Probably, there are few people who would not know since childhood, not only about the burning properties of nettle, but also about its healing properties. Many heard about the fact that this herb is able to heal wounds, improve hair growth, stop blood, because of which it is useful to add it to salads and soups. In this article we picked up interesting facts about nettle, as well as the widest range of its medicinal properties and contraindications to use.
Did you know? Nettle is an annual and perennial herbaceous plant with about 30 species. The most common in our latitudes are stinging nettle and stinging, which are considered weeds. In official medicine only nettle is used, and in folk medicine it has also found a burning one.
The chemical composition of nettle
To determinethan nettle is useful, consider the chemical composition of its organs. The plant is very rich in vitamins. Especially famous for having vitamin C - it is two to three times more in nettle leaves than in currants and lemon. 
Great and carotene content. This substance in the grass more than in carrots, sea buckthorn and sorrel. In addition, the leaves contain vitamins K, B, E. Also present in it are such trace elements useful for the human body as Ca (calcium), Fe (iron), Cu (copper), Mg (magnesium), Si (silicon) .
Herb leaves contain tannins, flavonoids, glycosides, phytoncides, organic acids and other micro and macronutrients.
Exactly like this A diverse and wide range of useful elements allows nettle to have a restorative and therapeutic effect on the human body. 
And the man, in turn, invented many methods and means of applying nettle for medicinal purposes, which for several centuries have been used in traditional medicine and cosmetology.
The healing properties of nettle
Since silicon, vitamin C, organic acids and a number of other vitamins are included in the nettle, it can generally have a strengthening effect on human immunity - resist viruses and bacteria, external adverse factors, oxygen deficiency.
Vitamin K provides the herb with the ability to stop bleeding, improve blood clotting, heal wounds more intensely, reduce inflammation. 
Chlorophyll contained in the leaves, allows the plant to be a tonic, to establish metabolic processes in the body, to improve intestinal motility.
Also, the herb has urinary and choleretic properties. Accordingly, nettle is advised to fight kidney, liver and biliary tract diseases.
Information about the beneficial properties of the following herbs: healing wormwood, garden savory, kupeny, yarrow, lemon balm, quinoa, goldenrod, veronica drug.It is believed that the use of funds on the basis of this herb can lower blood sugar levels, due to the presence in its composition of such a substance as secretin.
Did you know? There is a kind of nettle, when touched, there is a strong inflammation that heals on the human body for several years.
Collection and preparation of medical raw materials
In folk medicine For nettle preparations, the leaves, seeds, roots and stems of the plant are used. Collecting raw materials (except seeds and roots) is necessary during the flowering period, that is, in the summer months. It is better to harvest it in dry sunny weather so that the leaves are dry.
If you mow the grass in early summer, it may re-bloom, which will occur in August or early autumn. 
Collecting the roots should be carried out in spring or autumn. Seeds are harvested two weeks after flowering, when they are well established on the tops.
If nettle leaves are planned to be used in cooking or cosmetology, then they can be plucked from early spring.
When collecting the grass, you must protect your hands with gloves. When harvesting large volumes of grass, you can use a scythe, scissors, sickle. After mowing the nettle is not immediately removed, but left on the ground. So she podvyanet a little, and her zhguchest will go. Then you can do breaking the leaves. To harvest roots, the grass is pulled out, shaken off lumps of earth, washed with water and cut off the stems.
For harvesting, the seed of the nettle, with all its healing properties, breaks off the upper part of the grass and threshes it a little later.
Important! It is forbidden to collect grass that grows along highways, railways, near industrial areas and landfills.For drying leaves and roots it is necessary to choose a room that is well ventilated and where the sun's rays do not penetrate, because when exposed to the sun the grass will lose some of the vitamins.
This may be an attic, shed, terrace. Raw materials should be decomposed on plywood, paper or fabric, 3-4 cm layer. Dried to the desired consistency, the grass is considered only when it breaks with a crunch. 
Dried leaves should be stored in paper bags or boxes. Nettle can be crushed into powder, which is then perfectly stored in wooden or paper containers. The dry raw material preserves its properties for two years.
Also nettles can be stored by freezing and preservation.
The use of nettle in traditional medicine
Infusions and decoctions are used in folk medicine, both internally and externally, for the treatment of a wide variety of diseases.
SARS, influenza, disorders in the kidneys and liver, disorders of the urogenital, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular systems - this is an incomplete list of what nettle treats.
With a cold
For respiratory diseases, tincture is prepared based on nettle roots and garlic. A mixture of 2 tbsp. spoons of fresh roots and 2 tbsp. tablespoons minced garlic pour five parts of vodka. The tincture is stored in a room without light for 14 days, after which they drink 1 teaspoon three times a day. 
In order to prevent acute viral diseases and strengthen the immune system, in general, three to five times a day, drink one third of a glass of infusion, prepared from 2 tbsp. spoons of nettle leaves (dry) and half a liter of hot boiled water, infused for two hours. The tool is recommended to drink 30 minutes before you are going to eat.
In diseases of the gastrointestinal tract
When cramps, pain in the stomach, nausea can help a decoction of rhizomes of stinging nettles. It is necessary to pour hot milk (200 ml) by 1 teaspoon of dry grass roots, put on low heat for five minutes. Broth drink hot in the amount of ¼ cup.
The remaining therapeutic drink to drink 2 tbsp. spoons throughout the day every two hours.
Solve the problem of with the digestive tract can also infusion of leaves. They are taken in the amount of 1 tbsp. spoon, add 200 ml of boiling water and a couple of hours insist in a thermos. One hour before meals, drink 1 tbsp. a spoon. 
During attacks gastritis helps mixture of herbs: nettle, plantain, St. John's wort, chamomile. They must be mixed in equal shares. Then in 4 tbsp. spoon add a liter of boiling water and let stand for two hours. Take inside a glass. Drink up to 1.5 liters per day. The course of treatment is 1 week.
You will be interested to learn about the health benefits of the following plants: evening primrose, foxglove, cress, squash, spinach, rose, saffron, dill, hazelnut, hyssop.
With heart disease
Nettle treatment also used in various cardiovascular diseases. To improve the work of the heart muscle, it is recommended to use this remedy: in 5 tbsp. spoons of dry chopped leaves, add 400 ml of boiling water, place on low heat for five minutes.
Then cool to room temperature and strain. Before use, add honey. The recommended dose of oral: half a cup four times a day, courses of 1-2 months.
Important! Before using any drug based on nettle for medicinal purposes, consultation with the attending physician is necessary.To recover from a stroke, take one hour before meals, 2 tbsp. spoon infusion, prepared as follows: 1 tbsp. spoons of leaves (dry) mixed with boiling water, leave to infuse for one hour.
With kidney stones and bladder
Stone disease is treated with fresh juice, seeds and nettle roots. Juice drink 1-2 tbsp. spoons at two-hour intervals throughout the day.
Means based on dry nettle roots have such beneficial properties as dissolving stones in the kidneys and bladder. To do this, the raw materials are ground into powder and eaten 1 teaspoon three times a day. Wash down the powder with decoction of wild rose.
Also, with stone disease, three times a day, 1 tbsp. spoon, it is advised to take and chopped seeds, dissolved in warm boiled water.
To improve the work of the kidneys using the infusion of leaves. It is prepared by mixing 1 teaspoon of chopped nettle leaves with 200 ml of boiling water, and heated in a water bath for 15 minutes. Drink one-third of the usual glass for 30 minutes before planning to eat.
To normalize sexual function
Normalize sexual function capable of nettle seeds. They are mixed with ground black pepper. It is taken as follows: a raw chicken egg is broken into a glass or a glass, and a mixture of nettle and pepper is added to it at the tip of a knife. All ingredients are mixed. This tool must be taken within three to five days in the morning half an hour before meals. 
To stimulate sexual desire, the seeds can be mixed in red wine or port. Use the following proportions: 5 tbsp. spoons of seeds per half liter of wine (port). Mix for five minutes. Drink before bedtime 50 ml.
There is also a tool based on the leaves. Of them prepare a salad with the addition of boiled eggs and onions.
For the normalization of menstruation
Nettle is widely used in gynecology, in particular for strong discharge during menstruation, as well as for cervical erosion.
For the normalization of menstruation, one-fourth cup of freshly squeezed juice from grass leaves is drunk three times a day. It is recommended to use it 20-30 minutes before the planned meal.
The recipe is quite simple: 3-6 tbsp. spoon leaves mixed with a liter of boiling water and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain before ingestion. 
The recommended dose for women with heavy and irregular periods - 1 cup three times a day. After eating, you can start eating no sooner than after 40 minutes. You can also use pharmacy liquid nettle extract. It is taken orally for 30-40 drops in half an hour before meals. The drops are diluted in a quarter glass of water.
Juice from nettle leaves with medicinal properties is also used in gynecology when cervical erosion also occurs. Dips that are inserted into the vagina are dipped into it.
The use of nettle in cosmetology
In cosmetology, nettles were adopted in order to make the hair and skin of the face beautiful and healthy.
From dandruff and to strengthen hair
Nettle remedies are effective in the fight against dandruff, baldness, high fat content and while strengthening hair growth.
In the presence of dandruff use the following recipes:
- In 500 g of chopped fresh leaves add half a liter of boiling water. Sweat the mixture in a water bath for 20 minutes. Then cool to room temperature, pass through cheesecloth. Warm up slightly before use. Apply while washing hair, rubbing into the scalp and using for rinsing.
- You can also massage the freshly squeezed nettle juice diluted with water into the scalp with massage movements.
- 1 tbsp. spoon a leaf (dry) to brew in a thermos, adding 200 ml of boiling water. Leave to infuse for one hour, then pass through a layer of gauze. Infusion rubbed into the head once every seven days. The course of procedures: two to three months.
Also, in order to strengthen the hair, they are ransacked with a decoction of 100 g of crushed leaves, mixed with half-liter of vinegar and half-liter of water, boiled for 30 minutes.To cope with baldness, use a tincture based on vodka. Fresh leaves are placed in a half-liter jar and add vodka. Store indoors without access of light for 21 days. After this time, begin to rub into areas of the head, where there is an active hair loss.
Nettle face mask
Nettle is often added to creams, lotions, masks. For dry and aging skin, it is recommended to chop fresh leaves (1 tbsp. Spoon) to a slurry state and mix them with honey (1 tsp.). You can add warm milk (3 tablespoons). The mixture is applied to the face. 
Contraindications and possible harm
Nettle treatment has a number of contraindications. So, for therapeutic purposes, you should not take herbs for pregnant women, as well as for people who:
- suffer from thrombophlebitis;
- have the threat of a heart attack;
- prone to increased blood clotting;
- they observe increased blood pressure.
Nettle - herb, the medicinal properties of which are proven long ago. However, if you intend to use funds based on it, do not forget to inform your doctor about it in order to avoid undesirable consequences.
