Conscious Choice Seattle: The Northwest’s Unforgettable, Edible Nettle

April 2007 | Locally Yours

The Northwest’s Unforgettable, Edible Nettle

Stinging aside, this plant does the body good

By Jennifer Adler M.S., C.N

Who would have thought nettle, a plant so abundant in the Pacific Northwest could stimulate such emotion? Some have waged an all out war on this invasive, stinging plant while others count the days to celebrate its arrival.

Prime stinging nettle time is in early spring, when the days are beginning to grow longer and warmer. For me, nettle is symbolic of vital life energy. It is about waking up from winter and welcoming spring’s rebirth and renewal. It is about paying attention to life. It doesn’t take long to be reminded by the nettle’s sting that awareness is essential. It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life and forget to notice subtleties. Nettle does not provide that as an option. It lets you know loud and clear if you were careless in its midst.

Nettle is also a native plant that we can harvest from our own backyard! Nettle is not cultivated or groomed. It chooses where to take up space on its own terms and soaks up the nutrients from the sun and soil making it a power-packed, nutrient dense food. Nettle’s green nectar is alive with chlorophyll, calcium, iron, trace minerals, vitamins, and protein. This amazing substance can nourish our endocrine system, build our blood, make movements more flexible, enhance the flow of breast milk and make our skin and hair glow.

Drink your multivitamins

One way to ingest this magical plant is through an infusion—similar to a very strong tea, but a large quantity of the herb is left to steep for a much longer time. Consuming nettle in this way provides protein with a high mineral, vitamin and phytonutrient content in a very absorbable form. I think of nettle infusions as a hydrating multivitamin in a glass. I do enjoy a cup of hot nettle tea from time to time. But tea fails to deliver the mineral richness locked in the plant. A cup of nettle tea, for instance, contains only 5 to 10 milligrams of calcium, while a cup of nettle infusion contains up to 500 milligrams of calcium. A quart of nettle infusion can contain up to 2000 milligrams of calcium and provide more than half of most people’s daily fluid requirements. Try to get that in a pill!

Susan Weed, author of Healing Wise, popularized herbal infusions. She recommends, pouring one quart of boiling water over one ounce (a handful) of dried nettle in a jar or French press, putting the lid on loosely and letting it steep for 4 to 10 hours. Then straining out the mineral-rich liquid and drinking it: iced, heated, with honey, milk, mixed with black tea, seasoned with mint, spiked with rum, however you want it! You can drink the entire quart in one day or spread it out over two.

As for the cost, it can be pricey to buy the dried herbs by the ounce, since it requires approximately two pounds a month to make it every day. Ask your health food or herbal store for a bulk rate to bring your expense down. Better yet, take advantage of the abundance of nettle in the Pacific Northwest, put on your gloves and go sustainably harvest your own.

But don’t take my word for it. Bring in spring on a cellular level and try it for yourself for 7 to 10 days and see if you notice a healthier glow to your hair and skin.

Jennifer Adler M.S., C.N. provides nutrition counseling at her private practice Realize Health, www.realizehealth.com. She enjoys herbal infusions on an almost daily basis and relishes the harvesting of nettle amid the Seattle cityscape.

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