Why You Should Add Wild Lettuce to Your Diet

Medicinal plants have been used over the years to treat illnesses and symptoms. One of these numerous plants is wild lettuce. With the name, it seems more like the regular lettuce we include in our vegetable salad, but this is the wild version of it, and maybe the reason it is called ‘wild’ is that its taste is a total contrast to the regular lettuce we know. The leaves of this plant are tender, soft, and inviting; however, its taste is awfully repelling. Most times, we wonder why all these herbs that carry powerful health benefits taste bitter and discouraging. Concerning this, I have come to the conclusion that nothing good comes easily. Enjoying these medicinal plants’ health benefits means you need to sacrifice your love for sweet things to enjoy the after benefits.

The wild lettuce has bright green leaves, and its stem is always greenish as well but spotted with purple in some cases. When the stem of wild lettuce is scratched, it secretes a white milky liquid, which happens to be extremely bitter. Every part of wild lettuce has been discovered by many herbalists to be useful, ranging from its leaves to its stem, roots, sap, and seeds. These parts of the plant contain a series of healing properties that supply the human body with benefits that enable humans to live strong, healthy, and long.

It is known to cure varieties of health issues like anxiety, arthritis, cancer, insomnia, menstrual cramps, pains, restlessness, etc. It contains the following properties;

• Coumarins
• Lactucin
• Flavonoids
• Quercetin

Health Benefits

• Pain

It is popularly known as a natural pain killer. It contains natural anesthetic compounds that make it effective in the elimination of pains.

• Malaria

Its lactucin contents make it rich as a natural antimalarial drug. Just like other herbs, adding wild lettuce to your collection of herbs would quicken the malaria-elimination process. The study has also found that taking appropriate doses of wild lettuce sap can help prevent malaria, get rid of fever, chills, pains, and headaches that come with malaria.

• Alzheimer’s disease

It has been suggested to be capable of improving the brain function of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

• Antibacterial and antifungal

The sap from wild lettuce can serve as natural sanitizers against bacteria. This suggests that if you need to get rid of germs in your home, applying the latex from wild lettuce on surfaces in your home would work wonders in making your home germ-free.

• Menstrual pain

The pain that comes with menstruation in some women is severe, and this is the primary factor that pushes women into getting drugs that can relieve this monthly pain and stress. Wild lettuce is a common pain killer that can reduce the impact of menstrual cramps. All you need to do is squeeze out the sap, drink it in moderate amounts, and wait for a few minutes for its effects to kick in.  Drinking it prior to the arrival of your menstruation can also help reduce the severity of the cramps (that is, if there would be any cramps at all.)

• Insomnia

Wild lettuce is popularly known for its effectiveness in sedation and sleep enhancement. If you need a sleep inducer that has 0% industry processing and is 100% natural, try wild lettuce juice. Add little drops of it into your tea or water, or you can take it directly as well; in a short time, you would find yourself dozing off if you had issues with sleeping. Both in man and animals, it is an excellent sedative and can make you sleep for hours and make you wake refreshed and healthy.

• Cough

Like bitter cola mixed with coconut oil cures cough, the juice extract from wild lettuce cures cough and other cough-related pains like chest pains. It also helps reduce the impact of catarrh. Research is still ongoing about whether or not wild lettuce can mitigate the condition of whooping cough and tuberculosis patients.

• Urinary Tract Problems

Being a natural diuretic, wild lettuce is capable of curing urinary tract infections.

• Irregular Blood Flow

As a result of high cholesterol and fat accumulation in the arteries’ walls, the pressure at which the heart pumps blood increases due to stiffened or thick arteries, which automatically leads to high blood pressure. Research shows that the oils extracted from wild lettuce can dissolve the fats that are clustered in the arteries, making it flexible while helping it function properly.

• Asthma

Wild lettuce cures some forms of respiratory issues, which include asthma. It enhances your breathing process and strengthens weak lungs to perform their functions properly. It contains antitussive properties that ease the respiratory organs of any stress placed on it by environmental factors, ranging from dust to smoke.

• Stress and Anxiety

Wild lettuce eases stress, treats anxiety, and helps strengthen weakened nervous systems.

• Skin

Wild lettuce latex, when applied on the skin, helps to treat dry and chapped skin. It is known to also treat other skin-related infections.

• Headache

Wild lettuce treats headaches and improves the condition of those with chronic migraine. Drink one cup of wild lettuce tea and watch that headache disappear into thin air.

• Nymphomania

Nymphomania is a condition in which there is an uncontrollable or extreme urge for sex in women. Wild lettuce helps to regulate sex drives in people. It holds back sex drives in people and creates moderation in their hunger for sex. This is very important, especially in our world today, when rape has become the order of the day. Wild lettuce can be used to reduce sex drive in people to the barest minimum.

• It increases lactation in nursing mothers.
• Wild lettuce treats warts. All you need to do is, apply wild lettuce juice over warts.
• It assists in the easy movement of your bowels and ensures a hitch-free digestion process.

Side Effects

Some side effects of wild lettuce have been identified to come with the excessive and inappropriate intake and usage of the plant’s juice, tea, and sap (In some people, it is required in very little amounts). Other side effects also come as a result of the prolonged usage and intake of wild lettuce. The following are the side effects of wild lettuce;

• Accelerated heartbeat rate
• Difficulty in breathing
• Dizziness, severe drowsiness, and restlessness
• Weakness
• It can aggravate the condition of people suffering from glaucoma
• It alters the function of the central nervous system, especially when you have just undergone surgery. It is advisable not to use it one month before and after your surgery
• Sensitivity to light
• Nausea and irritation
• Vomiting
• Urine retention
• Abdominal cramps
• Severe anxiety
• Pupil dilation
• Skin allergies and irritation
• Sometimes death.

Precautions

• Do not use it in large amounts
• Avoid it during pregnancy
• Stay away from it one month before and after surgery
• Do not use it if you are suffering from glaucoma and enlarged prostate

Dosage

• To ensure you do not over-use the herb or take it excessively, the following dosage plan has been crafted out by professionals;
• Drink 3-4 milligrams of the sap twice per day
• Boil the leaves to get out the tea, then drink 2 cups per day. It is considered safe with no side effects
• It should be used for about 7-8 days, then take a week break and come back to it afterward if need be

Facts About Wild Lettuce

• The plant is also known as ‘compass plant,’ it’s leaves change their direction to the direction of the sun
• Its sap is milky and flows freely through any wound caused on the stem of the herb
• Tea can be made of its dried leaves and stem

Wild lettuce is a common herb that grows almost everywhere. Nonetheless, it is so unfortunate that most people ignore it because they consider it as mere weeds while being oblivious to its healing strength. Even though it has an awful taste, the health benefits attached to this herb are numerous. It has been found to heal many illnesses, such as headaches, migraines, pains, menstrual cramps, asthma, stress and anxiety, and skin infections. To fully enjoy this herb’s benefits without any side effects, there is a need to control the intake and usage of the tea and juice from the plant. It should not be taken in excess amounts and should also not be used for so long. Sticking to the dosage highlighted above would help ensure you enjoy the benefits to the fullest without backlashes.