We will talk today about such a gift of nature as birch sap benefits and harm that it bears to us, how to collect and save it for a long time, what can be cooked and where to apply. Who can and who does not want to get involved in this divine drink.
Birch sap is the oldest drink that our ancestors have known since Scythian times. In the spring, when the snow began to melt, they began collecting birch sap. Therefore, the ancient Slavs April wore the name "Berezol".
A clear liquid containing chemicals deposited and accumulated in the root system during the winter is called birch sap. The substances contained in it, split into the formation of soluble products. They mix with juice and rise from the root system to the branches. In case of violation of the integrity of the trunk or branches, it flows out. In the people it is also called pauca or birch.
The composition of birch sap
The structure of birch sap is diverse. Due to the substances contained in the liquid, are determined beneficial features. The juice is rich in vitamins, macro and microelements: potassium, magnesium, manganese, calcium, copper and iron. In addition, Berezovitsa contains essential oils, enzymes, plant hormones, and tannins.
There are saponins (plant glycosides) in it, betulol - triterpene alcohol, which paints the bark of the tree white and protects against the introduction of various fungi. Contains phytoncides with antimicrobial properties.
A lot in the juice of sugar - 1 gr. on 100 gr. juice, more than 10 different organic acids. Due to the high sugar content, the sap begins to ferment quickly and becomes cloudy.
Birch sap benefit and harm, beneficial properties, contraindications, scope of application
Birch juice benefit and harm, disputes about it do not subside until now. Nature lovers believe that the healthiness of the drink is not worth the harm that is done to the tree during the harvesting of birch. Let's look for the answer to these questions by ourselves. 
Useful properties of birch sap
The usefulness of birch for the body is great. More benefits in fresh birch sap. After 2 hours, its quality indicators change. Fresh birch is a good tonic and tonic. It will help to avoid fatigue, drowsiness, lethargy.
Berezovitsa has the strongest antiseptic properties. This is used to treat angina, apply gargling with juice.
Thanks to betulin contained in birch sap, insulin sensitivity is increased. Therefore, birch sap is useful for people with diabetes.
Birch sap in traditional medicine
Due to its beneficial properties, the juice is widely used in medicine. How to drink birch juice interests many. For therapeutic purposes, the juice must be fresh 200 ml. before meals, a course of 1 month. It is used by:
- with headaches
- with diseases of the respiratory system, tuberculosis
- to improve metabolism and the digestive tract
- people with gallstones and kidneys
- with joint diseases, arthritis, gout, rheumatism, edema
- cough and sore throat
- with beriberi
- as anthelmintic
With a dry cough, mix birch and carrot juice in a ratio of 1k 1, drink 100 ml and divide the intake by 5 times a day. To strengthen the muscles of the heart in this mixture, you can add honey. The course of taking up to 3 months.
It will be useful to spend 3 week therapy with birch. Three times daily intake of juice 200 ml. beneficial effect on metabolism. Cleanse the body of accumulated for long winter slags and toxins.
Juice has a powerful diuretic effect. Destroys urinary tract stones. Removes toxins from the body in case of poisoning. It will be useful for people with cancer.
Apply birch sap and externally. It is used for furunculosis, skin diseases, eczema, acne. It has a regenerating effect. It is used to prevent caries in children. Proven its benefits for men with impotence.
Contraindications
People who have urolithiasis and a stomach ulcer in their medical history should consult a doctor before using birch. As well as patients with allergies to pollen of birch earrings.
Birch sap in the food industry
At all times, birch sap was used for food and cooking. On its basis, low alcohol drinks are prepared - kvass, beer. Prepare a delicious syrup, sweet porridge, berry and fruit jelly, cooked compotes. Add when brewing teas.
Birch sap in cosmetology
Birch sap is considered an excellent cosmetic product suitable for all skin types. It is useful for dry skin of the face and head. To get rid of dandruff and improve hair growth, it is useful to rinse the hair with birch sap. It will help the juice in the fight against high fat hair and hair loss.
Juice well nourishes, moisturizes and tones the skin of the face at any age, if you use it in the morning and evening for wiping. In addition, it will get rid of acne, make the skin smooth and radiant.
It is possible to store apricot for this purpose no more than 2 days. Therefore, you can independently make lotion by mixing a glass of birch sap and 40 ml of alcohol. The resulting solution to wipe clean face twice a day.
You can prepare cosmetic ice for the future by freezing birch sap.
The effect of birch sap on women and children
I would like to say separately about the effect of birch sap on the female and child's body. Juice in any quantities is harmless to children.
If a pregnant woman has toxemia, birch sap will help get rid of it. Pregnant women increase the load on the urinary system. Swelling appears on the limbs and face. Drinking juice helps in solving this problem.
It will help with indigestion and get rid of overweightrecruited during pregnancy, if you take it in a glass of 3 p. per day.
Despite the fact that Berezovitsa stimulates lactation, nursing moms need to limit juice intake. Because the body of an infant can not cope with the large amount of vitamins and sugar that make up the grains.
Good for women with menopause. Relieves irritability and other menopausal symptoms.
Sour birch sap
If nobody doubts the usefulness of natural fresh birch, then sour juice raises questions. The benefits of sour juice are that it helps in reducing weight. On its basis, wine, cocktails, syrups are prepared.
Sour birch sap is allowed to make moonshine or wine, which since ancient times was prepared in Russia. It roamed in barrels, naturally, without sugar.
Rules for collecting birch sap, time and methods of preparation, some secrets
Everyone has their own favorite recipe for harvesting birch pike. But there are generally accepted rules for the extraction of birch trees, which must be observed in order not to harm nature. 
When to collect birch sap
In the regions of our country, the dates are different. Juice collection begins after the snow melts, but before the leaves begin to open. To understand whether the juice is ready to be harvested, it is necessary to make several holes in the trunk of the tree. If drops of juice appear, it means that it is time to collect the juice.
Birch should be chosen away from the highways. It is good if there is a coniferous forest next door. Young birch trees for the collection of juice will not work, because then they can die. Therefore, the diameter of the trunk should be at least 25 cm. From one tree it is not necessary to pump more than 2 liters of grass, and make more than one hole.
How to collect birch sap
After selecting a tree, make a 10mm wide hole with a drill. Drill at an angle down to a depth of 3-4 cm. Deeper is not necessary, it does not affect the amount of juice, and harm to the birch is less. Place an aluminum or plastic groove in the hole. Below to put the container to the juice flowed into it. Tara can be tied to the trunk, but not nailed, so as not to damage the birch trunk. Drill the hole optimally at 40-50 cm from the ground.
When the juice harvesting is completed, it is necessary to close the hole with a garden pitch or stopper. Then the channel will quickly tighten and harm to the birch will not.
A few secrets of collecting birch sap
Birch sap is a very tasty and healthy liquid, but not everywhere it is equally sweet and in large quantities. Therefore, the following factors should be considered:
- the ideal time to collect juice is morning hours, up to 18 hours in the evening
- the thicker, more magnificent and higher the crown of a birch is, the more the rip will flow
- if the birch stands on a hill, and others in a lowland, it will have a sweeter pass
- as the air and soil warms up, you should move deep into the forest, where the birches wake up later and the sap flow period will last
- the hole is made from the north side, there will be more juice
At the beginning of the collection of juice, it is more transparent and less sweet. At the end of the collection, the juice becomes sweeter and more cloudy. Juice collection period is short, only a few weeks (3-4 weeks).
Watch the video of the birch sap collection:
Berezovitsu save better in glass containers in the refrigerator. But in this case, its shelf life is limited, and is only 2 days. For long-term storage, juice is better to conserve or freeze. 
Canned birch sap
In an enameled container, warm the apiary to 80 degrees, immediately packaged in a glass container, roll up the lids. Sterilize over low heat for about 15 minutes. Store in the cellar up to 5 months. With this method of storage, some useful properties are lost and taste is changed.
Frozen birch sap
The freezing process is simple. Juice is filtered, poured into plastic containers and put in freezer. Natural frozen juice is ready. When defrosting all the useful properties of birch remains. The loss of vitamins is negligible. Repeated freezing is not allowed.
Birch sap is a pleasant drink in itself, but it can be used together with other juices. Its benefits will only increase if you drink it with juice. chokeberry, blueberries, carrots. Insist it with a variety of herbs - thyme, chamomile, and hunter. 
Old beer recipe
Cooked this drink from birch sap with a small amount of honey - 50 ml. honey on 1 l. paski, adding a little cloves and lemon peel. Boil, pour 40-50 ml. beer and leave to wander for 2 weeks. It turns out a light drink that positively affects the appetite.
Birch kvass drink
Heat birch to 30-40 0, add 20 grams of raw yeast per liter of liquid, several raisins and lemon peels. Drain in a glass container, seal tightly and leave for 7-10 days, then filter and the drink is ready.
Birch kvass for the winter
The barrel is filled with birch sap, there are added burnt bread crusts in the bag. After a few days, the fermentation process will begin - fermentation. So it's time to add a bucket of oak bark to preserve the drink. You can flavor the leaves and cherry berries. After 15 days, strain the kvass and can be stored until spring.
Moonshine from birch sap
Not only birch kvass and beer can be made from birch, but also a stronger drink - moonshine. The drink is soft but strong. For its preparation will require:
- 10 liters of birch sour or fresh
- two hundred gram pack of raw yeast
- 25 ml. kefir
- sugar 3 kilograms
All together in a 10-liter glass bottle, close the lid tightly, put in heat for 2 weeks. When the drink is ripe, it will become transparent, the yeast will settle. Run it through the moonshine. The output should be 40 degrees of moonshine taste good.
These are just a few of the recipes for where you can apply birch sap.
In any case, do not forget that birch sap is just a tasty drink, rich in nutrients, and not medicine.
Today we learned how to collect the benefits of birch sap and the harm of which is analyzed in this article, how and how much to take it, when to collect and how to save it.
Drink juice with pleasure and health benefits!
No tree is used by traditional healers and healers as actively as birch. In the recipes of folk doctors, everything is claimed: flowers, bark, branches. Incredible healing effect has a unique birch sap, benefit and harm, the recipes of which should be known to all who care about their health and beauty. This translucent liquid in the tree trunk and actively released in spring and summer, has a pleasant sweetish taste and is of great benefit to every organism that exists on the planet.
Birch sap: the benefits and harm
Natural drink has a unique biochemical and vitamin composition. Due to this, it has a tangible positive and therapeutic effect on the human body. After a glass of such an elixir of nature, mood improves, fatigue disappears, and energy is added.
Birch sap contains:
- organic acids;
- mineral salts of nickel, sodium, as well as magnesium, titanium, iron, etc;
- vitamins of group B and C;
- ether compounds;
- saponins;
- phytoncides;
- fructose and glucose;
- betulol;
- ef. oils;
- tannins.
With such a rich natural composition, birch sap has a low calorie content and saturates the body with regular use of everything necessary to prevent the weakening of the body’s protective functions.
In the old days, the bark of the tree and the sap were actively used to treat many diseases. Due to the regular use of birch sap:
- hemoglobin increases;
- blood and cells are cleaned from toxins, toxic compounds and harmful decomposition products;
- skin wounds, scars and purulent ulcers heal;
- metabolism is activated, and the kidneys are cleaned;
- the general tone and mood improves;
- intestinal microflora is normalized and digestion is activated.
Birch sap is introduced into the menu of patients with diabetes mellitus and oncology, suffering from tuberculosis, pneumonia, arrhythmia or gout. In cosmetology, it is used for washing, to tone up the skin, to eliminate excess fat and pigmentation. Natural healing nectar strengthens the hair follicles, improves the growth of hair and eliminates abundant dandruff. In men, birch sap improves potency, and women helps to overcome the negative manifestations of menopause and insomnia.
Birch sap is extracted in the spring, when fluid begins to circulate in the trunk. On the tree, the buds should already swell. The people know that the most healing properties possesses sap from the bark of a lonely growing birch that grows in the sun. Of course, it is better to collect the drink not near roads and in industrial areas, where there is a high atmospheric pollution factor. Do not take the sap from young trees that grow in the shade. It is better that the place of harvesting the juice was planned for cutting.
The trunk thickness of the tree should be more than 20 cm. A hole is made 2-3 cm deep with an awl or a screwdriver, it is better to drill at an angle to the roots. The first droplets of liquid should appear immediately. Insert the tube into the hole. Through it, the juice enters the container, which is fixed on the tree with wire or rope.
In order not to harm the tree, no more than 3 liters of juice are strained from one time. Profusely it stands out in the afternoon. After the procedure, it is better to insert a branch into a hole in a birch tree or cover it with wax, clay, to score with moss. Next year, the juice will again be formed in the same amount, if you take care of the tree.
Natural elixir is stored no longer than 2 days in the refrigerator. Then it is only processed or poured, if not drunk, because all its useful properties are lost. For long-term storage, tree sap is rolled into jars or digested with sugar, but some of the nutrients are destroyed, of course.
Until a couple of months, birch kvass is stored in the refrigerator. To prepare it, the juice is heated, add 20 grams of yeast per liter of liquid, lemon zest and a handful of washed raisins. Kvass must infuse. To preserve healing substances as much as possible, birch sap is completely frozen or stored in a cold cellar.
Birch sap: the benefits and harm of diabetes
Natural birch sap is not contraindicated in diabetes. It contains glucose and sucrose and is used with caution in case of type 1 disease. It is better not to buy juice in bags or cans. Shopping drink sometimes poorly resembles real birch sap. It has a lot of preservatives, refined sugars and flavors.
Delicious birch sap, collected directly from the tree in the spring, even needs to be included in the diet of those who are faced with hyperglycemia. Its vitamin complex and organic acids nourish weakened cells and help prevent or reduce the manifestations of pathologies associated with diabetes. Phytoncides and tannins of wood possess high antimicrobial activity. You should not get too carried away with juice. A week is enough 3-5 glasses and only after consultation with the endocrinologist.
Birch sap is more beneficial to drink clean, as well as with fresh carrot, cherry, beet or apple. There are many effective recipes using birch sap:
- With increased pressure, pure juice is drunk in small portions daily in a couple of receptions.
- With anemia, birch drink is diluted with carrot and apple juice and drink 3-4 times a day for half a glass.
- With a shortage of vitamins and to strengthen the immune system, birch sap is mixed with homemade milk and a small spoon of potato starch.
- After long-term illness, lemon juice from the minced fruit with the peel is added to the birch juice. Add a spoonful of linden honey. Store useful birch-honey mixture with lemon in the refrigerator.
- To normalize digestion and weight loss, tree sap is mixed with herbs, for example, St. John's wort, coltsfoot, yarrow. Wash down the drink with warm milk and take on an empty stomach.
- To improve the condition of the hair, fresh birch juice is mixed with burdock broth and a drop of vodka. The mixture is rubbed into the hair follicles.
Also birch drink is mixed with propolis, oat grains, wheat germ, prepare syrups and tinctures. The course of recovery prescribed by a doctor. From the juice fermented in wooden barrels, low-alcohol drinks were made from ancient times. Firming and refreshing drink is obtained if you add to the birch sap add lingonberry, rowan, blackcurrant, extract of chamomile, rosehip, linden flowers, lemon balm.
Harm birch sap brings, if a person is allergic to tree pollen, as well as the individual intolerance of its essential oils and other components.
Use the power of nature for your health and beauty.
The benefits and harms of birch sap were well known to our ancestors. More precisely, they knew more about its useful, healing properties. They also knew when and how to collect this medicine, how to prepare it correctly in order to preserve healing substances as much as possible. Contraindications for this forest drink are few, but still they are, and are established by traditional medicine after a series of observations of patients suffering from urolithiasis and a stomach ulcer.
Birch sap for representatives of the current generation is a kind of olden time, profit, a natural product from the times of the USSR, gone into the past along with the realities of life. There is some truth in this, because the value of this drink, the methods of its collection and preparation are gradually forgotten. Yes, and the volume of its industrial procurement has decreased significantly. However, there are custodians of traditions, there are many recipes left in folk herbalists and a lot of evidence that this drink is not just a symbol of Russia. It is also a valuable medicine that can be prepared at home.
Features of medicinal raw materials
Birch sap is a pleasant, sweetish, with a specific delicate aroma. What diagnoses is it recommended for? Does he have any contraindications? When to start collecting, in what ways to harvest the juice yourself?
Preparation of birch sap
Industrial gathering and canning of birch sap are carried out mostly in Belarus, less - in Russia and Ukraine. This drink was especially popular during the USSR. The older generation remembers how, in an era of shortage, three-liter jars filled with this drink filled the empty counters. It can also be seen on modern shelves (in three-liter, one and a half liter cans and tetrapacks), but its production has decreased markedly.
- When to collect? Collect in early springwhen juices begin to rise from the root up the tree trunk. At thaw, sap flow may begin earlier - in February. Juice is collected until the buds on the birch have blossomed, which also depends on weather and climatic conditions. It is also better to collect the liquid in the daytime, because at night the trees "sleep" and the movement of the juice stops.
- How to collect birch sap? There are several rules to follow: do not use young trees; after collecting, you should cover the hole or slot with wax, household soap or special garden pitch, which prevents various lesions from rotting wood. In extreme cases, the hole is tightly closed with moss, or a branch is stuck into it, it is saturated with liquid, swells and does not allow it to flow out. It is possible to extract this forest food resource (that is how it is called in the legislation). different ways. The first is to make an incision (nick) on the bark, substitute the groove and fix it, hang the container where the juice will flow. The second is to drill a hole in the barrel to a depth of 5 cm, insert a plastic tip into it from the dropper system, and lower its other end into the container. The third one is cutting off young branches, wrapping them with a plastic bag where the liquid flows. Sometimes juice is collected from stumps after sanitary cutting of a forest area.
- Some tricks of the collection. You need to start collecting in the southern parts of the grove, and as the snow melts and warming, move deeper into the forest. They try to make cuts on the northern side of the trunk - here there is more juice. A slot or hole is made about 50 cm above the ground. Do not make a deep hole. Firstly, it is dangerous for the life of the tree. Secondly, the juice moves between the bark and wood, it is enough just to go through the layer of bark.
- How to store birch sap at home? Birch raw is better to collect and store in a glass container. If it is collected in plastic bottles, then after filling it should be immediately poured into glassware. Raw can stand in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days. It is desirable to drink it by this time, then it becomes cloudy, bubbles appear in it, and fermentation processes begin. Further, it is already possible to make kvass or wine from it. For long-term storage, fresh juice is preserved and frozen in small portions.
One large tree can give up to 7 liters of valuable liquid per day, small - up to 3 liters. On a tree with a diameter of up to 20 cm only one hole is allowed, with a diameter of up to 25 cm - two holes can be made, up to 35 cm - three, and over 40 cm - no more than four. Despite the fact that the roots of birch go deep into the ground and take nutrients from clean soil, it is better to choose birch trees in groves, and not in planting along the roads. Wood also tends to absorb harmful substances from the air.
Healing properties and pharmacological action
The chemical composition of birch sap includes:
- invert sugar (with equal shares of glucose and sucrose);
- organic acids;
- squirrels;
- carbohydrates;
- essential oil;
- phytohormones;
- phenols;
- urea derivatives;
- saponins;
- tannins;
- group of vitamins B;
- vitamin C;
- rich composition of trace elements (copper, potassium, sodium, manganese, magnesium, iron, silicon).
Pharmachologic effect:
- diuretic;
- secretory;
- anti-inflammatory;
- tonic;
- tonic;
- blood purification;
- antioxidant.
They are increasingly talking about the antitumor properties of birch raw, although there is no scientific evidence for this. It can be prescribed for rehabilitation, restoration of the body after difficult procedures in oncology.
What diseases are indicated for?
- Diseases of the digestive tract. Relieves spasms, stomach and intestinal colic, treats diseases of the stomach, liver, gallbladder, acts as a mild analgesic, anti-inflammatory medicine. Restores microflora, appetite, digestion.
- urinary system. One of the effective folk remedies with urolithiasis. It is advisable to drink fresh 6 glasses a day. Juice contributes to the fragmentation of kidney stones and their removal. The course of treatment is carried out under the strict supervision of a doctor, painful conditions are likely.
- Rheumatic diseases. Effectively means for gout, articular arthritis, atherosclerosis. Accept inside and outwardly.
- Respiratory system . As a tonic with an expectorant effect, it is prescribed for inflammatory processes in the bronchi and lungs, including tuberculosis being treated for them.
- Metabolic disorders. In diabetes, blended birch sap is useful in complex treatment and with a strict diet. Based on it, a medicinal drink is prepared, it contains 35% juice of raspberry, currant, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry. It is also taken with decoctions of wild rose, lingonberry leaves, buckthorn, nettle and other medicinal herbs. We emphasize that herbal medicine with diabetes gives a positive therapeutic effect, but only under the supervision of a physician, with a number of laboratory studies. Depending on the type of diabetes, the dosage and course of treatment are prescribed. Since the juice is low-calorie and stimulates all metabolic processes in the body, it is drunk for weight loss.
- Anemia With anemia, it is recommended to drink juice for 2-3 glasses a day before meals.
- Avitaminosis. In birch sap laid half of the periodic table. It is prescribed for spring avitaminosis, weakened immunity, after suffering severe diseases, for the prevention of SARS, flu.
- Intoxication. Drink well helps with poisoning (gives energy and reserves of lost fluid), cleanses the body of toxins, restores the water-salt balance, helps reduce the temperature and acts as a diaphoretic in combination with rosehip broth and lemon juice. It helps drink and hangover, removing discomfort in the stomach.
- Outdoor use. Means you can gargle, wash your nose, drink to disinfect the mouth during stomatitis, gingivitis, periodontal disease. They also rub skin with scabies, psoriasis, neurodermatitis, eczema, ulcers. Well helps with non-healing wounds.
There are few contraindications for this healing drink: individual intolerance and allergic reaction. It is important to remember that in case of exacerbation of gastric and duodenal ulcers, as well as in the acute form of urolithiasis, self-treatment with juice can lead to even greater exacerbation. Therefore, medical monitoring and monitoring is so important. Due to its high glucose content, birch sap can harm the body if it is not properly dosage and diluted.
Features of the preparation and use of birch juice
Despite all the harmlessness and undoubted usefulness of this forest drink, it is recommended to consult a doctor before taking it. If any side effects occur (primarily from digestive system - diarrhea) should be canceled treatment and consult a doctor.
How to use
How much juice can I drink per day?
- A glass 3 times a day is a “universal” dosage.
- Some herbalists recommend drinking diluted juice, especially if there is aggravation and diabetes.
- For preventive purposes, you can drink for a long time, but little by little.
- The treatment course may be shorter, but with a higher dosage, in this case, a break in therapy is required.
Cooking recipes
Recipes for harvesting birch sap are impressive in their diversity. You can harvest pure raw, and you can prepare from it sedative infusions with the addition of mint, fortified - with black currants and dogrose. Also from birch raw it turns out delicious kvass, wine, low alcohol drinks, syrup.
- Kvass. Birch sap has high fermentation properties. Therefore, kvass from birch sap is prepared without yeast. But there are also recipes for its preparation with yeast.
- Syrup It is curious that today in the world - no more than two dozen manufacturers of this delicacy. Birch syrup is prepared on the same principle as the famous maple. To get 1 liter of product, you need to evaporate 100 liters of juice! Syrup is similar to honey in consistency and taste, but there is woody bitterness in it. In Russia, there is a community of fans and connoisseurs of this product, where they also produce natural birch sap, sauce, kvass, chaga. Here you can buy frozen raw.
- Wine The production of birch wines was established in the USSR, but now it is a rarity. Birch raw turned out high-quality sparkling (carbonated) wine. It can be prepared at home according to old Russian recipes.
Fizzy Drink Recipe
- Pour birch raw in a three-liter jar and keep warm for 2 days.
- Put in a jar 6 tsp. Sahara.
- Add a little raisins and lemon zest.
- Close the lid and hold for 2 days.
It turns out a pleasant carbonated sour drink (in fact - kvass). If the fermentation process is active, you need to open the lid or use a lid with a hole. To reduce the fermentation process, the drink is stored in the refrigerator.
Yeast Birch Kvass Recipe
- Heat raw birch to 35 ° C.
- Add 15 g of yeast (for 1 liter of juice), a little raisins, lemon zest.
- Close the tight lid.
- Soak for 7 days.
Kvass perfectly quenches thirst, normalizes digestion.
Recipe for birch kvass without yeast
- Pour birch raw in a three-liter jar.
- Put the pieces of dried rye bread in it.
- For aroma, put currant leaves and cherries.
- Cover the jar with gauze, soak for 14 days.
Malt Kvass Recipe
- Pour 5 liters of raw birch into a large bottle.
- Soak for 2 days.
- Put 30 g of barley malt.
- Stand at least 10 days.
Earlier in Russia, kvass was prepared in large barrels. It was one of the most popular drinks at holiday feasts. To keep the brew for a long time, honey and oak bark were put in barrels. Herbs were also added - thyme, cumin, linden, chamomile, lemon balm, and St. John's wort. Blended low alcohol drinks were made with the addition of rowan juice, rosehip, cherries, blueberries, apples.
Recipe for canned birch sap
- Take 3 liters of fresh juice.
- Add 100 g of sugar and 1 medium lemon, cut into slices.
- Boil over low heat in an enamel bowl for 5 minutes.
- Pour into a sterilized jar, roll up.
Instead of lemon, you can use an orange. Pleasant taste will give the juice a sprig of mint or lemon balm. Previously, it was believed that industrial birch sap is diluted with citric acid and water. Painfully, a lot of it was produced in the USSR. In fact, a little lemon can be added to a prescription drink as a preservative.
Birch sap for women and children
- Pregnancy There is no information that during pregnancy the juice can harm the body. However, medical consultation should be mandatory, especially if a woman has chronic diseases of the stomach and kidneys. This low-calorie drink well quenches thirst, normalizes metabolic processes, blood pressure, reduces attacks of nausea and vomiting during toxicosis.
- Lactation. It is believed that birch sap is useful for breastfeeding, stimulates lactation. There is no scientific evidence for this. However, it can be useful for nursing mothers with its rich composition. It should be taken in reasonable portions. To begin with, it is recommended to drink 100 g of juice and observe the reaction of the infant.
- Childhood . The question arises: is it possible to drink birch sap for children? Pediatricians do not recommend giving it to babies under 1 year old in any form. After a year, you can offer canned juice, but in small portions, first in a diluted form. Later you can try to enter into the diet raw, also in small doses. Juice is valuable for children by glucose, phytoncides, organic acids, unique compositions of micro- and macroelements, vitamins. Needless to say, children need to be given only a high-quality, proven product, without additives.
Cosmetology
Birch sap is widely used in cosmetology due to its tonic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory effect. How is it used?
- Like lotion and hair mask. It strengthens the roots well, eliminates dandruff, increased fat content. Pure juice is rubbed into the scalp and hair. They also make masks with the addition of castor oil and honey.
- For skin problems. Undiluted juice wipe the skin in the morning and evening with furunculosis, acne, pigment spots, depriving.
- Reception inside. In skin diseases, it is used not only externally, but also inside. Birch sap acts as a blood-purifying agent, helps with furunculosis, acne, acne, eliminates the cause of the disease “from the inside”.
- Cosmetic ice. In addition to lotions and masks, apply cosmetic ice from birch sap. To do this, it is poured into small molds, frozen, daily wipe the skin with pieces of ice.
What are the main healing properties of birch sap? First of all, it is a mild diuretic and choleretic agent. Also, the drink has tonic, blood-purifying, tonic, antiseptic properties. It is used to treat skin diseases, metabolic disorders, anemia, vitamin deficiency, intoxication, actively used in cosmetology.
Perhaps there is no drink in our country to which a Russian person would treat with the same trepidation as birch sap. As soon as the drips ring and the buds swell in the trees, we happily rush into the forest where the real sacrament unfolds - spring sap flow.
To understand that the birch began to give juice, it is simple - it is enough to make a small cut on the trunk of the tree, as from under the bark the first droplets will immediately appear. As a rule, per day, birch produces 2-3 liters of this life-giving moisture, although juice extraction largely depends on the age of the tree and trunk diameter, on the availability of sunlight, and also on the time of day (at night the tree “rests”, and the main flow is on middle of the day). This miraculous “forest mystery” does not last long, just a couple of weeks, and as soon as the first leaves appear on the birch trees, sap flow stops.
Since childhood, we love birch sap for its invariably pleasant taste. But having matured, we begin to appreciate this natural gift for the incredible benefits it gives to each of us. And in order to remind you of this again, in this article we will tell you about healing power This drink possesses, we will open the most valuable recipes with it, and we will understand, in what advantage and harm of birch sap.
Valuable composition of the drink
To fully understand what kind of natural source of this nutrient is moisture, consider its chemical composition. Birch sap is truly unique, as it contains vitamins (C, B1 and B12) necessary for the body, minerals (sodium and nickel, magnesium and iron, manganese and potassium), tannins and acids, fructose and essential oils, saponins and phytoncides, and also the unique organic compound betulin, which is called the "cure for death". Is it any wonder that such a drink, which is given to us by the beautiful birch, has a healing effect on the body?
Why is birch sap useful?
The benefits of this unique juice can be talked about for a long time. From time immemorial, our ancestors used birch sap as a natural immunostimulant, which perfectly regained strength and helped in strengthening the body after illness. Modern studies fully confirm the guesses of past generations. According to them, if you drink a glass of juice a day for 2-3 weeks, you can help the body cope with depression, eliminate weakness, confusion, fatigue, and once again feel like a vigorous, full of human strength. A diuretic, anthelmintic, antitumor action was found in birch sap.
However, this juice is useful not only for the general strengthening of the body. This is a real natural doctor, through which you can prevent and treat existing diseases. Here are some examples of the most effective use of this drink.
1. Diseases of the digestive tract
Birch sap is a real salvation for people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. This life-giving moisture perfectly relieves cramps and colic in the stomach, cleans the liver and gallbladder. Moreover, when ingested, birch sap eliminates inflammation and relieves pain, improves appetite and restores intestinal microflora.
2. Pathology of the urinary system
It must be said that birch sap is famous for its diuretic properties, due to which it is considered one of the best folk remedies for removing bladder stones. To combat this disease, healers advise you to drink fresh juice of 6 glasses a day. Concrements in this case will break up and leave the body with minimal pain.
3. Rheumatic diseases
Not many people know that fresh juice is an effective way to eliminate pain in rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Moreover, this life-giving moisture perfectly cleans the blood vessels of cholesterol plaques, preventing the development of atherosclerosis. And this drink is applied externally. To do this, just warm it up a little and use it in the form of compresses, putting it on sore joints.
4. Diseases of the respiratory system
As we mentioned above, this juice has a tonic effect, and also has an expectorant effect, which means that it can be used for bronchitis, pneumonia and even in the case of tuberculosis.
5. Diabetes
Birch sap is also prescribed to "diabetics", although in this case it is necessary to take it in combination with other drugs and with a strict diet. For this purpose, a medicinal drink is prepared, which includes 70% of birch sap (two days present), and 30% of blackberry and currant juices, blueberries and raspberries, taken in equal proportions. Only a qualified doctor is entitled to prescribe the dosage and duration of medication. We only say that the treatment of diabetes with phytopreparations must be carried out under medical supervision with regular laboratory tests.
6. Weight loss
Recently, birch sap can often be found in diets aimed at losing weight. This drink really helps to get rid of fat deposits, because it is a low-calorie product with a large set of useful substances, and also improves the metabolism in the body, speeding up the metabolism.
7. Anemia
Such a serious problem as anemia (or anemia) is perfectly eliminated with the complex intake of birch sap and iron preparations. Practice shows that it is enough to drink two or three glasses of juice daily, so that after 2 weeks you forget about the unpleasant symptoms of this disease.
8. Intoxication of the body
We have already mentioned the diuretic properties of birch sap, which, in addition to solving the problems of the excretory system, help the kidneys in cleansing the body of toxins and toxins. Due to this, birch sap is recommended to drink when food poisoning, as well as intoxication with heavy metal salts. In this regard, for residents of the contaminated areas of our country, a better drink than sap taken from birch is simply not to be found.
9. Colds
But this natural wealth does not only purify the blood. It increases sweating, thereby knocking the heat down (if used in combination with wild rose and lemon juice). With such properties, birch sap is ideal for the treatment of colds, as well as for the prevention of respiratory diseases and flu.
10. Avitaminosis
It must be said that all the variety of chemical elements is collected in the valuable birch sap, which means that such a drink is ideal for preventing spring avitaminosis and fighting the already existing deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
Finally, we say that in addition to internal use, birch sap is used externally. They can gargle, nose or mouth (in the case of gingivitis, stomatitis, periodontal disease and other diseases of the oral cavity).
Birch sap in cosmetology
Hair strengthening
Healing forest moisture perfectly strengthens hair follicles, combats the cause of dandruff and eliminates excess sebum on the head. To do this, simply rub fresh juice into the hair and skin. And from this liquid you can prepare masks for hair, it is enough to add to it castor oil and honey in a ratio of 5: 1: 1.
Also, to prevent hair loss, make them silky and shiny, significantly improve the structure, remove dandruff, hair is washed with birch sap for 2 weeks and rinsed with extract of birch leaves.
Skin problems
No less effective birch sap in the case of neurodermatitis and psoriasis, eczema and ulcerative lesions. In this case, help lotion with a slightly heated drink. Similarly, there are in the presence of non-healing wounds. If you experience acne, suffer from scabies, or cannot get rid of age spots, rub your skin every morning and evening with the juice in question. And in parallel with external use, be sure to take birch sap inside, because this is an excellent tool that will fight skin diseases "from the inside."
Anti-Aging Skin
To maximize the youthfulness of the skin, it is necessary to prepare birch ice. Just freeze the liquid in small square cups and daily wipe your face and décolleté with such ice cubes.
Nourishing face mask
First wipe your face with a cotton swab vegetable oil. Then you need to mix two tablespoons of birch sap, one tablespoon of sour cream, one teaspoon of honey, mix thoroughly, put on the skin and leave for 15 minutes. Then rinse the mixture with boiled water, the effect will pleasantly surprise you.
How to take birch sap
Despite the seeming harmlessness, take birch sap in therapeutic purposes follows only after consultation with a specialist. However, in the event of any side effects (such as problems with digestion or allergic reactions), treatment with this tool should be immediately stopped.
For all diseases in which the individual dosage of taking birch sap is not indicated, a “universal” dosage should be applied, namely 3 cups / day. Some recipes involve diluting the juice before use, for example, in the case of diabetes mellitus or exacerbation of chronic diseases. In order to prevent birch sap should drink one glass, but for a long time. Treatment courses about the duration of a shorter, but the dosage in this case more, and between courses necessarily need a break. More specific terms and dosages prescribed by the attending physician, depending on the existing disease.
Who is contraindicated such juice
It must be said that birch sap has practically no contraindications. Of course, it should not be drunk during an exacerbation of gastric and duodenal ulcers. An acute course of urolithiasis is also a contraindication to receive this drink, as it can worsen the already poor condition of the patient. Finally, people who are allergic to birch sap should refrain from consuming this drink.
Useful "tricks" when collecting juice
Those who go to the extraction of forest food resources (namely, the so-called juice under the law), you should know that it is better to start collecting it from the southern part of the forest, gradually moving deeper. It is better to make cuts on the tree from the north side, this will allow to get more sap. The incision is made on the trunk at 50 cm from the ground. And there is no need to make too deep a cut or deeply drill the trunk - moisture moves between the wood and bark, which means that in order to get it, you just have to overcome the bark layer.
Finally, remember that collecting juice, you damage the trees, and therefore after the end of the collection of this valuable liquid, the cut must be covered with soap, wax or garden pitch to prevent rotting and wood damage.
How to store birch sap
It is better to collect birch “raw” immediately in a glass container. But even if you collect the juice in plastic bottles or plastic bags, on returning home it should be poured into glass containers. Without treatment, the extracted birch sap can stand in the refrigerator for no more than three days, since then he starts to wander. This means that you need to decide how to keep it, to drink and in a few months. The most the best solution there will be canning juice or cooking delicious birch kvass.
How to roll birch sap for the winter
Canned birch juice without sugar
The easiest way to preserve a drink is to filter all the collected liquid (passing it through several layers of gauze), pour it into an enamel pan and heat it to 80–90 °. Heated juice is poured into washed and sterilized cans, and immediately rolled up. Rolled banks wrapped in a warm blanket and left to cool completely. Store it preferably in a cool place.
Canned birch juice with sugar
If you want to get a sweet birch drink, then, as in the previous recipe, filter the valuable liquid and put it on fire. As the juice approaches the boiling point, a yellowish froth appears on its surface. Remove it and remove the juice from the stove, not boiling. Add to hot liquid 2 tbsp. sugar for every kilogram of juice and citric acid (at the tip of the knife). Pour the juice over the sterilized jars and roll up the lids, wrapping the jars until they cool completely.
By the way, rolling up birch sap, you can experiment by adding oranges, lemons, currants, rose hips or sprigs of mint. And also, from birch sap you get a great birch kvass (perfectly cooling in the summer heat).
Birch kvass
To make real kvass from birch sap, it is first necessary to strain the collected juice and let it brew for 24 hours in an enamel pot. After that, add 50 ml of sugar (for each 1 liter of juice) to the liquid of 100 g of rye bread crumbs and, after pouring the mixture into a glass bottle, leave it for 4-5 days, first put a rubber glove on the neck. The glove will inflate and stand up, which will indicate the ongoing process of fermentation. And when the glove falls, you can safely filter the brew and pour it into bottles. Delicious refreshing kvass is ready!
It also opens a real field for experimentation, because kvass based on birch sap can be prepared not only with bread, but also with barley, raisins and dried fruits. Each such drink will have an individual taste, but they all will benefit the body.
From now on, you know the benefits and harms of birch sap, and also have unique recipes for canning and making kvass based on it. This means that you have another opportunity to strengthen your body and fight a variety of diseases with the help of a very tasty drink.
Health to you!
The information on our website is informative and educational in nature. However, this information is by no means a self-medicinal benefit. Be sure to consult your doctor.
On the shelves you can find more and more variety of drinks for every taste and color. The overwhelming majority of them, unfortunately, are sugary soda of synthetic origin. They are very unhealthy. But even those who are marketers are positioned as useful (which in itself is already nonsense) and natural, in fact, they are not. Nevertheless, statistics show that the demand for such drinks is growing in proportion to the expansion of their range. But, why did we begin to forget about natural juices - the real gifts of Nature, the worthy representative of which is birch sap ?! This is an incredible natural and just mega healthy drink that perfectly refreshes, quenches thirst, and has unique beneficial properties.
It is also valuable because its collection time is the first half of spring, as a rule, which is very useful during this period of an acute deficiency of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial substances in the body. Treatment with this "nectar" was practiced in ancient times.
And it brought an incredible positive effect, judging by the archives in which historical finds are stored - written sources testifying to this.
The main rules for collecting birch sap
This is, in fact, an extremely important topic. After all, mistakes in the process of harvesting juice are fraught with: the first is a significant decrease in the quality and, accordingly, utility, of the extracted product, the second is harm to nature, because trees, from not knowing the process of correct juice extraction, can also suffer and even die.
I suggest you look: how to collect birch sap - the video will tell you how to do it with an ordinary dropper.
It clearly allows you to show everything in detail. And also - you can familiarize yourself with the basic principles of harvesting birch sap below.
- Juice begins to collect with the appearance of buds on the birches and their swelling. This is the perfect moment. It comes at different times of the year - in the spring. The beginning of its occurrence depends on the climatic conditions of a particular locality and weather conditions in a given year.
- Finish the cleaning of birch sap after the buds bloom, forming a foliage on the tree. Juice at this time along the trunk and branches moves no less intensively, but its fence, in this period, causes serious harm to the tree itself.
- Collect this mega useful natural nectar should only be in ecologically safe areas. In no case do not extract juice near highways, factories, within the boundaries of large settlements and so on, because juice, in such cases, will not have those beneficial properties that were discussed today, at least, and as much as possible - will cause much damage to the body.
- Do not use trees that have a small diameter for sap mining. Only those specimens that have a diameter of approximately 40-45 centimeters, at least, are suitable for this business.
- At 25 centimeters from the level of the soil a very small hole is drilled (less than 1 cm in diameter). It does not have to be deep, because the main mass of juice circulates just between the trunk and between the bark of the tree. Therefore, a few centimeters is enough.
- A special fixture is inserted into the hole: such a canhole, or tube, which, in turn, is lowered into containers placed in the tree. The tube or trough should be slightly tilted down towards the tanks.
- The maximum number of holes made in one tree, having the above mentioned diameter, should in no way pass over four.
- Birch sap is most abundant in the period from 11 to 18 hours. This should be taken into account in order to collect it as productively as possible. However, to abuse the "generosity" of the tree is also not necessary. Ecologists and experts in the field of nature say that the optimum, for a tree, the volume of juice taken from it should not exceed 1.5-2 liters.
- Upon completion of the process of harvesting juice, the holes that were made for this purpose in the trunks of trees should be tightly plugged. To do this, you can use moss, felt, clay, even clay.
Fresh birch sap - for children and pregnant women
Children can also consume such juice, however, for newborns this decision is not very relevant.
The babies from one year of life can already quite confidently give this drink, starting with a volume of 40 milliliters, gradually bringing this volume to 90-100 milliliters.
What diseases to use
Birch sap is used for a wide variety of ailments: for colds and infectious diseases of various organs, for problems with digestion and cardiovascular system, kidneys, nervous system and so on. About all the healing effects, the main ones, have already been discussed. And now - about the potential harm.
Due to the absence of allergic reactions to natural birch sap from the body, it is recommended for both adults and children.
That is, allergies can not be afraid, as side effect from the consumption of this product. The only thing you should not forget: it is better not to use birch sap if you have an acute allergy to the pollen of this tree.
And what else do you need to know?
Use juice carefully if you have large kidney stones, gall bladder, stomach ulcers and the same ailment related to the duodenum.
Exclude this product from your diet if you have an individual intolerance.
Birch sap in cosmetology for women
Birch sap is perfect for all skin types. It can be used by wiping the skin with a cotton pad dipped in juice.
Birch Sap Ice Cubes
And you can make ice cubes from it. To do this, just dissolve the undiluted juice in special forms and freeze in the freezer.
It is possible to use such ice for rubbing the skin 2 times a day: in the morning and in the evening. The result is astounding. The skin looks fresher, more beautiful, healthier.
Juice for hair
But in the roots of the hair, with problems with them, you need to rub fresh birch juice, 2 times a day for 4-5 weeks. If you, of course, have such an opportunity.
How to store birch sap?
✔ Best of all, if the juice that you will use, fresh. That is, after its preparation less than 10-12 hours passed.
✔ But, they can be significantly slowed down, leaving the juice in proper storage.
✔ Juice must be kept in a cool and dark place.
✔ The cellar or refrigerator is best suited for this, in which the temperature is about 4-6 degrees Celsius.
✔ Fresh juice is stored no more than 48.
✔ But canned, but not pasteurized - about six months. It can simply be rolled up under metal covers.
Birch sap with raisins - recipe for birch kvass
The recipe is the simplest. But, the drink turns out incredibly tasty, fragrant and healthy. So remember.
Ten handfuls of raisins and about 500 grams of sugar are taken per ten liters of juice.
All this is mixed and left for 75 hours in a dark, but warm place.
How to preserve birch sap with lemon or orange in jars
The best option - do not resort to heat treatment of juice. It can only be heated slightly to dissolve sugar better. As soon as the first bubbles begin to appear from the bottom of the container, the juice can be poured into sterile jars.
So, for one liter of juice should take a tablespoonful, with the top, and a third of the fruit (lemon or orange). You can take the sixth part of that, and the sixth part - the second, fruit.
Sugar is poured into the juice, then, there, squeezed out the juice of citrus. That's it, the drink is ready immediately, after thoroughly stirring it. You can roll up under the covers and leave in a dark, cool place for a maximum of six-month storage.
Very interesting, and how can you conserve birch sap in cans. Share, in the comments below, your recipes.
Contraindications
As such, serious contraindications - not available. But, what to pay attention to, if you want to get not only pleasure and benefit from the process of consuming birch sap, but not harm yourself, as described above. Use this information and, of course, be healthy.
