Nettle Tea Benefits

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) grows wild in temperate regions around the world. A staple among herbalists, stinging nettle is considered a classic “nutritive” herb, meaning it is very nutrient dense and nourishing. Nettle has been used as food, medicine, and a nourishing tonic since ancient times.[1] Urtica comes from the Latin urere, meaning “to burn,” because of its erect, bristly hairs covering the leaves and stem which sting when touched. These stinging hairs, along with the leaves’ sharply serrated edges, are distinguishing features of stinging nettle.

Infusing a large amount of dried stinging nettle leaves in water for a long period of time is one of the easiest and most traditional ways to obtain nettle tea benefits.

Nettle’s Nutrients

Stinging nettle is packed with vitamins, minerals, and trace minerals along with hefty dose of potent phytonutrients including deep-green chlorophyll and carotenoids.[2,3] In fact, more than 100 chemical components have been identified in nettle, including:

• Minerals – iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, boron, strontium
• Vitamins – A, C, K, and B vitamins
• Phytonutrients – chlorophyll, beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin,[4] quercetin, rutin

Packed with Minerals

Nettle tea, made from dried nettle leaves, is perhaps best known for its high mineral content. The leaves are packed with more minerals, especially magnesium and calcium, than a number of other medicinal herbs.[6] One recent study found that dried nettle leaf has more magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, boron, and strontium than dried chamomile, peppermint, sage, St. John’s wort, linden, and lemon balm.[7,8]

The exact amounts of various minerals extracted from the leaves into the tea depends on many factors, including the plant’s growing conditions, the type of mineral, the amount of dried nettle leaves and water used when preparing the tea, and the steeping time. One recent study found that 500 mL (about one quart) of tea made with 20 grams (about 0.7 ounces) of dried nettle leaves, steeped for 30 minutes, contains 76 mg of magnesium, which represents about 20-25% of men’s and women’s daily requirement, respectively.[6] This may not sound like much, but it’s quite remarkable for a beverage. Furthermore, most Western herbalists recommend a slightly higher tea to water ratio and longer steeping times than those used in this study in order to potentially increase the mineral content even more. This is discussed more below; first, let’s take a look at some of nettle tea’s other numerous health benefits.

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Know more about benefits of Nettle Leaf tea. http://www.nettletea.com