Nettle Tea Health Benefits & Common Side Effects

Nettle tea is an herbal tea made out of the plant Urtica dioica, which is grown in Europe, Canada, and the United States.  The benefits of drinking nettle tea are extremely vast but before diving in and drinking this tea on a daily basis, you should also know about some of it’s common side effects.  In this article I will be going over both of these things, plus where you can find some of this nettle tea stuff.

So what are some of these aforementioned nettle tea benefits?  Well, let’s start with how many vitamins and minerals this stuff is carrying, it has everything from calcium and potassium all the way to vitamins C, E and K.  In total nettle leaf tea has 17 essential vitamins and minerals!  And in addition to that, it contains fatty acids, lycopene and several other beneficial phytochemicals (plant chemicals, basically).  Because of all of these nutrients, I’m sure you can imagine why this stuff is so good for you.  But what does it do?  Well, tons, but here’s some examples:

Inflammatory Properties – Nettle tea is a natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever so some medical practitioners suggest it for respiratory problems as well as arthritis and other inflammatory issues.

Preventing and Treating Diseases – Since nettle leaf tea contains lycopene, a phytochemical that’s also found in tomatoes and is known to fight off cancer cells, it to can help in preventing this terrible disease.  It could also help people with diabetes, kidney problems and several other treatable health problems.

Treating Allergies – We all know that allergies are awful, but nettle tea is especially helpful in treating hay fever and other serious allergies as well as helping with asthma.

Okay so if it’s so good for me then how can it possibly be bad?  Well, to start, remember how I said nettle tea can help people with diabetes?  Since it lowers blood sugar, drinking it too often can lead to problems with blood sugar levels.  So if you are 
using or plan to use it for these purposes make sure you talk to a doctor to find the correct amount you safely drink.  Other than that, nettle tea is mostly known for interacting with other drugs that you may be taking such as anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication, blood pressure medication,   If you are taking any other medications always ask your doctor before trying nettle tea to make sure that it will not have any harmful effects on you.  The last thing to remember is that if you are pregnant or breast feeding, it’s best to hold off on nettle tea for a while because it contains uterine-stimulating properties.  Again, I stress that if you have any concerns always as a doctor before trying something new, especially if you are on medication.

Alright I want to try it and my doctor says it’s fine, where can I get some?  Great! If you are on your way to a nice cup of nettle tea then follow me while we find some delicious and healthy varieties to try out.

Endurance by Art of Tea – Art of Tea is famous for their blends of loose leaf teas and I found one in their store that does have nettle leaves.  It also contains several other ingredients such as oatstraw, ashwaganda root, cinnamon, berries and pu erh tea.  Of course as always, it is 100% organic.

Organic Blue Nettle Green Tea by Stash Tea – If you aren’t interested in a blend of tea, this one is 100% organic green nettle leaves.

Nettle Leaf Tea (Tea Bags) – All of the benefits of the above nettle teas, but packed in an easy tea bag for traveling or convenience.

Brewing nettle tea is just like brewing any other, just pour boiling water over the top and steep for 1-3 minutes, or to your desired strength.

From No Time Like Tea Time - http://www.notimeliketeatime.com/nettle-tea-health-benefits-common-side-effects/