Springtime

The Spring has popped and so have a lot of allergies! There are lots of ways to support your body through this season! There a lot of acupuncture points to create ease of itchy eyes, and running nose and that general discomfort so many people suffer from, especially in the Northwest! There are a lot of herbal aids too.  One of the most exciting medicinal plants for the springtime are Stinging Nettles.  This plant is a power plant, containing so many vitamins and minerals, it is a very beneficial spring tonic.  The leaves has lots of iron, making it beneficial for the blood, as well as vitamin C, which aids us in absorbing the iron. Stinging nettle also shares a similar quality as dandelion leaf as it promotes the elimination of uric acid from the joints, increasing the flexibility and fluidity we need.  In the qualities I’ve listed, which are only just a few, but they are some of the powerful few as to why this helps the Wood element, which corresponds to the springtime.  The liver is also associated with the spring and the wood.

You can eat nettles fresh, being careful not to sting yourself with the formic acid contained in the tiny stingers underneath the leaves.  These small stingers get knocked off very easily, so the nettles when being cooked or processed lose their ability to sting.  Just steamed, or gently boiled, made into pesto or dried for tea, this awesome plant is especially beneficial now to consume and to help ward off allergies and other common ailments as the season fully arrives.