Herb for everything: nettle is very diverse

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Barbara Simonsohn (69) is very excited about stinging nettle chosen as the medicinal herb of the year 2022. The nutritionist says he was surprised at how diverse the native plant is. “They say there is a herb for every disease. But in fact it should be: Stinging nettle, a medicinal herb for every disease”.

Simonsohn spoke to Blick about the facility, which accidentally had such a bad image.

Blick: How did you find the nettle?
Barbara Simonsohn: My grandmother knew herbs, and when we wanted to tease her, we called her the herb witch. The first time I saw a “nettle” with him. That is, a cloud of seeds of male plants. This affected me.

You just published your book “101 Applications and Recipes” when stinging nettle was chosen as the medicinal plant of the year. How did that happen?
coincidence! (laughs heartily) I was talking to my publisher who suggested that I write about cat’s claw, a powerful herb native to the Amazon. Then I replied: No, I no longer write about foreign plants, but only about native plants such as nettle. My publisher’s response was immediate: OK, let’s do it. And so I started researching last year, and it’s just a coincidence that the plant was later named medicinal plant of the year.

Then what’s in the nettle?
Fifty times more iron than a lettuce and twice as much as beef. It’s also 40 percent more protein than soy and five times more protein than avocado. These are just three examples of the incredible number of vital ingredients in this herb. And nettle grows at the nearest edge of the forest!

Which application surprised you the most?
To my own horror, I can say: Compensation for menopausal symptoms! My identical twin, who spent the same time in the fresh air, ate the same food and did sports, had very serious complaints. He had to change the sheets twice in one night as he was soaked with sweat. I collect stinging nettle seeds, dry them and enjoy them every day – and I haven’t experienced any menopausal symptoms. This has to do with phytoestrogens balancing hormonal fluctuations. (Editor’s note: phytoestrogens are secondary plant substances. They are not estrogens in the chemical sense, they have structural similarities). I am happy with the effect.

They use seeds. Can you use other parts of the plant?
You can use all parts of the plant! The fibers can be extracted from the handle and made into textiles. I hope nettle experiences a renaissance as a textile plant. It would be more logical to use nettle in our latitudes, since cotton needs a lot of water. Herbal liquor can be made from the root. Gather the leaves from spring – so now – and use them as a tea. You can also make tea from the flowers. All power is in the seeds: this is the legacy for the next generation of plants.

What is the easiest way to take stinging nettle?
Pick fresh herbs with gloves when they are longer than ten centimeters. Then wash it in the sink at home. You can use it to make fresh tea or use stinging nettle as a vegetable like spinach. If you want to stock up: Freeze the nettle (in plastic bags in the freezer). Or dry very slowly in Dörrex at a lower temperature (38 degrees) over 24 hours. Then put the dried leaves in storage jars and put them in paper bags as the plant parts are light sensitive. You can make your own strong drink by grinding the tea leaves into powder in a small coffee grinder and adding some water.

Is it used in the bathroom as well as in the kitchen?
Oh yes, you can make great face creams, and nettle is great for both the inside and outside of the hair. I use stinging nettle to make a hair stabilizer, which I love to use to prevent frizz in humid weather.

And it’s not just for humans: have you given your cat dried nettle, too?
Yes, I tried it with my cat. 16 years old. And with the stinging nettle, his fur glowed again and he started catching mice again.

Who chooses the medicinal plant of the year?
Association for promoting natural healing according to Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, headquartered in Munich. These naturopathic experts chose stinging nettle because it is so versatile. Numerous uses and above all because it has a valuable ecological function. For this reason, many caterpillars, such as the golden owl, are the sole food of butterflies.

Source : Blick