Nettle won't sting? - Hold your breath (Sep/07/2010 )
hmmm.... have you been this up close and personal with a stinging nettle, dr H? 
...The cocktail really looks painful (like an S-M brew)...some species even have oxalic acid...so how do the caterpillars avoid being stung? by holding their breath....SCNR 
casandra on Fri Sep 10 18:19:29 2010 said:
hmmm.... have you been this up close and personal with a stinging nettle, dr H?
...The cocktail really looks painful (like an S-M brew)...some species even have oxalic acid...so how do the caterpillars avoid being stung? by holding their breath....SCNR Sure...
they crawl along the leaf veins and there are no hairs and they feed around the hairs. But with their size they're under the sharp tops of the hairs mostly I guess. casandra on Fri Sep 10 18:19:29 2010 said:
hmmm.... have you been this up close and personal with a stinging nettle, dr H?
...The cocktail really looks painful (like an S-M brew)...some species even have oxalic acid...so how do the caterpillars avoid being stung? by holding their breath....SCNR You now whats even more amazing: turtles just like nettles... they eat it like its nothing..
And still didnt find any nettles to test it.. but to be honest, I do not really believe in this theory.
pito on Sun Sep 12 16:17:50 2010 said:
You now whats even more amazing: turtles just like nettles... they eat it like its nothing..
And still didnt find any nettles to test it.. but to be honest, I do not really believe in this theory.
And I'd still avoid it
...anyway you can eat nettles as salad without problems, you cook the plants before using them, but some recipes are even without boiling the leaves...I guess the washing, mixing also removes a lot of the hairs...Try out
so for how long do you have to hold your breath exactly? maybe if you do it until you pass out you won't feel the pain anymore
almost everytime i go running i get nettle stings on my legs, i just try to avoid thinking about it when it happens, then the pain becomes mild
I"ve never heard of holding your breath. Grasp it firmly and it doesn't sting you, nettles are good for arthritis- my grandfather used them apparently.
Wear long trousers when running in the UK to stop nettles stinging and there should be dock leaves growing nearby nettles rub thoses on the stings to stop the burning.
Thats my old wives tales for the day
the needles are only on the tops of the leaves on nettles, if you touch the undersides of the leaves you don't get stung!
I have seen videos of nettle-eating competitions at various places here in the UK, people compete to eat the most number of nettle-leaves within a time limit, they do it by rolling the leaves so the tops are on the inside, so then their moths don't get stung as they swallow!
still think they are crazy though...
Here I have a lot of nettles, but to be honest I am not really looking forward to testing it...
But I can send you a sample!!!
Wouldn't witch hazel relieve the sting of a nettle? I am also one to tough out pain on occasion, but why suffer needlessly?
Havent had the time to check it and now the winter is coming up..
But I did eat nettle soup a few days ago