Nettles Capsules
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Name not given
Posted on: March 3, 1999

I’ve been taking Nettles in a tea form regularly and just found that it is now in a capsule form. How does the effect compare? Is tea form more effective?, or is the capsule form more effective due to the total consumption of the herb itself?

Herbs such as nettles are usually more effective taken as teas because they are metabolized more quickly, because you know the amount of herb you are taking, which is sometimes difficult with encapsulated formulas, and the dried herb taken as a tea is closer to the original, natural herb. Steeping the herbs in boiling water releases its active constituents. There is a therapeutic effect in knowing the plant more intimately in its natural form.

The quality of herbs varies according to the time of picking, method of drying and length of time stored. Improperly handled, the herb will lose its active constituents. When buying bulk herbs to make teas, check their source with the health food stores. Good suppliers will usually state whether their herb is organic, they will likely harvest it at the time of year that the herb constituents are most active, and dry it in the most effective manner.

Nettles are a good, therapeutic addition to cooking, as well. They can be added during the last few minutes of cooking soups or stews.

Herbs best taken as capsules are those such as Ginkgo, for which large amounts are required to produce a therapeutic effect. In these cases, the herb packaging should label the herb as "standardized" to guarantee a minimum quantity of active constituents.

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