Herbs never cease to amaze me with their healing, nourishing properties and their ready availability if we make the effort to cultivate them in our garden

Stinging nettle is a perfect example

Stinging nettles are a weed!
But not only is it a weed but one that is considered a scourge by many who don’t realise how valuable it is

Instead of despising this weed make a place of honour for it in your garden and use it as a daily strong infusion

Nettles are a wonderful tonic

If drunk regularly it can

• prevent excessive bleeding
• reduce allergic responses
• increase breast milk in lactating mothers (the leaves)
• help reduce prostate enlargement (the root)

Stinging nettle is a powerful blood purifying herb.

It does this by stimulating the kidneys to excrete more water, ridding your body of toxins and metabolic wastes through your urine

The tea also cleanses the entire intestinal tract and activates the body’s natural defence mechanisms. When your immune system is fully functioning then it can protect you from many illness including cancer

Because of this cleansing action it is a good herb for those with allergies
It effectively treats asthma, hay fever, and itchy skin conditions such as dermatitis and eczema

I once had a friend who was in the second trimester of her pregnancy and she was suffering with terrible eczema on her hands that was uncomfortable and painful
As she was pregnant and did not want to use any steroidal creams, I suggested she begin to use nettle tea three times a day
Within a couple of weeks she was eczema free

It is an especially gentle tea for children suffering from these types of allergies

Expect amazing results using stinging nettles

The secret of nettles is that they are high in minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and also the vitamins A and C

Nettles have a very long and searching root system that it uses to gather up all the nutrients into this powerhouse of a herb
This makes it a useful herb for those suffering from anemia
Its Vitamin C content also ensures that the iron found in Nettles is properly utilised by the body

The young, tender leaves can be picked cooked and eaten as light steaming dissolves the stinging part

Many people report that they survived the First and Second World Wars in Europe by eating wild nettles as their main source of nourishment

With Nettles growing in the garden you will always have greens to eat that are highly nutritious and free!

Nettle infusions can be used to treat those suffering from heavy menstrual bleeding by not only reducing blood flow but by replenishing the body with lost nutrients.
It can also be used with excellent effect for gout, rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis as it removes toxic build up around the joints

Nettles grow anywhere and adapt to most conditions
It is a hardy plant that just keeps on keeping on
It may die down in the winter months in temperate climates but will reappear in the spring season

When it gets a bit straggly cut off the old stems and put into a large container, cover the herb with water and let it sit there for a few weeks until the bad smell disappears
Strain and then dilute and use as a powerful liquid fertiliser for your garden

When you grow nettles in your garden you will have a herb that you can use not only as food but as medicine

Instead of paying for expensive man made supplements that the body doesn’t recognise anyway,drink a strong infusion of nettles every day. I do this by filling a one litre jar with fresh Nettles or adding 25 grams of dried Nettles to a one litre jar. Pour boiling water over the herb and fill to the very top of the jar and put on the lid. Leave this brew to infuse for 4-8 hrs. I like to make mine up at night for the next day. The next morning strain and drink the brew either hot or cold throughout your day. You will find that over time as your nutrients increase many common ailments mentioned above will simply disappear

Why wait for ailments to occur?
If you drink nettle tea regularly, your food becomes your preventative medicine

What a perfect idea using your food as medicine
And when you can grow it yourself,well then, it is all the better