Is Nettle Tea Good for High Blood Pressure?

No, nettle tea is not a proven treatment for high blood pressure in people; nettle extracts affect blood vessels and heart rate in animal experiments, but a benefit from the tea has not been established.

Is nettle tea a reliable choice for high blood pressure?

nettle tea may be enjoyed as a beverage, but it should not be relied on to lower high blood pressure. The available research does not establish how much, if at all, it changes blood pressure in people.

If you have high readings, use an agreed monitoring and treatment plan with your clinician. For broader information, see the best drinks for high blood pressure.

How might nettle affect blood pressure?

Researchers have investigated whether compounds in nettle can affect the heart and blood vessels. Changes in heart rate or the width of blood vessels can influence blood pressure, but the effects seen in laboratory experiments do not tell us what happens when a person drinks nettle tea.

For example, an isolated rat heart and blood vessel study found that nettle extract slowed the heart while constricting the aorta. Those findings are not a demonstration that nettle tea relaxes blood vessels or lowers blood pressure in people.

A 2022 review of nettle research also discussed possible effects on potassium and calcium channels. These are proposed mechanisms, not proof that drinking the tea treats high blood pressure.

What does the evidence show?

In a 2018 study of rats with high blood pressure, nettle leaf extract reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The researchers studied an extract over several weeks, not a normally prepared cup of nettle tea.

That distinction matters: an extract and a tea can contain different amounts of plant compounds, and a response in rats may not occur in people. The study cannot establish an effective human serving, predict how long an effect might last, or show whether nettle tea reduces the health risks associated with high blood pressure.

The studies available here do not include a human blood pressure trial of nettle tea. Until better human research is available, any blood pressure benefit from the tea remains unproven.

How should you use nettle tea if you have high blood pressure?

If your clinician or pharmacist has no concerns about your circumstances, you can use nettle tea as a beverage rather than as a blood pressure remedy. Choose a commercially prepared nettle leaf tea intended for drinking and follow the package preparation instructions. There is no established therapeutic dose of nettle tea for high blood pressure.

Do not use nettle tea in place of prescribed medication or change your medication because you start drinking it. Check with your clinician before using nettle extracts or supplements, which are not interchangeable with tea and may have different effects.

Continue checking your blood pressure as recommended. For a home reading, sit quietly for at least 5 minutes, with your feet on the floor and your arm supported at heart level; take two readings 1 minute apart and record the results. Share repeated high readings with your clinician rather than judging treatment from how you feel: high blood pressure often has no symptoms.

Who should be careful, and when should you seek care?

Ask a clinician or pharmacist before drinking nettle tea if you take blood pressure medicines, diuretics, diabetes medicines or blood thinners such as warfarin. They can assess possible interactions and whether you need closer monitoring; the strength and likelihood of interactions with a particular tea are uncertain.

Seek advice first if you have kidney disease, low blood pressure or a fluid restriction. People who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and parents considering nettle tea for a child, should also check with a clinician because safety information is limited. If you feel dizzy or faint after drinking it, stop drinking it and contact a clinician.

A reading above 180 mm Hg systolic or above 120 mm Hg diastolic is severely high. If you also have chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness, numbness, a change in vision or trouble speaking, call emergency services immediately; do not wait for another reading. Without those symptoms, wait at least 1 minute and measure again; if either number remains above its threshold, contact a clinician immediately.

If you are pregnant or recently postpartum, contact your maternity team promptly about a high reading or symptoms such as a severe headache, vision changes or upper abdominal pain.