At this time of year, my dear husband Dave can sometimes be heard muttering and quietly swearing as he walks through the garden with shorts or bare feet at night, or first thing when he checking the rat traps or collecting eggs…as he brushes against the copious stinging nettles popping up all over the place, between bricks in the paving, along paths, and inside the chook pen. We have discussed this before, and I insist he just needs to wear long pants and shoes and respect the nettles. But I do understand, because they are prolific for a short time, and I am rather protective of them.

The nettles have been popping up for a month or so, and I am ready to harvest the first baby nettles for soups and stews. At this stage, they are soft and juicy and perfect for cooking. As soon as they are heated, they lose their sting. Once they are a bit older and taller, I will harvest most of the rest and dry it for tea, and then at the end of the season, I will harvest the last plants for seeds.

Nettles are so nutritious and have many traditional benefits—below are just a few that I hope inspire you to make friends with this medicinal food. 

Nettles versus spinach

Nettles have almost twice the iron as spinach (7.8mg per 100g compared to 4.1mg), five times as much calcium (630mg per 100g compared to 126mg) and 3-4 x as much Vit C (175-200mg /100g compared to 45mg/100g). 

Similar to spinach, you can simply lightly steam young nettles till they wilt and toss them with some olive oil, lemon juice and fetta cheese for a very simple and delicious vegetable dish. The sting disappears as soon as they wilt/is heated.

Superfood

Nettles are considered more nutritious that kale, asparagus or spinach…they are rich in minerals including the above iron and calcium as well as plenty of potassium, boron, manganese, copper, chromium and zinc. They also contain Vit D, Vit A and Vit Bs, and several types of healthy fatty acids.

They also contain 2.7g protein per 100g, and 26% of their calories come from protein. They are one of the highest sources of protein from wild plants. Nettle flour is a known food type in some countries, as it is highly nutritious. 

Iron 

The iron content of nettles has made them a traditional food medicine for pregnant women. I drank lots of nettle tea when pregnant. However, menstruating women are also often low in iron, and nettles can be an iron-rich addition to the diet. 

Hair tonic

Nettles are high in silica, an essential mineral for healthy hair, bones, skin, teeth, and the whole nervous system. When I drink nettle infusions regularly, my hair becomes lush and healthy. I am often surprised how much of a difference it makes. You can also use it as a rinse. 

Arthritis and back pain

Urtica dioica, comes from the Latin word uro, which means “to burn,” because Nettle’s leaves can cause a temporary burning sensation upon contact. This sensation has been used to benefit for arthritic and other types of pain, for hundreds of years. The tiny stings in the leaves seem to have an anti-inflammatory effect as well as the whole plant. However, some of the effect of thrashing yourself with nettles may be simply that you forget all about the pain of arthritis with the sting from the nettle! There does seem to be more to it than this, but while there is a long history of traditional use for pain, not a lot of study has been done. 

The mild skin irritation that nettles can produce is generally short-lived and won’t do any lasting harm. 

Allergies

Studies have shown that nettles reduce histamine levels in the body. In one study, 57% of patients rated nettles as effective in relieving allergies, and 48% said the nettles were more effective than allergy medications. So drinking nettle tea or taking capsules can be worth trying before the hay fever season starts. It is better to use nettles preventatively over the whole season than treat them like aspirin and only take them when needed.

Adaptogen and nervous system tonic

Stinging nettles are deeply nourishing because they are full of minerals in unusually high amounts. They are also considered an adaptogen, which means they can help the body adapt to stress. They can help restore vitality when the body is depleted—likely largely due to their high mineral content, as minerals are depleted in modern diets. 

Nettles have a long traditional use for healing the kidneys and adrenals and to strengthen the nervous system. There are even stories of women who have used nettles and managed to cure serious kidney disease, and got themselves off dialysis. 

For anyone who loves herbs, drinking nettle tea or infusions is a great staple because of its nutritional profile, and mild green taste. You can just feel it doing you good. It is also worth adding fresh or dried to soups and stews, and broths like potassium broth. 

Tea versus infusion

Dried nettles make a simple and nourishing tea, however for stronger medicinal effect I recommend making infusions. These are basically strong teas, and nettles do not get bitter when made this way. 

I recommend getting a coffee plunger or a tea pot and adding about 1/2 cup of dried nettles to a litre of water. But you can add anything from a couple of tablespoons to 1 cup of dried nettles—the stronger the better—they don’t taste bad. Cover with boiling water and let steep for an hour to overnight. Drink freely.