In your own garden it is considered a weed, but in fact the wild herb has many usesUse as a medicine. We take a close look at the healing properties of the plant and explain to you how you can make, dose and use nettle tea yourself. We also offer you several recipes for home remedies with nettle tea that relieve pain, kill germs and promote detoxification in the body.
Make nettle tea yourself: That's why the medicinal plant is healthy
The healing properties of the wild herb have long been underestimated. However, new studies prove what was already known to people in ancient times: the nettle can be used for various ailments. Nettle tea stimulates metabolism and digestion and can heal inflammation. It is particularly rich in minerals such as iron and calcium, vitamin C and fatty acids. Nettle tea is often used for dehydration and detoxification in spring treatments. In folk medicine, the infusion drink is also recommended to strengthen the kidneys and produce milk. It can also help with bladder infections, iron deficiency and osteoarthritis. It has also been scientifically proven that the infusion can alleviate the symptoms of certain intestinal diseases.
Make your own nettle tea: recipe
You can of course find powdered nettle tea in drugstores, but you can also make it yourself. In order for the tea to develop its healing effects, you should pay attention to a few things when it comes to dosage and use. Below we summarize what is important for you:
1. The nettle harvest period extends from late spring to early autumn. However, late summer is the right time to dry nettle leaves. To do this, just pick the young leaves and stems and hang them upside down in a shady place in the garden. Optionally, they can also be dried in the winter garden, in the garden shed or in a sunny room with low humidity. Only after the drying time has ended can the leaves be stripped off.
2. If you don't have nettle in your own garden, you can buy dried nettle leaves. When buying, make sure that they come from a natural growing area.
3. Nettle dosage: If you would like to prepare nettle tea, brew two heaped teaspoonfuls of nettle leaves with 500 ml of boiling water. Let the tea steep for nine minutes before removing the leaves.
4. Nettle tea, how often to drink? If you have any symptoms, you can drink the tea or tea mixtures containing nettle once a day for a maximum of seven weeks. Afterwards you should definitely take a break of several weeks.
5. It is best to drink nettle tea in the early afternoon to achieve a detoxifying effect.
Nettle tea side effects
Although the infusion drink is a natural remedy, nettle tea can still have side effects. People with impaired kidney and heart activity should therefore avoid it. The same applies to pregnant women. If in doubt, you should seek advice from your doctor. The side effects in healthy people rarely occur. Stinging nettle can cause an allergic reaction. Sometimes the medicinal plant can also cause mild stomach problems.
What does nettle tea do?
Are you wondering what nettle tea is good for and how you can use the infusion as a remedy? We list several areas of application and give recipes for home remedies with nettle tea. However, you can mix the dried leaves with other types of tea as desired and use them to relieve or improve various ailments. By the way, there are also various hair treatments and numerous recipes for homemade cosmetics with nettle tea.
Nettle tea for cystitis
Nettle tea can help relieve urinary tract disease symptoms. Typical symptoms of a bladder infection include a burning sensation and pain when urinating. But they can be combated with the infusion drink. The tea flushes the urinary tract and removes harmful bacteria from the bladder.
Recipe for the home remedy: Pour 140 ml of boiling water over 2 g of dried nettle leaves and let it steep for 6 minutes. Drink a freshly made cup of tea three times a day before meals. If the symptoms do not go away after a week, seek advice from your doctor. If you have blood in your urine or have a fever, see a doctor immediately!
Nettle tea for healthy kidneys
Do you want to detoxify your kidneys? The following tea mix is ideal for flushing therapy:
- 14 g bearberry leaves, dried
- 8 g Birkenblätter, dried
- 6 g dried goldenrod herb
- 5 g peppermint leaves, dried
- 40 g dried nettle leaves
The infusion is enough to make 20 cups of tea. Simply mix the different types of tea and store in an airtight container. Dosing nettle tea will be much easier if you divide the tea mix into 20 filter bags. You should only prepare the tea after consulting a doctor. Then stick to the prescribed daily amount and duration of use. Unless otherwise prescribed, use the remedy for a maximum of 2 weeks. Side effects include various stomach problems. They usually occur in the event of an overdose.
With flushing therapy you should drink at least 1.5 liters of water daily to avoid dehydration caused by the nettle tea.
Nettle tea for dehydration
As already mentioned, nettle tea can promote detoxification of the body. In this case, you can prepare the tea in the morning and then drink it cold or warm throughout the day. To dehydrate your body with nettle tea, you should drink between 4 and 6 cups daily. The tea is often prescribed by family doctors for water retention, unless another medical reason has been identified. Because water retention can be caused by heart or kidney problems and nettle tea is contraindicated in these patients.
Many healthy people choose to detoxify their bodies with various treatments in spring. Nettle tea can also be used for this purpose as long as the detox does not last longer than a week.
Make your own nettle tea and use it against high blood pressure
This is found in Moroccan folk medicineTea also as a blood pressure reducerApplication. It has also been scientifically proven that the medicinal plant relaxes the blood vessels. This improves blood circulation and lowers high blood pressure in a natural way. Here, too, you should consult your family doctor to adjust the therapy if necessary. It is not for nothing that high blood pressure is considered a “silent killer”, because you usually only notice the consequences when it is already too late. For this reason, as I said, a visit to the doctor is essential.
Nettle tea for arthritis and rheumatic diseases
As the name suggests, nettles can burn the skin. The plant's poison is made up of three substances: acetylcholine, serotonin and histamine. Acetylcholine stimulates blood vessels and serotonin has a similar effect on skeletal muscles. The better the blood circulation, the faster harmful pathogens are broken down. This is especially true when it comes to inflammation. When brewed with hot water, the infusion can develop its anti-inflammatory effect. If you have gout and rheumatism symptoms, you can drink six to eight cups of tea daily. Since the tea also contains histamine, allergy sufferers should first seek advice from their family doctor.
Nettle tea effect on the skin
Nettle tea has an anti-inflammatory effect and can kill bacteria not only in our bodies but also on our skin. Since it also promotes blood circulation, it can significantly improve the complexion in just a few weeks. You can also apply the tea directly to the face, especially if you have pimples or blemished skin. First wash the skin with a gentle anti-pimple cleansing gel or cleanse with micellar water. Then prepare a cup of nettle tea, let it cool and apply it selectively to inflamed areas. It is worth applying the tea to an invisible area first. In individual cases it can cause redness.
Nettle tea for hair: make your own treatment
A nettle tea treatment can help with dry and damaged hair. Here are the necessary ingredients at a glance:
- 150 ml natural yogurt
- 4 g dried nettle leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 TL Honig
Preparation: First put the nettle leaves in a pot and pour 100 ml of hot water over them. Bring the tea to the boil and let it cool, then divide it into two cups. Mix the tea in the first cup with the natural yogurt, olive oil and honey. Mix the mask well until a smooth mixture is formed. Then apply the treatment to damp hair and massage gently from the hair roots to the tips. Leave on for about 15 minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water. Then pour the second cup of nettle tea onto your hair.
Nettle for allergies: Helpful against hay fever
Nettle tea, which is prepared from the leaves of the medicinal plant, is often used as part of therapy for allergy sufferers. Nettle is rich in histamine. Daily contact with the messenger substance can cause the body to slowly get used to it. This can prevent a severe allergic reaction. This is why the tea is often prescribed by doctors. It is very important that the allergy sufferer seeks advice first. In many cases it is not an allergy at all, but histamine intolerance. In the latter case, nettle cannot help and may even worsen the symptoms.
Hardly any medicinal herb is more versatile than nettle. And best of all – the wild herb grows in your own garden, in the forest or in the field. But if you want to collect nettle leaves and make tea from them, you should pay particular attention to the location of the plant. Plants growing on streets and in big cities pose more risks than benefits to our health.
