Our freshly gathered Nettle are promptly freeze-dried to preserve the full spectrum of chemical activity within the herb. The active ingredient in Nettle is unknown, and it may be that it is a combination of ingredients rather than one single compound which may be responsible for its activity.

Due to our high quality control standards we use only organically cultivated plants from an approved site rather than wild-crafted plants as studies show that Nettle absorbs undesirable heavy metals as well as the beneficial minerals from the soil. We carefully gather the tender young shoots in the early spring, and process them immediately to assure high quality.

Why do we use Freeze-Dried Nettle?

• Freeze-dried Nettle is the form that was used in a well-respected study conducted by the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
• The dosage used for the research conducted by NCNM is exactly the same as the recommended dosage of OWH Nettles or Aller-Aid.
• Our product is dried using the same drying technique that was used in the clinical trial above. The histamine, serotonin and the acetylcholine that is concentrated in the Nettle stinging hairs is lost in air-dried Nettle, but not in freeze-dried Nettle.

Why do we use the whole herb instead of a standardized extract?

• The active ingredient in Nettle is unknown, and it may be that it is a combination of ingredients rather than one single compound which may be responsible for its activity.
• This is an emerging trend we are seeing among the recent research in many different herbs. There are over 100 constituents that have been isolated from the Nettle plant.

Why do we use organic Nettle instead of wild-crafted?

• After monitoring and observing the heavy metal levels we decided that the organically cultivated material was of much higher quality. Nettles are well known for absorbing all minerals from its soil. Unfortunately it also absorbs metals, such as lead, from the soil. In fact, one published study shows the use of Nettles as a biomarker to monitor lead in soil that is known to be contaminated.
• Another study illustrates the effect that the growth environment has upon lead levels. They found that Nettle harvested from the mountains was 5x lower in lead than the Nettle harvested from a railway station, and was 7x lower than the plants grown near the side of a highway.
• Using this knowledge we made the decision to hand-harvest our Nettles from a local organic farm. This way we can be assured that the quality meets our high standards.

How does the liquid compare to the Freeze-Dried capsule?

• The serotonin is known to be destroyed in the liquid extract due to enzyme activity. The liquid extract has many uses but may not be as useful for seasonal allergies.