Useful properties of nettle tea and how to make it

The benefits and harms of nettle tea deserve study - traditional medicine uses a remedy for many diseases. In general, the herbal drink is quite safe, but it requires compliance with the rules and dosages.

What it looks like and where it grows

Nettle (Urtica) is a perennial or annual flowering plant from the Nettle family with a straight stem up to 150 cm and whole leaves with a serrated edge. Often covered with stinging hairs. Brings small greenish buds in the apical spikelets, after flowering gives fruits - round-ovoid nuts.

Nettles bloom all summer from June to September.

Nettle grows all over the world along river banks, in fields, in ravines and in forests. It is often found in wastelands and weedy places, is distinguished by high endurance and unpretentiousness.

Chemical composition

Nettle has numerous beneficial properties and is highly regarded in folk medicine. The leaves and stems of the plant contain:

• B vitamins - pyridoxine, riboflavin and thiamine;
• iron, phosphorus and potassium;
• copper and selenium;
• phytoncides;
• starch;
• formic acid;
• chlorine, zinc and manganese;
• pantothenic and folic acid;
• vitamin C;
• cellulose;
• vitamins E and PP;
• urticin;
• linoleic acid;
• vitamin K;
• chlorophyll and carotenoids.

Nettle is widely used not only in folk medicine, but also in cooking. On its basis, salads and soups are made, and healthy refreshing drinks are prepared.

Is it possible to brew and drink nettle as tea

Nettle is a fairly safe herb and rarely causes side effects. Vitamin tea is prepared from dried herb leaves, it improves digestion and strengthens the immune system. It is necessary to consume the drink in limited quantities, but if used correctly, it will have a beneficial effect on health and well-being.

Why nettle tea is useful for the body, and in what cases to take

Nettle tea has many health benefits. In particular, the drink:

• has anti-inflammatory and hemostatic effect;
• increases the level of hemoglobin and erythrocytes;
• helps with anemia and loss of strength;
• improves the condition of the kidneys and bladder;
• promotes liver recovery;
• improves digestion and metabolic processes;
• strengthens blood vessels and prevents atherosclerosis;
• helps with tuberculosis;
• has a mild laxative effect;
• has a beneficial effect on the body with asthma and a tendency to allergies.

You can use nettle tea to preserve youth and beauty. The drink improves the condition of the hair and improves the elasticity and firmness of the skin.

Useful properties of nettle tea for men

Nettle tea regulates hormones in men and increases testosterone levels. This has a beneficial effect on reproductive performance and also contributes to an increase in overall endurance. Drinking the drink is useful for a quick set of muscle mass, nettle improves cell metabolism and speeds up metabolism.

Nettle tea protects men from early hair loss

Regular use of this natural remedy protects men from inflammatory diseases of the reproductive system. You can add nettle to tea for sprains and bruises, the herb promotes rapid recovery of ligaments and even accelerates the healing of fractures. Plant-based products cleanse the liver and strengthen blood vessels.

Benefits of nettle tea for women

For women, it is recommended to use nettle tea, first of all, to normalize the monthly cycle. The drink contains many phytoncides, improves ovarian function, evens out hormonal levels and helps fight gynecological inflammation.

Tea from the plant has pronounced dietary properties and helps to lose weight. It helps to achieve especially good results on a diet if a woman has excess weight due to hormonal disruptions.

Nettle tea has a calming effect on the nervous system. It is used for increased emotional stress and insomnia, the drink helps to cope with stress and restores vitality.

Benefits for children

Nettle tea has immunomodulatory properties and increases resistance to colds. You can offer it to your baby for coughing and sore throat, the drink will help sputum discharge and eliminate inflammation in the throat. Regular use of the herbal remedy saturates the child's body with valuable trace elements, especially iron, and prevents the development of anemia.

Because nettle contains a high amount of organic acids, it is not offered to newborn babies. You can give tea to a child upon reaching the age of three and provided that there is no allergy to the plant.

How to make and prepare nettle tea

Traditional medicine offers several options for brewing healthy nettle tea. The plant is used in pure form or combined with other medicinal ingredients, fresh or dried leaves are used.

How to make fresh nettle tea

You can make a vitamin and delicious drink from nettle leaves immediately after collection. First of all, they must be thoroughly rinsed from dust and dirt. Fresh nettle tea recipe looks like this:

• the raw materials are placed in a saucepan and poured with water so that it covers the leaves;
• bring to a boil;
• reduce heat to low and boil nettles for about 15 minutes.

The finished tea is removed from the stove and filtered. You can drink the drink hot or warm up to three cups a day. If the taste seems too specific, it is allowed to add a spoonful of honey to the tea.

Before making tea, the nettle leaves must be scalded to eliminate the stinginess.

How to make dried nettle tea

Properly dried nettle retains its vitamins and minerals in full. On the basis of raw materials, you can quickly prepare a healing tea. They do it like this:

• three large spoons of dry leaves are poured into 500 ml of hot water;
• cover the container with a lid;
• insist for a quarter of an hour, and then filtered.

Nettle tea on dry leaves has a rich aroma and a characteristic herbal taste.

Dry nettle tea is drunk up to two cups a day

Tea with nettle and rosehip

Nettle and rose hips are a good combination for strengthening the immune system and cardiovascular system. Two-ingredient tea is prepared as follows:

• three large tablespoons of dried nettle leaves are mixed with an equal amount of rose hips;
• bring to a boil over low heat;
• immediately removed from the stove and insisted under the lid for five hours.

The finished tea must be passed through cheesecloth. It is consumed hot or warm. You can add some sugar to the drink if desired, but this is not necessary. Tea already has a pleasant and unusual taste.

Nettle tea with rose hips is beneficial for hypertension

Sea buckthorn nettle tea

Another unusual recipe suggests brewing nettle leaves with sea buckthorn berries. The drink is made like this:

• three small tablespoons of dry nettle raw materials are mixed with 20 g of berries;
• pour 800 ml of hot water;
• kept under the lid for only five minutes, then filtered.

Both fresh and dried sea buckthorn berries can be used to make tea. When brewing, it is permissible to crush them slightly so that the juice stands out.

Sea buckthorn berries in nettle tea give it a bright hue and a refreshing taste

Application in traditional medicine and how to drink nettle tea

Nettle tea has not only tonic, but also medicinal properties. Traditional medicine offers several effective recipes and application regimens.

When coughing

Nettle tea helps with colds and bronchitis and promotes expectoration. It is usually brewed from a mixture of leaves and dry seeds. The recipe looks like this:

• five large spoons of raw materials are poured into a glass of water;
• simmer for about ten minutes on low heat;
• insist the product under the lid for at least an hour;
• filtered through cheesecloth.

Drink tea in a warm form, 200 ml three times a day. To improve the taste of the drink, you can add a little natural honey to it.

With vitamin deficiency

With a deficiency of vitamins, nettle tea, prepared according to this recipe, helps well:

• four tablespoons of dried raw materials pour 1 liter of boiling water;
• the pan is covered with a lid and wrapped in a towel;
• kept warm for two hours;
• filtered through cheesecloth to remove leaves.

Take tea up to five times a day, 60 ml. It is advisable to consume the drink on an empty stomach.

With urticaria and dermatitis

The medicinal properties of nettle leaf tea have a beneficial effect on allergic rashes. The tool is done like this:

• 15 g of dry leaves of young nettle and flowers are poured with 250 ml of boiling water;
• close the container with a lid;
• insist for half an hour;
• passed through folded gauze.

Tea is drunk in the volume of half a glass five times a day.

Drinking nettle tea is best done on an empty stomach.

To strengthen blood vessels

With weakened blood vessels and after a stroke, the following drink helps to improve health:

• 30 g of dry nettle leaves are poured into 1 liter of water;
• simmer over low heat for ten minutes;
• kept under the lid for at least eight hours and filtered.

Medicinal tea is consumed three times a day, 150 ml.

To cleanse the body

Nettle tea is good at cleansing the blood of toxins and removing toxins from the body. In case of poisoning and just to improve your well-being, you can prepare the following drink:

• 10 g of dried plant leaves are poured with 200 ml of boiling water;
• kept under the lid for an hour;
• passed through cheesecloth for filtration.

You need to consume nettle tea half a glass before meals, in just a day the drink is taken three times.

With a stomach ulcer

Nettle tea is one of the few drinks allowed for ulcers. The recipe looks like this:

• a small spoonful of dried foliage is poured with a glass of hot water;
• let the tea stand for 40 minutes under the lid;
• passed through a folded gauze or fine sieve.

Tea should be consumed in small sips of 100 ml three times a day, shortly before meals or shortly after.

Nettle tea during pregnancy

Despite the many valuable properties of nettle tea, it is not recommended to use it in the first trimester of pregnancy. The drink can cause contractions of the smooth muscles of the uterus, and this is fraught with early miscarriage.

In the second and third trimester, it is allowed to take herbal tea, but in small quantities and if necessary. If the pregnancy proceeds without complications, nettle can be drunk to treat and prevent anemia.

Nettle tea for lactation, breastfeeding

Nettle tea enhances milk production, therefore it is recommended for women with insufficient lactation. Additionally, the drink promotes rapid recovery after childbirth and prevents inflammation of the reproductive system.

It is best to consume nettle tea during lactation about half an hour before feeding

Nettle tea for menstruation

Nettle has hemostatic properties and may be beneficial if your period is too heavy. Tea is used to reduce the amount of secretions and restore the uterine endometrium. Reviews of the tool note that against its background, critical days become less painful.

At the same time, it is not recommended to use the drink if the period passes without deviations and does not cause serious inconvenience. Nettle tea can cause menstrual irregularities and impair the functioning of the reproductive system.

Slimming nettle tea

Nettle drink has diuretic and purifying properties. It is useful to use it on a diet, tea will help remove toxins and toxins, help get rid of edema and improve digestion. The herbal remedy reduces hunger and is responsible for timely bowel movement. Due to the fact that nettle tea regulates metabolism, extra pounds go away faster and do not return after the end of the diet.

Contraindications to the use of nettle tea

The benefits of young nettle tea are not always the same, sometimes the drink can be harmful. It is necessary to refuse its use:

• with atherosclerosis and hypertension;
• with varicose veins and thrombophlebitis;
• with polyps and cysts of the uterus and ovaries;
• with chronic kidney disease;
• with individual allergy to raw materials.

Gastrointestinal ailments usually do not become a contraindication for nettle tea, it affects the mucous membranes very gently. But with acute pancreatitis and cholecystitis, you should still refuse the drink and adhere to the strictest diet.

When and how to harvest nettles for tea

It is recommended to harvest nettles for brewing in the form of tea from June to the end of August. During this period, the leaves contain the maximum amount of nutrients. For harvesting, choose only perfectly healthy, clean grass without black spots and damage from parasites. The collection is carried out on a clear, warm and dry day, away from industrial facilities and large cities, highways and landfills.

How to dry nettle for tea

Healthy vitamin tea can be brewed with fresh nettle leaves. But most often the raw materials are dried, in which case it will be possible to prepare a drink even in winter.

If there is free space, nettles can be hung to wither in bundles

Harvesting of collected leaves is carried out using fermentation. First, the raw materials are laid out in an even layer on a baking sheet or paper mat and left under a canopy.When the leaves have dried up, they will need to be kneaded and slightly twisted, and then held for one night under a damp cloth and dried for tea in the oven or in the air. It is impossible to expose raw materials under direct sunlight, ultraviolet light will destroy most of the vitamins and organic acids.

After the raw material becomes brittle, it is ground into small pieces and put into a paper bag for storage. It is necessary to keep the nettle in a dark closet, periodically stir up so that it does not damp. You can use the leaves to make tea throughout the year.

Conclusion

The benefits and harms of nettle tea are related to each other, but in most cases, the plant has a beneficial effect on the body. You can use a natural drink to normalize digestive processes and with inflammation, the main thing is to observe moderate dosages and take into account contraindications.

Reviews of the benefits and dangers of nettle tea