Man’s Best Friend - The Nettle

On a recent long walk during a rest stop whilst the rest of us pulled out drinks and nibbles, one older member surprised us by searching out a clump of nettles and repeatedly plunging his arms in amongst them.

He assured us that this was not the early onset of senility but that it did wonders for his arthritis. We humoured him and kept our thoughts to ourselves and made our way onwards. This stuck in my mind and, as so often is the case once something has been brought to your attention, I have since niticed similar claims from a number of sources both for nettle and bee stings. In the recent past I have seen adverts for nettle products and several press comments culminating in a comprehensive summary of the plant’s claimed properties which appeared in the Daily Telegraph.

My own first real experience of this humble friend, other than an obvious and painful early introduction, was on holiday in Heysham in the early fifties. On a glorious summers day (as they all seemed to be looking back) I came upon a tiny village shop with a wooden trestle outside selling nettle beer. The lady had a number of stone bottles lined up in a small stream running by and took one out to order, providing a glass full of cold nectar for, I seem to recall, a thrupenny bit.

Talking about painful introductions, I cannot help but feel that the first three letters of this plant’s Latin name are very appropriate (Urtica dioica).

Judging from the material I have read since, nettles were used by Roman soldiers to ease their joints after long marches and as a pick me up for exhaustion. Arthritis and rheumatism sufferers take note.

It is said to be packed with iron and other trace elements; health-giving minerals and many different vitamins. It is a blood cleanser; detoxifier; tonic; diuretic and astringent. It is also claimed to stimulate the immune system and be good for eczema and other skin conditions; asthma; hay-fever and other allergies, for gout; cystitis; prostrate and water retention problems; anaemia; bloody noses and high blood pressure. Applied with caution it helps haemorrhoids and varicose veins and as a shampoo it encourages hair growth.

It can be added to beer or wine during manufacture; mashed; stewed; boiled; microwaved or steamed and can produce a herbal tea or form part of many dishes although it has little flavour in its own right. If you do not have a ready supply near to hand why not pick fresh young leaves in spring, liquidise them, freeze the resulting mush in ice cube containers and bring them out regularly to add to your cooking etc.

This valuable friend should therefore help me on at least five counts and if any of you feel you have no use for these greens then you are indeed extremely lucky.

Go on folks, get stuck in.