I knew nettles were good for us, but really, how good? To find out, I was inspired to get a lab sample of one of Galiano’s most prominent forageable foods. I then compared the analysis against the nutrient values of kale, broccoli, lettuce, spinach and 2% milk (you’ll see why) and the results blew me away. The data on the foods below came from the USDA Nutrient Database and the Canadian Nutrient File.

Most surprising to me was that nettles have the highest calcium content of all these foods.

Food    Calcium Value per 100g

Nettles, Blanched    481mg

Kale, Raw    150mg

Milk, 2%, with Vitamins A & D 128mg

Spinach, Raw    99mg

Broccoli, Raw    47mg

Lettuce, Green Leaf, Raw    36mg

One would have to drink over three times as much milk to get the same quantity of calcium as one portion of nettles.

Nettles also exceed on the dietary fibre front:

Food    Fibre Value per 100g

Nettles, Blanched    6.9g

Kale, Raw    3.6g

Milk, 2%, with Vitamins A & D 0g

Spinach, Raw    2.2g

Broccoli, Raw    2.6g

Lettuce, Green Leaf, Raw    1.3g

Two other mineral comparisons I thought I’d mention are magnesium and potassium. As you see in the chart below, nettles have relatively high amounts of both minerals. Comparatively, spinach has the highest magnesium and potassium value; and kale also exceeds nettles in potassium value.

Food    Magnesium Value per 100g    Potassium Value per 100g

Nettles, Blanched    57mg    334mg

Kale, Raw    47mg    491mg

Milk, 2%, with Vitamins A & D 14mg    162mg

Spinach, Raw    79mg    558mg

Broccoli, Raw    21mg    316mg

Lettuce, Green Leaf, Raw    13mg    194mg

There were many other interesting comparisons, but the ones above were the main highlights. As we head into an early spring, with nettle growth well underway, I’m going to try to make the most of nettle harvesting, drying and storing. Move over milk and make way for those nettle smoothies!