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Natural Allergy Relief Remedy
Seattle is finally coming out of hibernation, but with the beautiful spring weather comes allergies. Forgo the itchy eyes, runny noses, non-stop sneezing, and sinus headaches by utilizing the dietary supplement Stinging Nettles (Urtica Dioica). With natural antihistamine properties, the supplement can help improve symptoms within 15 minutes and lasts for up to four hours.

Okay, so how can you incorporate the supplement into your routine? One way is to brew a pitcher of nettle tea to keep on hand. Additionally, you can utilize freeze-dried nettles in conjunction with the tea when pollen counts are very high along with a more traditional remedy like Similasan Allergy Eye Relief.

Check out Amazon for bulk pricing on nettles, or drop into your local PCC and visit the bulk spice section. If you don’t have time for tea or you’re looking for a stronger dose you can use freeze-dried capsules. Pharmaca carries them as well as most supplement stores (additionally, Pharmaca has Naturopaths on staff that can aid you in supplement dosage and selection).

As with any supplement, there are a few precautions. Persons with a medical condition or those using blood thinners or blood pressure lowering medications should not use nettle leaf without first consulting a doctor.

Check out our very own Beth Colombo’s recipe for nettle tea!

Beth’s Natural Allergy Relief Tea Recipe:

Ingredients:

–       1.7 Liters Water

–       5 tsp Loose-Leaf Nettles

–       2 tsp Mango Black Tea (or your favorite)

Start by first boiling your water (I use a Cuisinart PerfectTemp Electric Tea Kettle, but any large tea kettle or pot will work). Take the loose-leaf nettles and tea and scoop them into tea brewing containers. Place the brewing containers into a glass pitcher or container. When the water comes to a boil pour into container. Allow the tea to seep for at least 60-minutes and up to 24 hours (You may want to remove your favorite flavored tea at the 60-minute mark so it doesn’t get bitter). I store my tea in the fridge and consume throughout the day. Enjoy!