Nettles? (School me please!)

[New_Natural_Mom]

Hello, a thread over in dental got me wondering about nettles. (I did a search and didn't see anything nettle specific.) I also tried googling but didn't get any great info.

Do you take nettles?

If so, how?

Why do you take it?

I have myriad little health problems. DS (25 months) has some plaque/decay? (brownish areas) on his 2 front teeth and has to be held down to even take a wet washcloth to his teeth. He also has constipation issues and on average only poops 1x every 7-10 days despite daily: digestive enzymes, probiotics, aloe juice, mag supplements, flax oil, etc.

So, please tell me everything you know about nettles or help point me to a good resource.

THANKS!

[New_Natural_Mom]

No one uses nettles or no one likes me.

[pianojazzgirl]

I take nettle tea, but not for dental-related problems. I take it during AF because it has a fair amount of iron and vit c. I also just drink it whenever because I like it, and I drink it if I feel like I'm getting sick or if I'm already sick.

ETA I also take it for hair loss as it's supposed to help with that.

[MamaMamaMama!]

I use nettles as an infusion a few times a week. I take a mason jar and fill it 1/3 - 1/2 up with dried nettle leaf, then pour boiling water on top. I leave it anywhere from 4 hours to overnight, then strain and drink. You can add a little peppermint to make it taste better, although honestly I'd be hard pressed to get my kids to drink it; it doesn't taste good. So this is more for you. You could experiment with doing half nettle, half peppermint, then adding lots of honey and freezing as a popsicle for your son if you think it is that important to get nettle into him.

On the other had you can use nettle just like you would use spinach in any recipe--make nettle/cheese pie, or cook up with a little butter and salt, or make spanakopita (how do you spell that?) and perhaps the little one would be interested.

For dental issues I would suggest some high vitamin cod liver oil (fermented is best) and high vitamin butter oil as supplements every day. The combination can help reverse decay. You can find more info on the Traditional Foods threads.

For constipation that bad I would suggest experimenting with taking dairy out of your son's diet for a few weeks and see if that helps. It sounds like a food allergy could be possible, and dairy often causes constipation.

How much flax oil is he getting? Although healthy it is very high in estrogen so don't give him too much.

For all things herbal (including nettles) http://www.herbmentor.com is a great resource.

[nettlesoup]

I use nettles in cooking a lot, and drink it as a herbal tea. I usually have it in soup, omelettes, bubble and squeak and fritattas. As a herb, their main use is as a natural antihystamine. They are also high in iron and other vitamins.

[pianojazzgirl]

Originally Posted by nettlesoup

I use nettles in cooking a lot, and drink it as a herbal tea. I usually have it in soup, omelettes, bubble and squeak and fritattas. As a herb, their main use is as a natural antihystamine. They are also high in iron and other vitamins.

I'm curious: what is bubble and squeak?

[nettlesoup]

Originally Posted by pianojazzgirl

I'm curious: what is bubble and squeak?

It's basically mashed potato with spring greens and sometimes bacon mixed in. Then it's fried to give a crispy coating. I often put onions, garlic, nettles, cabbage or whatever's lying around in it, and it's very nice.

[vandybelmont2008]

constipation

For constipation either 2 year old or adult:
Grate a carrot, add some good quality oil, if you wish mix it up with little grated apple for the taste. Will do miracles! Make sure he drinks plenty of liquids. 7-10 days sounds like a concerning time frame, be careful.. Also try prune pure or juice. I make myself: soak in hot water prunes till they plump up, pure, add to oatmeal, etc. or add water and you will have prune juice.

I never heard nettles help dental problems you are describing. I used to wash my hair for strenght and shine. No time for that now.... Young nettles are loaded with nutrition.
I agree of trying eliminate milk. Also you need to find culprit of constipation. If milk is not, you have to find a cause, try eliminating food, writing food diary.

[MamaMamaMama!]

On the other hand I can't see that nettles wouldn't be good for your teeth, since they are full of minerals like calcium and magnesium. It would be more of a long-term good, though, not any kind of quick fix.

[hillymum]

Gosh, haven't even heard bubble 'n squeak mentioned in years! Have to see if I can get my boys to eat some.

Found this factual page on nettles. I didn't realise it was good for nursing moms! Learn something new every day!

[reillys_mom]

I drank A LOT of nettles tea during pregnancy and nursing and by the end could barely stmach the taste. Then I discovered that you can do a cold infusion -- put your nettles in a jar with cold water and let it stand over night. It doesn't get the strong taste and mixed with mint, a little licorice root, etc makes a tastey tea that my kids will drink.

[Koalamom]

We drink nettles everyday. We are dairy free so it is like a replacement for the calcium and minerals in milk. My 3 yr old loves it chilled and I use it for a base in smoothies. I think the nutrients in herbs are very important for teeth healing.

I would be freaking out if my kids only had a BM 1x a week. They should be going everyday if they are eating everyday. Have you posted a thread about your LO to figure out what is going on?

[sunnysandiegan]

I take a nettles herbal tincture daily during allergy season (late Fall for me). I start early now that I know more about the situation (late summer), but take it a few days a week and work my way up to daily. It totally helps! Before I run out of my nettles herbal tinctures, I plan to learn more about nettles and growing it, etc.