7 Benefits of Drinking Nettle Tea
on Apr 07, 2024
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A natural remedy for allergies, nettle tea has many health benefits for the body. It’s packed with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, and heart-healthy nutrients.
Table of Contents
What Is Nettle Tea?
Stinging nettle is a wild plant that grows in North America, North Africa, Asia, and Europe. It’s sometimes simply called nettle.
The plant’s leaves have stinging hairs, which is why it’s called stinging nettle. This can cause rashes and itching in some people. However, when the leaves are correctly prepared, it can be made into a healthy tea. This is done by steeping the dried leaves in hot water.
The flavor of nettle tea is like green tea. But unlike green tea, nettle tea contains no caffeine.
RELATED: 7 Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
7 Nettle Tea Health Benefits
1. Boosts Hydration
Nettle tea can contribute to your daily fluid intake and keep your body hydrated. Hydration is so important for good health.
Water is needed for many processes, including nutrient absorption and body temperature control. It also lets your body get rid of waste through urine and sweating. If you don’t get enough water, these wastes might build up in the body.
If you don’t like drinking plain water, the flavor of nettle tea can make it easier to stay hydrated throughout the day.
2. Contains No Caffeine
Caffeine is a substance that stimulates the nervous system. This has an energizing effect, but sometimes, you might want a drink without the boost.
The nettle plant contains no caffeine, so the tea is completely caffeine-free. This makes it ideal for any time of the day, including just before bedtime. The drink won’t make it hard to fall asleep.
3. Lowers Oxidative Stress
Oxidative stress happens when there’s too much cell damage in the body. This can increase the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and other conditions.
Since nettle tea is high in antioxidants, it’s great for reducing oxidative stress. Antioxidants protects your cells and keeps them healthy. Antioxidants in nettle tea include polyphenols, vitamin C, and carotenoids like lutein and beta-carotene.
Nettle tea, which is made of water, also keeps your body hydrated. Dehydration can cause oxidative stress, so drinking nettle tea can help prevent this.
4. Manages Inflammation
Inflammation is at the root of health issues like pain and swelling. It can also lead to chronic conditions like arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease if it’s not controlled.
If you want to lower inflammation, drink more nettle tea. The plant works by stopping reactions that make inflammatory proteins. It also makes toxins less harmful and removes them from the body. Since toxins are inflammatory, this effect can reduce inflammation.
5. Protects Heart Health
Nettle tea has health benefits for the heart. Specifically, it can lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol, two major risk factors of heart disease.
The nettle plant contains potassium, a mineral that increases how much sodium leaves your body. Since too much sodium raises blood pressure, this effect is beneficial.
Quercetin, an antioxidant in nettle, helps too. It lowers cholesterol in the blood vessels so blood can easily flow to and from the heart.
There are even polyunsaturated fatty acids in nettle. These are good fats that have a cholesterol-lowering effect.
6. Improves Blood Sugar
Nettle has anti-diabetic properties, meaning it can prevent or manage diabetes. This is a condition that causes problems with blood sugar.
The plant increases how much insulin is released from your pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that controls the amount of sugar in your blood.
If there’s not enough insulin, or insulin isn’t working correctly, blood sugar can get too high. But if there’s more insulin, it can do a better job at controlling blood sugar.
As nettle tea increases insulin, it improves your blood sugar levels. In fact, studies have found that nettle can help people with type 2 diabetes who take insulin as a treatment.
7. Eases Seasonal Allergies
Seasonal allergies are caused by inflammation. It happens when you’re exposed to a substance, like pollen, and your immune system overreacts.
During an allergic reaction, your immune system releases histamine. This is a chemical that causes allergy symptoms like itchy eyes, runny nose, and sneezing.
Nettle tea can work against both things and provide relief. It has anti-inflammatory effects, so it can lower the inflammation from your immune system. It also reduces histamine and eases allergy symptoms. This is exactly how allergy medications called anti-histamines work, but it’s a more natural option.
Side Effects
Nettle tea is safe for most people. However, the plant can cause rashes in some, so it’s best to buy pre-prepared tea leaves instead of trying to dry them yourself.
