Benefits of this medicinal plant

With its white trunk and beautiful leaves, birch is considered a splendid tree above other trees. Due to her bark, various popular beliefs call her the white goddess. It is a wonderful tree, full of healing power. Our ancestors worshiped it as a sacred tree, helping to release the old and negative, and to make room for the new and positive.

Today, birch represents a symbol of love and protection. In traditional healing media, birch is synonymous with purification and is used especially in today’s herbal medicine and natural cosmetics. This tree is extremely rich in essential oils and vitamin C. It is for this reason that the active ingredients of the whole tree are used in alternative medicine and cosmetics.

Birch is considered the tree of spring and light. Not only does it need a lot of light, but despite its size, the graceful tree is able to blossom with impressive ease and thus symbolizes the joy of nature and the unbridled desire for freedom and eroticism. In total, there are about 60 different species of birch.

An interesting fact is that birch resin was used as the first “glue” to join stone wedges and wooden handles during the Stone Age.

Birch in cosmetics and medicine

Hardly any other tree offers such wide-ranging benefits for body, mind, and soul as the White Goddess. In herbal medicine, Birch leaf extracts are used to treat bladder infections, gout, and other metabolic diseases.

The birch sap It is used to treat difficult-to-heal wounds and birch charcoal is extremely helpful against diarrhea, since it absorbs liquids and contaminants within the intestine.

A beneficial natural ointment

There is also a long tradition of using birch as a skin ointment, and has been used to heal wounds since the Middle Ages for its antiseptic effect. In cosmetics, the power of the leaves and the juice are harnessed, acting in many different ways.

The draining and detoxifying qualities of birch leaf essences are a boon to the entire body. These stimulate lymphatic flow and dissolve tissue “garbage.” This makes birch one of the most valuable drug providers in the fight against cellulite.

Since within the holistic approach, the impact caused by the appearance of cellulite is also associated with a mental attachment and solidification, the purifying power of birch also helps on an emotional level by releasing old restrictions and life patterns that are not good for you.

The healing properties of birch

The essential oils of the bark and juice are noted for their antiseptic and wound-healing properties. In facial care creams, they beautify not only the look of skin in need of regeneration, mature skin, but also bacterial acne, eczema and other skin irritations.

Birch is also extremely popular in hair care. Shampoos and conditioners containing ingredients from this tree give hair new shine and strength, but it also works great against dandruff.

Some companies also sell birch tonics against hair loss. However, it is still debatable how much these products really help. Due to its cooling properties, birch extracts are also applied in foot creams.

Uses of birch in the kitchen

From the bark of the birch can be obtained a substitute ingredient for traditional and refined sugar, which is just as sweet and delicious. Birch sugar looks and tastes like regular sugar, but it has 40% fewer calories, fights cavities and can be safely consumed by diabetics.

Since birch sugar does not contain colorants or preservatives, it can function as a healthy alternative to traditional sugar, which can be consumed hot or cold and therefore used in baking and to preserve jams.

The birch leaves are edible unlike most tree leaves.

You can use them for a cheap detox treatment that works well. The young, tender leaves detoxify the body’s vessels without burdening the kidneys or liver and can be added to breakfast in the morning. The older the leaves, the harder the leaf surface, and the more bitter its taste.

How to use birch leaves for benefits

Collect a few birch leaves, let them dry in an airy place and store them in a container in the dark; or you can also go to your health food store and get what you need.

Once you have your dried leaves, you can try the following methods and get the benefits you want:

Birch leaf bath:

Add 250 g of dried and chopped birch leaves to two liters of boiling water and leave it for ten minutes. Then strain the leaves and pour the water into your tub to have a hot bath. Try not to let your bath last more than 15 minutes. By taking this bath you can relieve body aches or simply purify yourself.

Birch Leaf Conditioner Strengthens Hair:

Add two tablespoons of finely chopped birch leaves to a liter of fruit vinegar. Leave the container in a warm place for two weeks. Then filter the mixture. To use it you will have to mix one part of the fruit vinegar with three parts of water. When you shower, apply this mixture to your hair after washing it.

Birch sugar, also called xylitol, looks like regular table sugar but has fewer calories and is said to protect against tooth decay.

Birch Sugar Benefits and Disadvantages

Xylitol – sugar substitute for diabetics.

Birch sugar is a natural sugar alcohol that Finnish researchers have discovered as a substitute for sugar. [^1,2]

Benefits:

The benefits of this sweetener are many:

1. The body recognizes birch sugar and can metabolize it, which makes it different from other artificial sugar substitutes.
2. Birch sugar has 240 calories by 100 grams and therefore approximately 40 percent fewer calories than classic table sugar. The carbohydrate content is about 75 percent lower.
   However, the sweetening power is almost the same, and the taste and flavor of sugar and Xucker hardly differ.
3. The sugar substitute is also suitable for diabetics because it is broken down independently of insulin.

Disadvantages:

Like most substances that are supposed to replace sugar, birch sugar also its disadvantages:

• Since our intestine can only absorb very small amounts of xylitol, birch sugar has a laxative effect. Scientists recommend that you consume no more than 0.5 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, otherwise you may experience flatulence and diarrhea.
• Like other sweeteners, birch sugar is suspected of promoting food cravings.
• Although it is a natural product, many chemical processes are used to make birch sugar that can spoil the beneficial contribution of this food.