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Stinging nettle, also scientifically known as Urtica dioica, is a weedy, perennial plant. Native to the colder climates of Europe, Asia, North America, and North Africa, the shrub can be found throughout the world. It thrives in rainier climates, where it grows wild along trails and roadsides and near waste grounds, meadows, and streams.
The plant has dark green oblong or oval-shaped, toothed leaves, brown or greenish-colored flowers that grow in clusters, and drooping stems that hold fruit with numerous seeds. Stinging nettle spreads rapidly, forming dense colonies and growing between two and six-and-a-half feet tall. The plant is an important food for certain butterflies and other insects.
The plant’s common name, “stinging nettle,” comes from the fact that the leaves and stems are covered with both non-stinging and stinging hairs. These hairs are about a quarter inch long. Touch a stinging one and it feels like a sharp, painful bee sting.
The stinging hairs contain several chemicals, including formic acid—the same compound fire ants and bees use to sting. These chemicals trigger an itchy, burning rash in people and animals that can last up to 12 hours. The chemicals are a defense mechanism that helps to keep large plant-eating animals like deer away. Cooking or freeze-drying the plant or processing it as a supplement makes stinging nettle safe to consume.
Benefits of Stinging Nettle
Stinging nettle is a common Western herbal medicine that has been used as a natural remedy for over 2,000 years. The seeds, roots, and leaves are all used in herbal remedies to treat a wide variety of conditions, from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or enlarged prostate, to joint pain.
In traditional Western medicine, nettle is described as dry with an astringent, bitter, salty, sweet taste. It’s considered neutral and neutralizing in temperature and tone. Like burdock, yellow dock, and echinacea root, nettle leaf is considered depurative, which means it improves detoxification and supports elimination. In Ayurvedic medicine, stinging nettle is used to cleanse the blood, heal skin diseases, stop allergies, and strengthen and nourish the body.
All parts of the plant (leaves, stems, roots, and seeds) have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-infectious properties. The root is used to treat bladder problems associated with enlarged prostate, and the leaves are used to treat arthritis, rheumatism, and allergic rhinitis. The leaves are made into a tea. Purported nettle tea benefits include reducing inflammation, boosting the immune system, and supporting the bladder, kidneys, and brain.
Sometimes referred to as a “pirate plant,” stinging nettle takes over environments and thrives almost anywhere due to its ability to extract nutrients from even the poorest soils. This characteristic makes nettles highly nutritious and able to support the whole body. Considered a diuretic, the stinging nettle plant is traditionally eaten in springtime to help detoxify the body and ready it for warmer weather.
Nettle leaf powder can also be incorporated into foods like bread and pasta to increase the protein, fiber, calcium, iron, and antioxidant (especially lutein and beta-carotene) content.
Like kale, collards, and other leafy greens, stinging nettle is rich in minerals, including potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and iron. Packed with fiber and very low in calories, stinging nettle also contains thiamin (vitamin B1), niacin (vitamin B3), riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B6, choline, and vitamin K, and is high in vitamins C and A. About 30% protein, the stinging nettle plant contains all essential amino acids.
Nettle leaves are rich in phytochemicals like the flavonoids quercetin, kaempferol, and rutin and the carotenoids beta-carotene and lutein. These plant compounds act as antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidants are molecules that defend the body’s cells from free radicals and may help prevent oxidative damage associated with aging and chronic diseases like heart disease.
Nettle tea and nettle supplements have been used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions, including arthritis, muscle aches, and gout. The plant appears to curb acute and chronic inflammation by reducing the production of lipid mediators, prostaglandins (hormone-like compounds), and inflammatory cytokines (types of cell messengers).
A randomized controlled study of 81 patients with osteoarthritis found that those who took a supplement containing fish oil, vitamin D, and stinging nettle experienced a significant improvement in their symptoms and a decreased need for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen compared to those who took a placebo.
Nettle leaf applied topically may also help reduce joint pain. One randomized controlled study of 27 patients with osteoarthritic pain at the base of their thumbs or index finger found that applying stinging nettle leaf daily to painful areas significantly reduced both pain and disability.
Stinging nettle’s anti-inflammatory benefits may be due to its high quercetin content. Studies suggest quercetin may support the treatment of many diseases, including arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s.
Stinging nettle may enhance detoxification. This is important because both environmental toxins and those produced by the body can trigger inflammation. Nettle supports detoxification by improving digestion, which can help prevent toxins from accumulating, and stimulating the lymphatic system, which supports the kidneys so they can effectively eliminate toxins from the body.
One animal study showed that nettle leaves protected rats from mercury toxicity. It also showed nettles enhanced levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that helps the body fight chronic disease, heart disease, in the liver and kidneys.
An enlarged prostate, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is a significant health issue for men as they age. About 13% of American men will get prostate cancer during their lifetime. By age 60, approximately half of men have issues associated with BPH, such as difficulty urinating or an increased need to pee. Without treatment, BPH can cause problems including urinary tract infections, kidney damage, and bladder stones.
Stinging nettle may help lower the risk of prostate disease by slowing the spread of cancer cells. While more research is needed to determine how the stinging nettle plant may be used to help treat prostate cancer, studies suggest stinging nettle root extracts may inhibit the growth of human prostate cancer cells.
In a six-month clinical trial of 620 patients with BPH, men who took stinging nettles experienced a greater reduction of symptoms with no adverse side effects compared to those who took a placebo. Another clinical trial found that taking 300 milligrams of nettle root extract twice daily for eight weeks was an effective complementary intervention along with traditional BPH treatments.
Animal studies have shown that stinging nettle root extract is an effective treatment for BPH, inhibiting prostate gland growth by over 50%. However, more research is needed to know whether stinging nettles is an effective treatment for BPH in humans.
It’s estimated that over 76 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes, which happens when blood sugar levels are too high, can contribute to other health issues, including heart and kidney disease.
Like supplements such as berberine, omega-3s, vitamin D, turmeric, and probiotics, stinging nettles may help blood sugar in people with diabetes type II without the side effects of conventional anti-hyperglycemic medications. Used in traditional medicine to treat diabetes, the plant appears to help control blood sugar levels by increasing insulin secretion and enhancing the ability of cells to use glucose.
A review of studies examining the effect of nettle supplementation on blood sugar control concluded that nettle may effectively control fasting blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
In a well-designed study, people with diabetes took capsules of 500 milligrams of nettle leaf every eight hours for three months, along with conventional diabetes drugs. The study concluded that “nettle may safely improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetic patients needing insulin therapy.”
An additional randomized clinical trial of 50 women with type 2 diabetes found that taking nettle extract for eight weeks significantly decreased fasting and total blood glucose and increased HDL “good” cholesterol levels.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), almost half of American adults have high blood pressure, putting them at an increased risk for heart disease and stroke.
Nettles have been used traditionally to manage cardiovascular disease and hypertension and may help reduce blood pressure in several ways:
A study of rats with high blood pressure found that nettle leaf extract supplementation reduced both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In addition, the plant increased antioxidant capacity and reduced systemic oxidative stress.
Stinging nettle may help reduce hay fever and other seasonal allergies in two ways. The plant appears to block histamine, a chemical released by the immune system in response to allergen exposure that triggers symptoms such as runny nose, sneezing, and itchy eyes. It also seems to inhibit tryptase, a protein and enzyme that plays a role in the body’s immune response.
A randomized controlled trial of 98 patients with allergic rhinitis found that people who took stinging nettles for one week had a higher global rating of their symptoms compared to controls. However, their diary ratings of symptoms were only slightly higher than those of controls.
While limited research shows promising results, more studies are needed to confirm the use of nettles to treat seasonal allergies.
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