Nettle is a weed, available everywhere. The multitude of its properties deserves special attention. Intelligent nature has wanted to put an effective remedy for many problems within everyone’s reach. Instead of hormones, growers would do well to add nettle to feeding cows!
Where the nettle grows and how it is used and in what harvest period:
This modest plant is widespread and common, up to an altitude of 2500mt asl and it grows especially in soils rich in nitrates or organic fertilizer.
Nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3) are substances composed of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) normally present in nature. The former derive from nitrous acid and the latter from nitric acid. Their presence is essential for the growth of plants which, thanks to sunlight, use nitrogen to synthesize their protein structures.
The used parts of the nettle.
Nettle is a precious plant, always ready and available to alleviate human suffering without harming it . The aerial part of the whole plant and the roots are used in the nettle. The plant can be used from spring to autumn, while the root is only in late summer, when it is very deep and robust.
The roots of the nettle are dried in the sun and stored in bags, while the plant dries upside down in the shade and is kept in boxes protected from humidity and dust.
Nettle properties:
The Urtica urens, or vulgar name nettle, differs from the dioecious for various characteristics: it is annual, it is of smaller size in all its parts, it has the leaves of a lighter green and is monoecious (bears on the same individual both flowers male and female). However, the two species are used interchangeably to make up the dry drug. The whole plant is used above all (Herba Urticae).
The properties of nettle were already known in antiquity . Castore Durante, for example, in his “New Herbarium” (1585), after having said: “It is so well known that the nettle is planted, which is known from each to the dark night”, he listed such a quantity of “virtues of inside “And of” virtue outside “to make people feel dizzy. However, many of these virtues have been confirmed by recent scientific research, which has also established the most important active ingredients contained in nettle : urticoside, chlorophyll, xanthophyll, secretin, tannins, mineral salts . The hair irritant liquid contains histamine and acetylcholine.
Nettle tea and fresh juice.
For internal use the infusion of nettle 85 grams in 100 ml of water, has an anti-inflammatory and astringent intestinal action, anti-diarrheal, hemostatic and healing, diuretic, dechlorinating and anti-uric, purifying, metabolism and hematopoietic stimulant. The purifying action, in particular, has an indirect cosmetic effect, as it helps in the care of a stained, impure and eczematous skin. The fresh juice squeezed from the leaves has the same indications, but it is considered above all an effective anti-hemorrhagic. You can take up to six tablespoons a day. On the other hand, by mixing in equal parts the fresh juice with honey, you get a good remedy against intestinal inflammation (three tablespoons a day). Against nocturnal enuresis, Valnet cites a welcome preparation for children too: with 15 grams of crushed nettle seeds, 60 grams of rye flour, water and a little honey, knead six cupcakes and bake in the oven, after which eat one every night for 15-20 days.
External use of nettle.
For external use, the nettle is mainly used for applications on the scalp as dandruff, antiseborroic and light revulsive. For these properties both the fresh juice and the decoction of the root or the whole plant are excellent adjuvants against hair loss. In epistaxis it is advisable to introduce into the nose pads of absorbent cotton soaked in fresh nettle juice. In folk medicine, parts of the body affected by paralysis or rheumatic diseases were used to beat with a bunch of nettles.
Legends on this plant:
Many legends were born around this strange plant that stings and grows in the middle of the ruins. They are ancient popular beliefs, which attributed magical virtues to nettle, such as the power to ward off lightning if they threw their leaves in the middle of a fire. Whoever wore an entire plant on it would have been safe from any evil spell. Always a whole plant, held with the root upwards, on a full moon night, would have passed the fever to the patient whose name was spoken aloud. It was also believed that he conveyed much courage to those who held it: in fact, it is not difficult to imagine a certain amount of aggression in an individual who holds a bunch of nettles with his bare hands. And finally, if we want to believe in predictions drawn from dreams, it will be a good omen to dream of being “points” from a nettle, it’s a sure prediction of success.
Nettle: a plant that is used in veterinary medicine to produce more milk:
Instead of hormones, growers would do well to add nettle to the cows’ diet. It seems that, in addition to transmitting to animals the undoubted nutritional and healthy values it possesses, it makes cattle particularly resistant to infectious diseases, greatly increases the milk production of cows and gives horses a brighter coat. It is highly recommended in the breeding of rabbits and all poultry: in particular we have seen that the turkeys, fed with a mash added with minced nettle, fatten more and that the hens increase the quantity and improve the quality of their eggs .
Nettle is an excellent food plant.
And now let’s move on to the perhaps most neglected, but very important, side of the nettle: that of being an excellent food plant. Being rich in vitamins (A, C, K, B2 and folic acid), mineral salts, proteins and essential amino acids, it is a food of high nutritional value. In addition, it has a delicately aromatic flavor that makes it suitable for the preparation of appetizing dishes. The drawbacks he presents are only apparent: it is enough to keep in mind that the stinging hairs of the leaves are neutralized both by a nice wash, and also by a very short cooking , and that to grasp and calmly handle the nettle it is sufficient to wear a pair of gloves of leather or rubber.
On the other hand, the uses of these tasty and healthy leaves are many: from the excellent nettle soup , a specialty of the lower Lombardy, to the green risotto, to the omelette with nettle tops, to the minestrone, to the exquisite sauce for the boiled meat , to the ravioli of thin, to the refined vol-au-vent. Not to mention that nettle tops can be boiled and then seasoned to taste exactly like spinach, providing an exquisite nourishing vegetable, while cooking water (a cup in the morning on an empty stomach), purifies and detoxifies the body. With the more tender, finely chopped leaves, salads and herb sauces can be flavored. In some regions the leaves of Urtica urens are also used as a tea substitute.
