Discover New Tasty and Nutritious Weeds
Here are five great nutritious weeds that will grow like “Weeds” no pun intended… and are great tasting and full of nutrients for a healthy body.
Find Tasty and Nutritious Weeds in Your Backyard
by Dr. Paul Haider
With global warming, climate change, and the high cost of food, we need easy to grow and nutritious food sources that need little maintenance. Thus, nutritious weeds are the answer.
Here are five great nutritious weeds that will grow like “Weeds” no pun intended… and are great tasting and full of nutrients for a healthy body.
Nutritious Weed #1 – Purslane – Purslane is a free veggie that grows everywhere. Some people call it a weed, but it’s wonderful, and it’s jam-packed full of lots of Omega 3 oils, vitamins, minerals, and lots of live enzymes. And it’s fantastic in great tasting salads, soups, stews, casseroles, and it makes excellent juice. Purslane has a sweet, sour, and peppery flavor, making it great in all kinds of dishes.
Purslane contains one of the highest amounts of Vitamin A of all plant sources. In 100 grams of Purslane, a person will get 44% of Vitamin A’s daily needs. It’s also cholesterol-free and almost entirely fat-free. It also contains potassium for cardiovascular health, iron, and copper for anemia, phosphorus, and calcium for strong bones.
Purslane also contains zinc and selenium to boost our immune system, plus antioxidant Vitamins A and C, and B vitamins for vitality, immunity, for preventing birth defects, and good mood.
Nutritious Weed #2 – Dandelion – The USDA says that Dandelion Greens are among the most nutritious veggies around… ranking 4th place among all vegetables.
Dandelion Greens contain almost 15% protein making them great for a vegan or just wants to add more protein to their diet.
Dandelion Greens and roots are great for detoxing the liver. And our liver is our first line of defense for our immune system. These great greens are an excellent detoxing agent. They help with gout, liver cirrhosis, and liver disease in general.
One Cup of Dandelion Greens contains 10% of a person’s daily need for calcium. And they also have a good amount of phosphorus, making them great for creating strong bones and teeth.
One serving of Dandelion Greens contains over 110% of our daily needs of Vitamin A, a mighty antioxidant helping prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer. And Vitamin A is important to healthy mucus membranes of the GI tract, mouth, lungs, and other body areas and for vibrant, healthy skin.
Dandelion Greens and roots contain pectin, which helps lower cholesterol, lower trigs, eliminate radioactive and heavy metals from the body, and detox the body in general.
Nutritious Weed #3 – Lamb’s Quarters – This weed tastes like spinach, and just cooking it lightly in a little boiling water makes it great for soups, stews, casseroles, and other dishes.
Lamb’s Quarters are full of calcium for strong bones, copper and iron for anemia, potassium for water regulation and cardiovascular health, fiber for creating a suitable growth environment in our colon for probiotic bacteria… plus manganese for enzyme production.
Lamb’s Quarters also contains Vitamins A and C, a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer. And lots of B Vitamins for good mood and vitality.
Lamb’s Quarters also contains a good protein source – all of the essential proteins in ratios that make it a vegan’s choice for plant-based protein.
This weed is simple to plant, just cover the seeds with a bit of soil, and they will take off in no time at all. You do not need to worry about this weed. It doesn’t need any care at all.
Nutritious Weed #4 – Stinging Nettle – The plant itself is kind of mysterious, and you don’t want to handle it without gloves. It grows all over as a weed in temperate climates such as the US and Europe. As a kid being stung by stinging nettles while fishing one day… it was like having my skin on fire.
Nettle is great for gout. It helps release uric acid from the body, making it important to soothe the pain, swelling, and inflammation associated with gout.
Fresh nettle weed can get rid of inflammation associated with arthritis, tendonitis. It can even help with the pain associated with fibromyalgia. Nettle is also great for those who suffer from joint and body pains associated with immune disorders and lupus.
Those suffering from inflammation of the urethra, bladder and have kidney stones will find relief with Nettle Tea… which also helps break down kidney stones. Nettle is great for soothing away gas, gastritis, nausea, and acid reflux… and it even helps with colitis and IBS. Nettle is great for getting rid of the symptoms of allergies such as dermatitis, hives, and hay fever. Research shows that Nettle is a good antihistamine for allergies.
Suppose you suffer from swollen, painful mucus membrane. In that case,n Nettle will do the trick – it works wonders for oral sores, hemorrhoids, sore throats, and inflammation of the intestines. Nettle is fantastic for rashes, eczema, acne, psoriasis, bites, burns, and other irritations when used topically. Nettle flushes out toxic agents from your blood, liver, lymph, and kidneys, making it important to detox your whole body and revitalize your energy. Nettle works similar to a dandelion in action for detoxing the body.
Nettle helps to open your lungs and thus works well for bronchitis, asthma, coughs, colds, flues, congestion, and COPD. Studies at the University of Maryland show that Nettle helps with the inflammation and all the symptoms associated with enlarged prostate… but does not reduce the prostate’s size, so check with your doctor. In a double-blind study of over 600 people with prostate problems… over 80% had relief from their symptoms.
Evidence shows that Nettle may lower blood sugar for diabetics. New studies show that Nettle can also help lower elevated blood pressures. Nettle is an excellent way to eliminate retained water – a powerful diuretic compound, thus making it important for detoxing the body. The roots of Nettle contain quercetin and other flavonoids that are potent antioxidants that slow the aging process, prevent DNA damage, and prevent cardiovascular disease, strokes, and cancer. Nettle was studied compared to NSAID nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs… and found that Nettle did just as well as all the prescription drugs without the side effects.
Used as a styptic agent, Nettle used externally works well for skin bleeding, nose bleeds, bleeding hemorrhoids and can be taken orally for internal bleeding.
Nettle also works well for the symptoms of PMS, menopause, and for increasing milk production.
Nettle contains lots of calcium for strong bones, potassium for cardiovascular health, and water regulation. Also magnesium for blood pressure, iron for anemia, and Vitamins A and C are powerful antioxidants.
Nettle can be made into cloth-like linen, all-natural.
Nettle can be soaked and then cooked… it has lots of great nutrients. Plus, Nettle is used to make Gouda Cheese and be used in soups, stews, polenta, and alcoholic drinks. And Nettle tastes a lot like expansive mustard greens, which are noticeably light, pungent, and peppery, great for all kinds of dishes.
Nutritious Weed #5 – Chickweed – Chickweed is another common weed that grows around the great tasting house, tastes great in salads, soups, stews, casseroles, and has lots of nutrients. Chickweed tastes almost like spinach but has a little heartier texture. Which makes it great for all kinds of cooked dishes because it will hold up to being chopped and cooked without falling apart.
Instead of trying to pull this weed out of your garden and get rid of it, eat it, cook it, and just enjoy it and work following nature.
Chickweed makes an excellent salad for weight loss because it’s very low in calories. Chickweed contains only 20 calories per 100 grams. Thus, it’s perfect for those summer weight loss salads… plus. It’s totally fat and cholesterol-free.
Chickweed is high in calcium and phosphorus, making it great for strong bones, and it has lots of iron for anemia. And it holds lots of potassium (Over 50 percent of our daily needs of potassium) for water regulation and cardiovascular health. Plus, selenium and zinc for boosting up our immune system and keeping away colds and flues. And it also has lots of manganese and magnesium for creating enzymatic pathways in the body. Plus some protein and Vitamins, A (300 percent of our daily needs of Vitamin A) and C (600 percent of our daily requirements of Vitamin C), which are high in antioxidants. And B Vitamins for preventing birth defects, creating a good mood, and boosting our vitality.
This information is meant to get you started… so you can do more research on your own… dig a little deeper and find what works for you. This article is for educational purposes only. I strongly recommend that you seek advice from your own GP, private doctor, or medical specialist for any ailment, illness, or medical condition. This article is not meant to be a scientific analysis in any way, shape, or form.
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About the Author
Dr. Paul Haider is a Master Herbalist and Spiritual Teacher for over 25 years, helps people recover and feel healthy. You can find Dr. Haider on FB under Dr. Paul Haider, Healing Herbs, and at www.paulhaider.com – feel free to connect with him any time.
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