17th February 2021 Lent
Preparing for Easter is a good occasion to go on a diet or cleanse your system. Beginning today, on Ash Wednesday, Lent is a season of reflection and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. Lent is marked by fasting, both from food and festivities. Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services today.
Orthodox Christians are supposed to eat vegetarian food during this season and among their most common dishes are some based on nettle (Urtica dioica). When it comes to fasting, it doesn’t mean we have to give up good food. Exactly the opposite! We have to be more aware of what we eat and how we prepare it.
Lent is an old English word meaning “lengthen”. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer. Spring is the time for cleaning the house of your body, mind and spirit.
The baby leaves at the top of the plant have been used throughout history in food and drinks to nourish and detoxify the body in the spring. Used as a general tonic, nettle detoxifies the blood because of its diuretic properties. It can relieve fluid retention, bladder infections, stones and gravel. Nettle gently stimulates the lymphatic system, seeming to enhance the excretion of wastes through the kidneys. Leaves promote the elimination of uric acid from joints with a gentle, alkalising diuretic activity. Thus its use is indicated in most types of joint diseases and doubly so in degenerative conditions.
Detoxification can be on any level – a relationship that no longer serves you, negative thinking, addictive habits – anything that doesn’t support your health. A cup of nettle tea can help you clear out toxic influences that cloud your way.
