Nettle is a nightmare plant; throughout the Bible references are made to its hellish nature. They are plants that like abandoned places, happily growing where normal plants would not even think of setting up shop. They also live along the edges of fields, just waiting for the opportunity to sting the behind of a person working with the crops. Much like the thistle, the stinging nettle was a symbol of punishment in the Bible.

Extracts from the root of the nettle plant have been proven to shrink the prostate via increasing the available testosterone.

If you were wondering how the Israelites felt about the plant, you only have to look at the name they gave the plant. It is called harese and seref; the words come from two verb roots, SRF and HAR. The verbs mean to burn or to scorch. That's what this plant does to your skin when you come into contact with it. In makes your skin feel like it is on fire. In Hosea, we see God promising to fill peoples treasure rooms with nettles as a punishment. This about sums up how they Israelites saw the nettle, punishment. Though mentioned, it was not mentioned because the Israelites had a soft spot for it.

The Israelites called it scorch plant, which may be an exaggeration, however, it does warm the parts of the body it touches. The areas of the body that have been stung develop a warm sensation; warm painful sensation would be more accurate. Nettles contain formic acid. Formic acid being the same substance that fire ants have in their stingers. They are called fire ants because their stings feel like fire! It will be surprising to discover that human beings have actually taken advantage of the warming nature of nettles and their stings. The Roman soldiers actually brought the plant with them as the Empire moved into northern Europe. The reason was that if their legs got cold in the nasty weather, they would sting themselves with the plant to warm them up. I am not certain life in the Roman legion is all that it was cracked up to be. The scientific name for the nettle, urtica, comes from the Latin uros, to burn. The ancient world felt the same way about this plant.

All of the ancient Mediterranean cultures, Israelite and otherwise, had a few things to say about the plant. The ancients said that nettles followed people around. It turns out, they were quite right. Nettles love nitrogen. Where man is there tends to be a lot of nitrogen. Animal and human faeces alike are high in nitrogen, a perfect draw for the stinging plant. They tend to grow along the sides of cultivated fields because humans fill fields with nitrogen to make the crops grow better. They love old homesteads for the same reason and they are often found growing on top of the site of the former outhouse. One herbalist told me that nettles follow man around so man can use them as medicine. I am inclined to think it is more because we leave something behind that helps the nettles health more than the other way around.

Nettles were used, and used quite a lot in ancient medicine. The word nettle is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word noedel. I tried to find out what noedel means but failed in my attempt. At least we know where the word nettle comes from. The ancient medical use of nettles is a bit severe. The ancient doctors stung people with them. The Romans and the Greeks used the plant to treat paralysed or rheumatic joints. The crippled joint was stung with the stinging nettle. The ancients insisted that with this treatment, the joints improved. Here is a shocker. The Romans also said that nettles could cure a man of impotence. The penis was stung just like a malfunctioning joint. Whether it cured impotence I cannot report, but I would imagine it cured a man of discussing his impotence with his doctor. Ouch!

Though the nettle has its unpleasant sides, it can be quite useful in skilful hands. I do not mean when a person was skillfully stung! The nettle was supposed to have arrived in Britain with the Romans and our dear friend Gerard is able to fill us in on the ancient uses of nettles. Gerard and the ancient physicians felt the plant was diuretic, aphrodisiac, tonic to the lungs, and itch removing.

Diuretic: "As Dioscorides saith, it maketh the body soluble, doing it by a kind of cleansing quality, it also provoketh urine, and expelleth stones out of the kidneys, as it is thought."

Aphrodisiac: "The seed of nettle stirreth up lust, especially drunk with cute. For as Galen saith it hath in it a certain windiness."

Tonic to the lungs: "It concocteth and draweth out of the chest raw humors. Being boiled with barley creame it bringeth up tough humors that sticke in the chest. It is good for them that cannot breathe unless they hold their necks upright, and for those that have the pleurisie, and for such as be sick of the inflammation of the lungs, if it be taken in a looch or licking medicine, and also against the troublesome cough that children have, called the Chincough."

Itch remover: "As Pliny witnesseth, the same Author writeth, that the oil of it takes away the stinging which the nettle itself maketh."

Gerard suggests using the plant to treat a number of urological problems, trouble urinating and impotence being two examples. Funny, he didn't mention the Roman practice of private stinging. The notion that nettle did something for men didn't die with the ancients. The traditional European use of nettle has been that of treating men with a range of urological difficulties that stem from prostate problems. Difficulty urinating and developing erections can be as a consequence of prostatic hypertrophy, prostate over growth. As a man ages, his available testosterone decreases. The prostate grows in response to the lack of testosterone. If you could increase the available testosterone, the prostate would shrink and many of the symptoms would disappear.

As it turns out, that is exactly what nettle does. Extracts from the root of the plant have been proven to shrink the prostate via increasing the available testosterone. Though the research is in the early phase, its affectivity has been proven clinically. The root contains phytosterols, or steroids, and these may be the wonder chemicals doing the job. Phytosterols are chemically similar to human sex hormones. It seems the Romans were onto something when they stung the private bits of a gentleman.

The plant itself is incredibly rich in iron. This is handy, as it has been used for many centuries to treat anaemia, especially when caused by excessive menstruation. Though the leaves are a bit difficult to pick, once cooked, they loose their sting, and are quite delicious. The flavour is much like spinach; only better, it doesn't make your teeth feel nasty. In most parts of the world the nettle grows wild. You can go out and gather as much as you like to treat anaemia. The spring leaves are the best for cooking, as they are still tender. If you suffer from iron deficiency anaemia the greens are a must.

The plant has received a lot of attention lately as a cure for allergy problems. Gerard, when he mentioned they helped to cure raw humours, was hinting to the plant's ability to reduce the symptoms of an allergy attack. Raw humours is Gerardian for excessive mucous production. When people are having an allergy attack, their respiratory passages fill with mucous. When your windpipes are loaded down with mucous, you do have to keep your neck upright to breathe. Nettles have been used for centuries to reduce the symptoms of an allergic attack, whether the symptom be itchy skin or watery eyes.

Research has shown that the nettle leaf does reduce allergic reactions. The needles contain a combination of formic acid, histamine, volatile and resinous acids. Researchers have shown that the very chemicals that cause an allergic reaction on your skin, i.e. the welts that form when you brush up against the plant, will help to reduce inflammatory reactions in the body. Migraine, inflammatory joint conditions and allergies are all improved by the use of nettle. Here is the hitch, it has to be either fresh nettle juice or freeze dried nettle in capsules. Heat destroys the chemicals contained in the plant that are useful in inflammatory reactions, so you have to use them fresh or the freeze-dried. It is used in a manner similar to cortical steroids but, as I said, it must be used fresh or freeze-dried.

The nettle is easily used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, just sting the affected joint! I know it sounds barbaric, but this is the ancient use and I know a number of patients that have found daily stinging with the plant works wonders. It can be used to reduce allergic responses by taking a few capsules of the freeze died plant each day. Eating nettles is an excellent idea as it provides lots of nutrients, has a cleansing nature, and tastes great! Remember to wear gloves while picking the tender greens, otherwise, you will understand first hand why the Israelites saw it as a punishment from God.