Sunday's Plate with Susun Weed

Looking for Energy? Get Down with Nettle
By Susun Weed

Comment: Susun Weed has a wonderful website at Wise Woman that is very worth reading. As a firm believer in Nettle Tea, this is just a little more information.

If you’re looking for energy, you’re looking for nettle. Nettle has so much energy she stings! If you consume nettle regularly – as infusion, vinegar, or soup – she’ll soup up your energy and infuse you with “the stamina of a teenager,” as one nettle devotee put it. Nettle energy is even and steady, consistent and constant. Nettle is the energy of the Earth; it is grounded and loving. Nettle is the only energizing herb I know of that also promotes sound sleep. Nettle increases energy without increasing blood sugar, so sleep is deeper and more refreshing. With nettle-energy in the adrenals, menopausal women wake less often and feel more rested in the morning. Nettle never leaves one feels jittery or groggy.

Nettle builds energy by nourishing deeply. Nettle is a rich storehouse of needed nutrients. Its protein, vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting phytochemicals recharge exhausted adrenals, rebuild flagging kidneys, and restore flexibility to the blood vessels. Herbalist EE Shook comments that nettle combats inflammation with iron phosphate, feeds the brain and nerves with potassium phosphate, and prevents blood clots with potassium chloride.

Nettle leaf is known to tonify and strengthen the intestines and lungs too. It is a safe diuretic and does not disturb electrolyte balance while relieving edema. It is completely safe for use during pregnancy and lactation, improving the health of mother and child and enriching the milk. Nettle tea and capsules of nettle have little effect and less nutrition. Freeze-dried nettle is effective at relieving allergic symptoms, but has little nutritive value. Nettle infusion is the most effective form; the dose is 4-12 cups a week.

Join Susun for a one hour teleseminar June 12 - 3pm EST $25 - listen live or replay later

Learn how to use nourishing herbal infusions, mineral rich vinegars, simple tinctures, and high quality foods to supercharge your life and give you endless energy. Susun will share with you her favorite ways of resisting acute problems, outwitting chronic problems, and staying flexibly strong for a long time. If you don’t already love Nettles, Oat straw, Comfrey, Linden, Hypericum, Hawthorne, Mint family, Seaweeds, Medicinal Mushrooms, animal fats, and yogurt, you will by the end of this teleseminar.

Using Nettle Seeds and Roots

Nettle’s dark green leaves nourish health, increase energy, and cure allergies. But did you know nettle’s roots and seeds are medicinal too.

Nettle seeds nourish the endocrine glands, especially the thyroid. They are said to antidote poisons, but I love them most for their high-protein crunch. The daily dose of ¼ teaspoonful can be added to hot or cold cereals, baked into breads and cookies, sprinkled on salads, or cooked with any whole grain. Add a tablespoonful of nettle seed to a cup of uncooked brown rice and cook in two cups of water for 45 minutes or until done. Nettle seeds are easily harvested too. Cut the stalks down before wind and rain strip them off the stalks. Hang to dry.

Nettle roots are gaining in popularity as an ally for men with prostate problems. They may be tinctured; the dose is up to 4 dropperfuls a day. Or they may be infused, one ounce in a quart of boiling water, steeped for four hours; the dose is up to a cup a day. Nettle root is also a strengthener to the urinary system and helps quell bleeding from the kidneys or bladder. It reduces and relieves prostatitis and benign prostate hypertrophy.

Nettle root tincture or infusion rubbed on the scalp thickens thin hair, eliminates dandruff, counters scalp infections, preserves hair during chemotherapy, and helps women who’ve lost hair during pregnancy or menopause.

Nettle root tincture preserves the immune system during times of great stress. It is a wonderful ally for those with chronic infections as well as those who are routinely exposed to environmental toxins. Start with a small dose of 5-10 drops three times a day; gradually increase to a dropperful several times a day. Overdoses may cause hallucinations.

Study with Susun via correspondence course (mail and telephone) in the comfort of your own home - choose from four courses tailored to your personal goals.