The Health Benefits of Nettle By Roy Lamb

The Health Benefits of Nettle By Roy Lamb. Hey everyone, I hope you are well. In today’s post, I have a guest post from Mr Roy Lamb, a Pharmacist and one of the two co-founders of UK-based Nasslor Health-drinks Ltd., makers of Emunity. Emunity is the first detox health drink to harness Nettle’s healing and immunity-boosting benefits and make it available in a ready-to-drink can. Emunity’s founders are two UK pharmacists with a passion for helping people stay healthy. Mr Lamb will be sharing the health benefits of nettle and how to incorporate them into your diet.

The Health Benefits of Nettle By Roy Lamb

With a long-held place in both culture and herbal medicine, the simple stinging nettle was first mentioned by Aesop in his Fables for Children in around 560 BC. Often viewed as an annoying weed, the nettle is native to Europe but found around the globe.

Can you really eat nettle?

Once cooked or dried, nettles taste like a mix between spinach and cucumber. Like spinach, nettle can make a fabulous addition to many dishes, adding extra flavour and a dash of colour.

Nettles are used in lots of traditional recipes, as part of the dough filling for Albanian börek pastry, for example, and even in beer (although this would significantly reduce the nutritional value of the nettle).

Of course, most nettles found in the UK are stinging nettles, so if you are gathering your own, make sure to wear thick gloves. Soaking the nettles in water for a few days, drying or cooking them will, however, remove their stinging properties and render them harmless.

What are the health benefits?

• Nettle contains a significant concentration of biologically active compounds, particularly carotenoids and polyphenols, that is good for you and your body.
• Nettle is known to lower blood pressure
• And blood sugar levels
• Reduce the effects of skin photoaging
• Help in fighting the symptoms of hay fever
• Have anti-bacterial properties
• Boost your immune system
• It is also particularly nutrient-rich, containing a similar level of Omega-3 as spinach, comparable levels of essential amino acids as chicken, 100% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin A, up to 50% RDA of Calcium, 20% RDA of Fibre and up to 12% RDA of Iron.

Once prepared or cooked, nettle is in many ways more nutritious than Brussel sprouts and spinach!

How can you get it into your diet?

Preparation

If you have gathered your nettles, you will need to prepare them first to remove the sting. The easiest way is to drop them into a pot of boiling salted water for five minutes or so. To retain the bright green colour, plunge your boiled nettles into a bowl of ice water before draining. For dried nettles, wash them and hang them up to dry thoroughly for a few days or use a dehydrator if you have one.

Once prepared, nettles can be safely frozen, allowing you to prepare them in bulk and use them in various dishes.

Top tip:

Suppose you are using dried nettle, steep in water to rehydrate before adding to your recipe. You can then enjoy some nettle tea while you make your nutritious nettle food and drink.

Nettle Pesto

Pesto is super-tasty stirred into pasta or spread on some warm focaccia. You could also use it to add flavour to a risotto or pizza.

Traditionally made with basil leaves, these can be easily substituted with your prepared nettles. Roast some pine nuts or walnuts (or any other nut or seed of your choice), remove from the heat and blend with your nettles, some grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or vegetarian equivalent), a few garlic cloves, a pinch of sea salt and as much olive oil as required to reach your desired consistency.

Nettle Soup

Nettle soup is a delicious traditional recipe enjoyed across the world. It is also easy to tweak the recipe to suit your taste.

Start by frying some onions and garlic in some coconut (or other) oil. Once softened, add your prepared nettles (coarsely chopped), carrots and either potato or rice, along with some vegetable stock. Simmer until the potatoes or rice is cooked and blend until smooth—season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, try adding a dollop of soy yoghurt, a drizzle of olive oil, or a splash of lemon juice.

Traditional Nettle Spanakopita

Spanakopita is a traditional Greek pastry. While it is typically made with spinach, you can easily switch it out for your prepared nettles for a wonderful health kick.

Start by chopping your prepared nettle. If you have dried your nettles, you will need to steep in warm water to rehydrate. Then, fry some spring onions in coconut (or other) oil before adding your chopped nettles.

After a few minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in crumbled feta, parmesan, egg, parsley and nutmeg. Layer 10-12 sheets of filo pastry across an oiled pan, brushing each sheet with a layer of melted butter. Then add your filling and top with a few more sheets of buttered filo to form a pie before brushing the top with a final coat of butter.

You can substitute vegan butter, vegan feta and parmesan, and replace the egg with mashed silken tofu to create a 100% plant-based, healthy meal.

Score the top of your pastry but make sure not to break through to the filling. Then, bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

Nettle Infusions

Dried nettles can be easily made into tea. Chop your nettles fairly finely, add boiling water, leave for five minutes and strain. Unfortunately, nettle tea on its own isn’t delicious, despite the health benefits.

Instead, try a ready-prepared infusion like Emunity ─ a new soft drink harnessing the healing and immunity-boosting effects of nettle in a ready to drink 250ml slimline can.

Emunity’s nettle drinks are mixed with Austrian spring water and garden botanicals to make two great flavours:

Wild Strawberry and Gooseberry.

• Wild Strawberry contains nettle, wild strawberry, meadowsweet, chamomile and cucumber.
• Gooseberry contains nettle, gooseberry, dandelion, rosemary and thyme.

Emunity also has added inulin, which occurs naturally in many plants, to act as a natural probiotic to nourish gut bacteria that aid colon cells in the digestive process.

Tropical Nettle Smoothie

For a wonderfully green yet delicious tropical smoothie, blend a handful of your prepared (and hydrated) nettles, banana, cucumber, coconut milk, avocado and pineapple. A perfect vegan-friendly, nutrient-rich drink for a hot summer’s day.

Frankly, the options for incorporating nettle into your diet are almost endless. Anywhere a recipe calls for cooked spinach, you can easily substitute nettle. With delicious drinks like Emunity containing nettle now on the market, it is possible to get a healthy dose of this wonderful superfood daily.

I want to say a Huge Thank you to Mr Roy Lamb for this insightful post on Nettle.

I hope you enjoyed that.

Talk soon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roy Lamb is one of the two co-founders of UK-based Nasslor Health-drinks Ltd., makers of Emunity. Emunity is the first detox health drink to harness Nettle’s healing and immunity-boosting benefits and make it available in a ready-to-drink can. Emunity’s founders are two UK pharmacists with a passion for helping people stay healthy. Taking an old family recipe, they have blended nettles with English Garden Herbs to create a great tasting, refreshing drink loaded with immune-boosting health benefits. It is 100% natural, with no artificial ingredients and only 53 calories per can.

 Website and shop: https://emunity.co.uk

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References:

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3. Improved glycemic control in patients with advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus taking Urtica dioica leaf extract: a randomised double-blind-placebo-controlled clinical trial. S Kianbakht et al. Clin Lab. 2013;59(9-10):1071-6.
4. Skin photoaging and the role of antioxidants in its prevention. Pandel R et al. ISRN Dermatol. 2013 Sep 12; 930164
5. Nettle extract (Urtica dioica) affects key receptors and enzymes associated with allergic rhinitis. B.Roschek et al . Phytother. Res. 2009 Jul;23(7):920-6
6. Antibacterial effect of nettle (Utica dioica) N.Salih et al. Al-Qadisiyah Journal of Veterinary Medicine Sciences June 2014 13(1)
7. Chemical composition and immune-modulatory effects of Urtica dioica extracts. Franciskovic M. et al. Phytother. Res. 2017 24th May; 31: 1183-1191
8. Mineral Properties and Dietary Value of Raw and Processed Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica L.) Laban K. Rutto, Yixiang Xu, Elizabeth Ramirez, and Michael Brandt; International Journal of Food Science; 2013, Article ID 857120