Raspberry Leaves

     Have you ever picked up a fruit or vegetable in the grocery store and wondered what the rest of the plant looks like? Or how about if the rest of the plant is edible or useful in some way? I do this quite frequently, though I'll admit that I'm strange. When I remember these questions and do a bit of research, I often wonder why we never use the rest of the plant. For instance, each and every part of a banana tree is edible, beet greens are every bit as nutritious as spinach, carrot leaves are super tasty, and raspberry leaves are one of the best things a woman can add into her diet.

     Raspberries are members of the rose family, rosacea. There are two commonly used for their leaves, Eurasian red raspberry (rubus idaeus) and North American black raspberry (rubus occidentalis). There have been a number of scientific studies done on this herb. Most American studies have used red raspberry, but a number of Chinese studies have branched out and used several different raspberry species. Most of the findings have determined that the berries are delicious and packed full of nutrients and antioxidants, but the leaves contain even more of the active phytochemicals, and so have even more benefits.

Medicinal Uses:

Summary of actions- Astringent, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, emmenagogue, and a slight stimulant.

Traditional Chinese Medicine- In Chinese medicine, raspberry is called Fu Pen Zi or Shan Mei. The primary meridians it works on are the Liver and Kidney meridians. In TCM, the Kidneys rule reproduction, especially in women. This makes a huge amount of sense when you think about how the Kidneys filter our blood, and how blood is such an integral part of the female reproductive cycle. However that leads to raspberry's main uses in TCM. Raspberry stabilizes and tonifies the kidneys, supports Jing, builds both Kidney and Liver Qi, and is typically used for impotence, bed wetting, frequent urination, premature ejaculation, incontinence, to improve eyesight, clear blurred vision, for lower back pain (around the area of the kidneys), infertility, nocturnal emissions, and to stop premature graying.

Highly Nutritious- The berries are known to be extremely nutritious. However the leaves are even more so. They contain huge amounts of Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and E, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, manganese, niacin, and selenium.

Anti-cancer Activity- Several studies have shown that raspberry leaf has major anti-cancer potential in both breast and liver cancers. These same studies show that the leaves are much more potent than the berries.

Pregnancy and Labor- Raspberry is a great help in dealing with morning sickness. Some people attribute this to it's astringent nature, and others attribute this to the high amounts of vitamins and minerals. Either way, it works.

Some midwives and herbalists are cautious with it's use in the first trimester (however I have known several women who have used this in the first trimester with no problems), but it's considered safe after the second trimester has begun. Consult with your doctor/midwife/herbalist before adding this to your routine in early pregnancy.

Not only is raspberry great for helping with morning sickness, but it's super nutritious and helps prepare your body for labor. Women and midwives throughout the world credit raspberry leaf for helping shorten their labor, and prevent hardships during labor. It works extremely well with nettles to help reduce the chance of hemorrhage.

Fertility- Raspberry helps to regulate menses, clear the body of toxins, strengthen the uterus, balance female hormones, and prepares the uterus for pregnancy. This can help in conceiving as well as preventing early miscarriages.

Menstrual Help- Raspberry is used often as a uterine tonic. It also helps balance female hormones. These two actions combine to make Raspberry extremely effective in helping women regulate their menstrual cycles. Not only does it help regulate both the timing and the flow, it also helps reduce cramps, PMS, and other negative side effects that come with menses.

Respiratory Infections- Raspberry leaf tea has been used as a gargle, eyewash, and mouthwash when there have been infections in those areas. It's also been used to help knock out several respiratory infections such as pneumonia bronchitis. Just drink 2-3 cups a day during the infection.

Bowels and Leaky Gut- The astringent properties of raspberry leaf help to reduce diarrhea and strengthen the intestines. This helps to prevent and heal leaky gut issues.

Minor Wounds and Varicose Veins- Astringent herbs are great for dealing with wounds. Raspberry has shown to be no exception. Use it as a wound wash to help speed the healing of minor cuts and scrapes. Use it for sunburns and minor burn wounds. It's also great to help heal varicose veins. Just use a strong tea as a wash, and massage towards the heart. It's also great for eczema, psoriasis, and other skin conditions.

     I hope I have given you a little more to think about while picking out produce in your supermarket, or when deciding to grow your own. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave them below!

References:

3 Raspberry Leaf Benefits for Women: Herbal Academy: https://theherbalacademy.com/3-raspberry-leaf-benefits-for-women/

Raspberry: East West Healing Academy: https://www.eastwesthealingacademy.com/herbs/raspberry/

Raspberry Leaf: Richard Whelan Medical Herbalist: http://www.rjwhelan.co.nz/herbs%20A-Z/raspberry_leaf.html

Raspberry Leaf Benefits: Herb Wisdom: http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-raspberry-leaf.html

Raspberry Leaf Herb Profile: Wellness Mama: https://wellnessmama.com/5107/raspberry-leaf-herb-profile/

Raspberry Leaf Tea Benefits: Earths Friends: https://www.earthsfriends.com/raspberry-leaf-tea-benefits/

Red Raspberry: Dr Christopher's Herbal Legacy: http://www.herballegacy.com/Corless_Dosages.html

Red Raspberry: Medicinal Herb Info: http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/RedRaspberry.html

Simply Nettle

     Each plant is made up of thousands of chemicals. This is why so many herbs are useful for so many different things. I have a handful of herbs that are my “go to” herbs for just about everything I need. Today I'm going to share one of my favorites out of that list. Nettle.

     Stinging Nettle, or Urtica dioca, is the most commonly used nettle, but you can also use the Florida native nettle in the same ways. The Florida nettle is Urtica chamaedryoides, commonly known as either heart leaf nettle, or fireweed. Nettles are notorious for their “sting,” which is why the heart leaf nettle has the name “fireweed.” They have little hairs all over their leaves and stems which contain a toxic compound. These hairs are more like tiny needles that inject this compound into whatever touches them. This compound is actually very very similar to the toxin used by fire ants. Depending on the species of nettle you might have come across, the sting can last for as little as 7 minutes, or go on for several hours. Unfortunately the heart leaf nettle is one nettle with a really long sting, as well as being one of the smaller nettles. Despite all of this, throughout history humans have eaten nettles. Once you cook them, the “sting” goes away so that they are safe to consume. Several different cultures have adapted nettles into their diets, so much so that almost every culture has a form of nettle soup. But the most common way that nettle is eaten, is as a potherb. Basically this means that you pick a pot full of nettle, add a little moisture, and cook it. Those of us in the South might immediately think of dishes such as collard greens, or mustard greens. Yup. That's how people usually cook nettle. And, it's delicious!

     All parts of the nettle plant can be used both in the kitchen and for medicinal benefit. There are slight variations as to how you use the root verses the above-ground parts. I tend to mainly use the leaves and stems, largely because I order the dried leaves in bulk, but also because I can continually harvest the leaves while digging up the root can only be done once. However, the root does offer some amazing benefits that may be worth it if you have a particularly prolific patch of nettles in your garden or yard. You can easily purchase nettle leaf in it's dried form at most herb purveyors. However you can also find it as a tincture (an alcohol extract), as a tea, or as a capsule. Some places also have nettle root tinctures. You can also find it easily in nature. Just remember to wear thick gloves when you harvest.

Medicinal Uses:

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)- Nettles are cool and dry. They nourish the yin, which is the quiet, cooling, and moistening fluid (and nature) of the body. Nettle strengthens and heals the lungs, nourishes the skin, detoxifies the body, reduces tumors, dissolves stones, drains fluids, dries damp conditions, reduces infection, builds blood, enriches both liver and kidney yin, stops bleeding and hemorrhage, helps regulate metabolism, nourishes connective tissue, promotes lactation, and replenishes blood after giving birth.

Ayurveda- Nettles are an excellent rasayana (rejuvenator) and nourishing tonic, especially for the kidneys and adrenals. They increase ojas, which is the essence that gives strength to the body, improves immunity, and takes care of the well-being of the body as a whole. Nettle stimulates the actions of the liver and kidneys, which helps to detoxify the body. Nettles help to clear excess pitta and kapha from the system which helps to improve skin conditions such as eczema, acne, and psoriasis. In mild doses, it can help to alleviate common vata conditions in the intestines (gas, bloating, etc), but it can increase vata when taken in excess.

Allergies- Nettles are amazingly anti-inflammatory which helps in a lot of situations. However one major effect this has is that nettle helps improve the symptoms of hay fever. Nettles also contain a pretty high amount of histamine, which one might think is bad for allergies, but is actually one of the reasons nettles help to reduce the amount of allergy attacks you may have in allergy season. For hay fever, I recommend making a super strong tea, with nettle leaves, and drinking it throughout the day. You can improve the flavor with mint, but I like it just by itself.

Nourishment- Nettle is considered a super food because of it's high content of vitamins and minerals. Nettles are a great source of the vitamins A, C, D, and K, as well as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and sulfur. Nettles are also a major source of plant-based protein.

Pregnancy- Not only is nettle a great source of vitamins and minerals that are needed for both mom and baby, they also help to improve the health of your reproductive system as a whole. This makes it easier to conceive, carry, and deliver a child. Nettle also helps prepare your uterus for the process of labor, helping to speed up the labor process, especially when used with red raspberry leaves. You can make a strong tea of nettle and raspberry leaves, then freeze it so that mom can suck on herbal ice during labor. The high amounts of vitamin K helps prevent hemorrhage during labor as well, as it's a major blood clotting agent. I usually recommend drinking a strong raspberry and nettle infusion 3 times a day during the last few weeks of your pregnancy, and once a day for the entire pregnancy. Use caution in the first trimester as nettle also stimulates menstrual flow, so consuming to much at the beginning of your pregnancy could cause some problems. However, after the first trimester, nettle is perfectly safe to use on a regular basis.

Arthritis- For hundreds of years, little old ladys have been harvesting nettles bare handed. Eek! However, they have a great reason for doing so. Nettles have a great anti-inflammatory effect, as well a pain relieving effect on arthritic joints. Even the sting can help reduce arthritis pain. Now it's not necessary, as you can get many of the same effects by drinking nettle tea, but it is one way to help ease arthritic symptoms.

Cardiovascular Health- The combination of vitamin C and iron help to stimulate blood cell production. This combination also makes nettles ideal to help prevent and treat anemia. There have also been several studies that show nettles have an effect on lowering blood pressure, so check with your doctor if you are on blood pressure medications.

Urinary and Prostate Health- Nettle is useful to help tone the kidneys as well as to break down both gallbladder and kidney stones. It's also a diuretic which helps the body get rid of toxins faster. This can help prevent infections. But nettle has a special place in prostate health as well. It helps to prevent prostate growth, but it cannot reduce growth, just prevent it.

Skin, Hair, and Nail- Along with providing the proper vitamins and minerals necessary for healthy skin, hair, and nails, nettle also works well externally. Salves including nettle can help with many burns, eczema, and psoriasis. Nettle salves can also help speed healing, reduce the appearance of scars, and help keep your skin looking young. Washes (strong teas) made with nettle help to reduce instances of acne, itchy scalp, and dandruff. These same washes help stimulate hair growth in cases of thinning hair.

Summary of actions- Traditionally used in Europe as a blood purifier and blood builder. Nettle is nutritive, hypotensive, diuretic, laxative, antioxidant, astringent, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, sedative, nervine, anti-anaphylactic, anti-rheumatic, anti-asthmatic, anti-convulsant, anti-dandruff, anti-histamine, decongestant, depurative, hemostatic, galactagogue, immunomodulator, hypoglycaemic, and CNS-depressant. Nettle is both a prostate tonic and stimulating tonic.

I only included a basic introduction to this amazing herb. I hope you have learned a new appreciation for how amazing nettle is. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

References:

April Crowell: Nourishing with Stinging Nettles: http://aprilcrowell.com/asian-medicine/nourishing-with-stinging-nettles/

Chinese Herbs: Stinging Nettle and it's Multiple Benefits: http://www.chinese-herbs.org/stinging-nettle/

Herb Wisdom: Stinging Nettle Benefits: http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-nettle.html

Medicinal Plants: Stinging Nettle: http://medicinalplants.us/stinging-nettle-background-actions

Organic Facts: 11 Amazing Benefits of Stinging Nettle: https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/stinging-nettle.html

Purusha Ayurveda: Nettles, an Ayurvedic Perspective: http://www.purushaayurveda.com/articles/2016/3/24/nettles-the-ayurvedic-perspective

Wellness Mama: Nettle Herb Profile: https://wellnessmama.com/4807/nettle-herb-profile/

Whole New Mom: 7 Proven Health Benefits of Stinging Nettle: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/benefits-of-stinging-nettle/