freshly picked stinging nettle is good for sciatica, lumbago and neuritis. If used fresh in salads it is an excellent blood purifier and an ideal spring treatment.
For acne, of four cups of stinging nettle tea (prepared as a hot infusion) should be sipped throughout the day.
A well-known English rhyme about the stinging nettle is:
Tender-handed, stroke a nettle,
And it stings you for your pains.
Grasp it like a man of mettle,
And it soft as silk remains.
Nettles have many folklore traditions associated with them.
Learn more about the various healing properties different herbs possess, similar to stinging nettle, in the Fundamentals of Herbal Medicine & Herbal Healing Lesson 1 offered by ASOHM online