Nettle tea in a self-test
When I uphear thatNettlesuddenlydieis a popular medicinal plant - and the nutritional supplement capsules are selling like hot cakes in many places in Germany - I ask myself briefly: Do they really mean this bitter herb that we use in children's medicine?offered the adults as a “witch’s potion”?
Yes, actually - the nettle has managed to get out of its old reputation and become trendy. This is because it is supposed to be the ultimate metabolism booster and can work wonders against annoying water retention. The main reason I'm pricking up my ears is that I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto's. Which means that I suffer from an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid briefly doesn't work as it should. The result is that my body is less able to convert certain substances or only very slowly - and I now try out pretty much every tip when it comes to “healthy metabolism”. Also the nettle hype.
But since I have little desire to include more dietary supplement pills in my morning routine (vitamin D and magnesium are already integral parts of my daily doping), I want itattempt. After all, we have arrived in the middle of the cold season and have such a morning ritualNettle teawill definitely be good for me, I think.
A month of nettle tea: That's my conclusion
Stinging nettle is currently trending on TikTok, but the knowledge of its beneficial effects is far from new. In natural medicine, the wild herb has long been considered a remedy for urinary tract infections, some rheumatic diseases, high blood pressure and overall as a metabolism booster. It is precisely because of the latter effect that the nettle is now undergoing a change in imagewhere the weight loss effect is primarily advertised. Influencers show before and after pictures of bloated, extremely flat stomachs.
I'm less concerned with losing weight and more concerned with the other factors that come with a healthy metabolism: less water retention, fewer headaches, less fatigue. All of these are symptoms of a slow metabolism, which I struggle with, particularly due to my thyroid disease.
So I resolve to drink a cup of nettle tea every morning. And not the one from the bag, but the loose one that I get at the drugstore. The first few mornings, I can't put it any other way, were hard. Not because the tea is so bitter (in my opinion it actually has this reputation undeservedly), but it significantly limited my coffee consumption. Because I simply don't have more time in the morning than for a hot drink. So my inner Lorelai Gilmore has to wait for withdrawal and the first coffee until she gets to the office. But I finally decided to do something and I know from the various self-tests my colleagues have done that switching to a new routine or a new care product is often accompanied by a few teething problems.
When I still didn't notice any effect after a week (and became more and more annoyed about having to do without my beloved morning coffee), I researched nettle tea a little more closely and found out that nettle is not at all like many nutritional supplements when taken in the morning must be. On the contrary: stinging nettle is even said to have a calming effect, which is why it is great to take in the evening. And: According to some nutrition forums and health insurance magazines, up to three cups are also safe to drink.
So I throw my ritual over again and instead of drinking one cup in the morning, I drink a small pot of two cups in the evening. This not only makes my morning routine easier (hello, my beloved coffee!), but also finally shows effects. After a few days of a new evening routine, I notice that my face is significantly less swollen in the morning than before. What else would take a long time-unit or more morningwas now just the starting point, which helps my general well-being immensely, especially in the first meetings of the day.
When, after the end of the second week of my little nettle tea treatment, I had already gone 14 days without a migraine (which is rare for me), I became euphoric: Is nettle tea really the miracle cure that I have been waiting for so long? In week three, I notice that other areas of my body are less tense and somehow feel less “bloated” - especially my inner thighs and my upper arms. Overall, I just feel lighter without anything major having happened on the scales. I am also asked several times that “my“would shine like that”. A compliment that I rarely receive as a person who is lazy about skincare.
In week four, however, a migraine sets in after an evening in a restaurant with lots of fat, alcohol and bright lights. Well, nettle tea probably doesn't work against everything. And while I think about it in retrospect, I have to say that during my nettle cure I just generally ate less salt, slept earlier and exercised more. As if I subconsciously wanted the experiment to succeed. I can't say exactly how much of my increased well-being was really due to the nettle tea, how much was my other adapted routines and how much was the placebo effect. But the effects were so clear, especially when it came to water retention, that I might now plan a nettle time like this more often a year. Who knows, maybe nettle with lots of lemon and mint will also taste good as iced tea?
Nettle as a medicinal plant – an overview of its advantages and disadvantages
You want nettle in your ownintegrate? Then here is an overview of the most important facts:
Nettle is good for this:
- Nettle has a diuretic effect, which is why it is often used to treat cystitis.
- Nettle dehydrates, which is why it can counteract water retention.
- Nettle is anti-inflammatory.
- Nettle can lower blood pressure.
- Nettle is said to have a pain-relieving effect, which is said to help with joint diseases such as rheumatism or osteoarthritis.
You should pay attention to this when taking nettle:
- Since nettle has a diuretic effect, you should definitely make sure you drink enough fluids when taking nettle capsules or after drinking nettle tea so as not to dehydrate your body. For the same reason, pregnant women should avoid the actually healthy herb altogether. By the way: As counter-intuitive as it may sound, increased fluid intake also helps against water retention.
- When it comes to nettle, the daily consumption amount should not be exceeded, e.g. B. To avoid stomach and intestinal problems such as nausea and diarrhea. For tea, the recommendation is three to four cups per day, for capsules the dose stated on the package and ideally recommended by a doctor. This is usually one to two capsules daily.
