What Is Nettle Leaf?

You might pay a few minor consequences of burning and itching on your skin if you pick this leaf without gloves, but if you have protection for your hands, the nettle leaf can benefit your health in several ways. As long as it is cooked, it can be a nutritional addition to your diet.

The Facts

• Coming from the family type of Urticaceae, the genus of Utica and the species of Dioica, the nettle is a perennial plant that grows in tropical and temperate wastelands globally. It can be used to help the human body externally and internally.

Identification

• Displaying white yellowish flowers and dark green pointed leaves (with tiny hairs that cause burning when touched), the nettle plant can range from two to four meters high.

Geography

• Although it appears in different parts of the world, nettle is mainly grown in South America, particularly Brazil, and can be found in moist soil near streams and ditches.

Function

• Nettle leaves are used for a number of reasons. Brazilian herbal medicine uses the entire plant for respiratory problems such as allergies, menstrual bleeding, diabetes, diarrhea and urinary infections. Citizens in Peru have used it for some of the same reasons plus muscular and arthritis pain, ulcers, rheumatism and asthma. In the United States, the leaf is used for arthritis, prostatitis, high blood pressure, allergic rhinitis, anemia, as a diuretic and to increase breast milk. If you decide to cook it, nettle can replace spinach in all dishes and be used as a lasagna filling.

Benefits

• Even though the hairs on the leaf are known to sting the skin on contact, nettle leaf can actually reduce the pain of a painful area on the body. Researchers believe the nettle reduces the levels of inflammatory chemicals in the body and interferes with the way the body carries pain signals.