019 - Stinging nettle for chronic pain

[@youngerlab]

Something I didn't clarify in the video -- The chemicals (mostly acids) that cause the stinging are not the same chemicals (mostly flavonoids) that are thought to reduce chronic pain. Drying the nettle for use in capsules will neutralize the acids, but will not destroy the flavonoids. - Jarred Younger

[@BarbaraJ1111]

Thank you for your service to the many that suffer ❤

[@19111959]

Thanks Jarred, for your efforts, kindness and expertise. You are a kind man...above all.

[@brobinson8614]

Thank you for looking out for us. We need more scientists telling us what’s happening. Is so much appreciated!!

[@paleggett1897]

I shall dig into learning more!!! Thanks❣️

[@beleefyoga]

Its a quite common plant in the Netherlands as well. Also in my garden. I use it sometimes in smoothies. After watching your video I decided to use it more often. Thank you for your simple and clear information and your effort to help people with chronic health conditions.

[@KJ99otis]

That’s a clinically significant result. Impressive. Thank you!

[@OrganisedPauper]

Dried nettle leaf is available in fairly big bags and you can use it as a tea or in cooking. Fresh nettle also. It can be used similarly to spinach, it's a little more bitter than spinach. I've often just thrown a couple of tablespoons of dried nettle into pasta sauces. It's a very nutritious plant. Nettle soup is a traditional food. Cooked or dried it has no sting. When picking fresh nettles it's very important to only use the fresh new growth before it flowers. If you're growing them yourself you can cut them down every so often to get the new growth.

[@kishouarima1190]

What a coincidence! Not precisely related to the context of your video, but recently I came across a 5th century literature book that is named “lacnuga” which is an old Anglo Saxon term for ‘medicines’. It contains in it medical applications used in that era, and certain ‘spells’ which are used in the context of the medicine. One of those spells called the “Nine Herbs Charm of Nine Worts Galdor” contains in it the use of “stiðe” which actually is, stinging nettle, and was prescribed to Saxons in those days with pain/infectious issues… interesting right? There’s actually a whole Wikipedia article on it.

[@sagapoetic8990]

That sounds so interesting to read and to learn about the various remedies in that period.

[@ninner196]

The stinging nettle native to the US has the little barbs on the bottom of the leaves, there are some that are from Europe too that are barbed both sides. Note that stinging nettle is Not the same plant that is right on or by water and becomes woody and tall and likewise stings. Stinging nettle can be blanched and iced and used as spinach or tea. Not letting it boil keeps the nutrients in there. It is an awesome replacement for spinach. I do know that it helps allergies and in Mexico it is a very common old remedy. Thank you Jarred. I can still be in a full rx without my CRP being elevated. As my Opthalmologist says “ my pts can tell when their CRP has set off before we can detect it.” I know that we have to be careful with supplements. I have had very decent products from Bulk Supplements. I check with what is in the product and they don’t exceed the normal doses at a good price. So I name dropped. I used to prepare my own supplements from my garden but no longer can so I will pun on this and say that I am a “stickler” when it comes to quality and price. The last time I did was during Covid quarantined feverishly going through where weeds were not sprayed and spending a lot of time making natural anti inflammatories, making tinctures and using roots as I had been taught and door dropping for those whom were told to stay home to die. Did it help? Yes. Those of use that remembered these things were thankful and I was glad at least that city workers were not spraying, people were not mowing or spraying and some of the worst cases with the help of nebulizers, palming methods and proactively taking specific supplements with the first cases were convinced that it helped to pull them through this and having refused intubation had to resort to the use of botanical medicine. We have so much to learn but thank you for study on this. I wanted to add that searching common local stores doesn’t usually yield a great product. The cost/ quality ratio is usually not great and especially the quality. It’s a bit different from vitamins. If animals didn’t encounter the little barbs they would have consumed it all because they love the smell of it, so then who could it be for then? I also took a lot of plants( weeds?)that affect GABA receptors and Mu receptors because it was a difficult time in open unweeded areas. I did about lose it when the COVID strain genetic material was decoded and about yelled at the hospitals to start putting pts on HIV meds asap. Well that took forever but people needed to be able to get off the vents. 😊Thank you Jarred for sharing your work!

[@melissanreynolds]

My search also said it can lower blood pressure which is something to be mindful of as mine is already the bottom of normal so dont want to play with that! Appreciate you sharing as you learn

[@youngerlab]

Thanks for bringing up that point. We had to look at this potential contraindication pretty carefully before starting the trial. I wasn't able to find any evidence in humans that stinging nettle lowers blood pressure. The warnings traced back to one or two animal studies. But even a theoretical risk of fainting due to hypotension is concerning. I think that is a good example of when someone should talk to their primary care physician. And if approved by the physician, monitoring blood pressure when starting stinging nettle would be a smart thing to do. - Jarred Younger

[@kristinae.7084]

Thank you SO MUCH for giving us access to your papers! Many of us are patients whose doctors know nothing about ME/CFS, so we have to look for our own treatments. I live on 5 acres of stinging nettle plants, so I might be able to harvest them and make my own medicine :)

[@GrandmaTurtle]

I just planted a nettle garden! Made sure it was fenced and out of the way so no one gets, "burned", or the deer don't eat it all. Can hardly wait to try it! Thanks, Doc❤

[@1HorseOpenSlay]

It works really well. It's also delicious and packed with vitamins and minerals. I like to sprinkle it on pasta or soup. It has a nice rich flavor. Its worth a try! I get mine from the wild and dry it. Once it is dry it doesn't sting anymore.

[@recollectionsofinvisiblechild]

Interesting. There’s a Canadian KZbinr named Greg Ovens who has been a survivalist most of his life. He’s has vast knowledge of plants. I’ve heard him sing the praises of stinging nettle many times.

[@youngerlab]

Oh that's cool. I'll check out his videos. - Jarred Younger

[@BATgirl57]

When the first stinging nettle plants come up in spring, I harvest a lot when they are under 6” tall as a nutrient packed green. It’s a great free source of vitamins and minerals growing wild. As well as drinking a tea from the steeped leaves, I also dry and store it for use as tea throughout the year. As they dry the stinging slowly goes away. I try to avoid the sting while harvesting. I like to think I have less arthritis because I drink nettle tea. And besides that, it’s quite delicious as a hot or cold tea!

[@ChrisKadaver]

My ME/CFS has changed from being almost fatigue and dysautonomia only with really easy triggered PEM, to being mainly back and hip pain, muscle twitching, vision changes, worsened tinnitus, erectile dysfunction, lack of sweating etc, telangiectasia over the nose and increased stress tolerance. I realized my hypertension have been undertreated for years. Instead of treating it correctly my GP told me I needed to walk more even though I had ME and got worse by walking. After my new GP increased the dose of my hypertension meds I suddenly can take longer walks without getting fatigued in the same way. I have symptoms of heart faliuee though. I suspect myself I have some kind of subclinical heart faliure. I often have palpitations even when heart rate sometimes is low. Sometimes my systolic BP is on the lower side while the diastolic is high. It's called narrow pulse pressure but my GP has never heard about pulse pressure before. I also now all of a sudden have a bumch of bulging discs which I know is the cause for my erectile dysfunction. It took my new GP 3 years to let me have an other MRI. Yet I don't get any help. I do have a lot of stinging nettle outside my house. How should I suppliment with it?

[@sirikramer3079]

They are called Brennesel in Germany, they are everywhere. I noticed that in the wild you can see them realese what looks like smoke. I have a neurological condition and I am doing research to help myself. Thank you for the information.

[@AdeebaZamaan]

I use stinging nettle drops for the allergy attacks in which the back of my throat suddenly starts itching unbearably. Allegra will work in 20-30 minutes, but I can't deal with the itching that long. Stinging nettle drops work immediately. I've been using them for a few years now for emergency itching.

[@sagapoetic8990]

Where do you find stinging nettle drops or do you make these yourself? Thanks. I had no idea such a drop type existed.

[@AdeebaZamaan]

@@sagapoetic8990 I'm using Herb Pharm drops. I think I got them from Amazon, but of course that doesn't mean they're still there. And I don't follow the directions! I just shoot a couple drops down the back of my throat when an unbearable itch occurs. I also have capsules that I TRY to remember to take, but the drops have been my sanity saver.

[@edziuhersthey2313]

Thank you.

[@claudiagomez5324]

Thank you I’m going to try for my lupus. I have been in pain.💝🌺

[@maureenclarke9839]

Trying the green light will now try Nettle leaf tea information is very good

[@roxyiconoclast]

I’ve taken a stinging nettle supplement for long periods, and found it effective for allergies. I never noticed any effect on my me/cfs, fibro, allodynia or arthritis. It does take a few weeks to become effective for allergies, so I imagine the same may be true for chronic pain relief.

[@youngerlab]

It's a good point that there is no evidence supporting the use of stinging nettle for ME/CFS or fibromyalgia. It *may* have worked in Gulf War Illness by changing mast cell function or inhibiting histamine, similar to what may help allergies. - Jarred Younger

[@roxyiconoclast]

@@youngerlabthanks for your response! Looking at your paper, I wonder whether I may have been taking the lower dose. Also I regularly take an opioid (Tramadol) and NSAIDs, which I notice the study forbade for subjects - could that have interfered with the stinging nettle anti-nociceptive effect? Thanks so much for your research, including making your papers open access!

[@roxyiconoclast]

It seems my earlier comment went astray, so I’ll try again. Thanks for making your research paper open access. It looks like the effective stinging nettle dose in the study was far higher than what I was taking for allergies, so I’ll try taking the higher dosage. I notice the subjects weren’t allowed to take NSAIDs or opioids during the study - would they interfere with the supplement’s effects?

[@jonc67uk]

Dock leaves help to neutralise the sting & they usually grow together in the wild for convenience 😊

[@kathleenvaillancourt5286]

Dr. Younger, what do you think of the recent study from Columbia that reported groups of neurons in the brainstem that are called rheostats of the brain - body immune response, and can turn inflammation up and down?

[@gloriasykes9464]

Can you tell me more please?

[@utahboxergirl11]

This plant is also a good source of silica

[@TommyGibson-xp4nb]

I'm going to try this for my gout

[@forisma]

Nettle also causes MCAS symptoms to flare up. So be careful with it.

[@youngerlab]

The histamines in stinging nettle can survive the drying process for packing in capsules, so someone with strong histamine sensitivity would want to avoid the plant. - Jarred Younger

[@1Vesta1]

It's weird that years ago I used it in capsules for hay fever and it was effective. Here I am decades later and having to limit oxalates and I bet they are high in those. Not on any of my lists though.

[@tovejp]

@youngerlab I've been meaning to tell you for a long time. I have great effect on my ME/CFS symptoms using Skt. Johns wort. I've used it for 8 years now and every time I try to stop the ME/CFS symptoms returns. It both helps with brainfog, the circadian rhythm and help better the effect of fx Q10. No doctor in Denmark has any interest in this information but with your botanical studies perhaps you are? I know of several other ME/CFS patients that get great effect from Skt. Johns Wort too. Jarred let me know if you want more details?

[@Lovesrudi]

Ha another Supplement I need to try now 😂, hope it helps. Thanks for sharing

[@lyndafjellman3315]

@@Lovesrudi Just be aware that St John's wort will interact with several medications VERY adversely. Do be careful with it.

[@dalecupo1770]

What about nettle tincture and oxymel?

[@inspectorraycharles]

What is the chemical or compound of stinging nettle?

[@youngerlab]

There are dozens of medically relevant compounds in the nettle leaf. Luteolin, rutin, quercetin, and GABA are some of the ones most interesting to me. This paper outlines the major components, but i don't know if it is open-access: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9413031/ - Jarred Younger

[@inspectorraycharles]

@@youngerlab thank you

[@illuminationgoddess3]

Thanks