The weird wonder-weed known as Stinging Nettles could be a relief for Multiple Sclerosis. It may sound like an old wives’ tale, but the itch-inducing natural herb has been known for generations to cure a bunch of ailments.
On a personal note, my grandmother from The Netherlands would take us out into the dunes and collect the stinging nettles and use them to whip her legs for her very pronounced varicose veins. The stinging helped.
These are purely anecdotal suggestions and of course don’t profess to cure anything, and in some cases could cause irritations so be careful.
Soaking the nettles in water for a few weeks could make a compost for plants and vegetables, and used as a fertilizer. It also will ward off bugs and disease for the plants.
The reason it is so potent is because of tannins and formic acid in the underleaf. The sting can come out of the plant by drying and cooking the herb.
The shoots of young plants can be fried or steamed and served with butter and garlic, and it can be pounded into a puree or pesto and made into a soup.
Not only is it know to help Multiple Sclerosis, but it has been known to help bad breath, asthma, hives, hay fever, kidney stones, gout, anemia and fatigue. It can be made into a cough syrup that helps with mucus as an expectorant, and as a compress or salve for burns and cuts.
Here are some suggestions:
• Find some nettles and cut of the leaves with as little stem as possible (the older looking nettles are sweeter). Fill up a cup full and wash them thoroughly in warm water. Put the nettles in a large saucepan with 4 cups of water and add the sugar or honey.
• Put the pan on the hob and bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Taste the tea and add any more sugar if needed. Serve in mugs with a nettle for decoration.
• (For the iced-tea) Put the tea on the side for 30 minutes then transfer to the fridge for 2 hours. Serve with ice and a nettle for decoration.
Nettle Tea Recipe
You’ll have to look out for a supplier of freshly dried nettle leaves as this is far superior to the tea-bag forms of nettle. It can be grown and dried yourself, but you’d have to look into the rules and regulations of growing it in your area. Oat straw tea can be purchased at good health food stores, but I tend to go to an Asian grocer to find my star anise and licorice root, at very reasonable prices.
(For more information about recipes and stinging nettles, go to the Care2com website by CLICKING HERE!)
• 2 small finger fulls (2-6 tablespoons) dried stinging nettle leaves
• 2 star anise
• 2-4 pieces of dried licorice root
• 2-4 tablespoons of dried oat straw tea
• 1 pot of boiling water
Place everything into a large heat-proof glass jar, large tea pot or clean coffee plunger and step overnight. Strain and either drink cold or re-heat gently in a pot over medium heat. Best drunk within 1 day of brewing. To keep longer store in the fridge.
