How to drink natural birch sap. Treatment with birch sap

Everyone's childhood is different. And the memories are also different. One of mine is collecting birch sap with my father and younger brother. Every spring, by loading a hand drill, tubes, three-liter jars in our red Zaporozhets (then it was still considered a car), we went to the nearest landing and collected birch sap. I remember that it was a pity for the birch, but to come home with two three-liter cans of birch sap was an unforgettable pleasure ...

Well, now, already at a more meaningful age, it's time to figure out what it is - birch sap, the benefits and harms of this drink, its features. Well, to answer the question of whether it was worth drilling birch trunks or was it an ugly act of good people.

What is birch sap?

Birch sap is a liquid that is released from damaged birch trunks and branches. There is no particular point in delving into the physics of this phenomenon, it is enough to mention that the juice moves and flows out due to root pressure.

The movement of sap begins with the first thaws - so if you like birch sap, then follow the weather forecast (you can start doing this from mid-March). Considering that the process ends with bud break (usually it is mid-April), you should not delay the trip to the birch grove too much - you can skip the season and wait for the next one for a whole year.

Externally, the juice looks like plain water. It tastes the same, only this water is a little sweet - the composition of the drink contains up to 2% sugar. This is not a cup of tea with 2 tablespoons of sugar, so birch sap can be considered a low-calorie (only 22 kcal per 100 g) diet drink.

And what else is in the composition of birch sap, besides sugar? Vitamins, phytoncides, about a dozen organic acids, tannins, betulol, saponins, sodium, potassium, magnesium, manganese and copper - the deeper we delve into the composition, the less this elixir looks like ordinary water and more and more like some kind of vitamin complex.

By the way, not only juice is useful in birch, but also buds, about which on our website.

How is birch sap extracted?

To begin with, you need to extract juice only in groves away from busy roads, otherwise you will get juice with heavy metals, useless and possibly even harmful. Do you need it?

There are many ways to get birch sap:

• Barbarian: cut off several small birch branches, hang on each plastic bag. It's not worth doing that.
• You can make a small incision on the trunk, insert a groove there, and install a collection container at the other end of the groove.
• Most the best option(it is also more productive, and leaves fewer marks on the tree): instead of making an incision, drill a hole in the trunk (you don’t need to deep - 3 cm is enough) with a slight slope, insert either an aluminum tube, or a plastic tip of the dropper system, or a regular one into it drinking tube. Hang a plastic bottle on the other end.

In order not to kill poor trees that generously share useful properties with you, follow simple rules:

• Do not take young trees. Firstly, they are weaker than the old ones and may not survive the “draining” procedure, and secondly, the juice of young trees is not so rich and healing. How to distinguish a young tree from an old one? According to the thickness of the trunk - it should be more than 20 cm in diameter.
• Try to limit yourself to a liter of juice from one tree per day. It is better to take a liter from 10 trees than to try to squeeze 10 liters from one. Theoretically, from an ordinary birch you can get 2-3 liters per day, from a large one - 7 liters. But theoretically, you can take 5-6 liters of blood from a person, but usually they take no more than 400 ml.
• After you have finished, be sure to cover the incision or hole with wax, or at least with moss. By the way, if you used the third method of extracting juice, then you can simply stick a small dry branch of a suitable size into the hole - it will not allow the juice to flow out.

The benefits of birch sap

Here we go on plantings, shoveling snow, drilling birch trees ... Why? Is it worth it? What is useful birch sap? Let's try to list the main ones:

• Eat whatever? The body is poisoned and metabolic processes are clearly disturbed? Then drink birch sap - biostimulants and enzymes in this drink will help remove toxins, decay products and carcinogens, improve metabolism and intestinal microflora, and stimulate the secretion of gastric juice. By the way, therefore, it should be used not only for various diets, but also during infectious diseases.
• What do we need in spring? Wake up, remove the accumulated long winter fatigue, . And here the tonic and restorative properties of birch sap will be useful. It can also relieve headaches.
• It also helps with various diseases respiratory system.
• Due to tannins, birch sap is a natural antiseptic.
• This natural product is a wonderful prophylactic against caries. Of its “dental” applications, there is one more thing - it relieves inflammation in the mouth.
• Liver problems? Drink birch sap! Sciatica, arthritis and rheumatism? Drink birch sap! Problems with the heart and blood vessels? Drink birch sap - after all, it contains the so necessary for our circulatory system potassium, magnesium and calcium! Gout? Well, you probably guessed it yourself! Boils, acne or eczema? But they didn’t guess - with these diseases, they don’t drink juice, but apply it externally. In cosmetology, birch sap is also used - for example, for the treatment of dandruff and hair loss.
• If you use birch sap constantly, it can help with the splitting of stones in bladder and kidneys. Listed medicinal properties birch sap is a diuretic and choleretic, remember this if you need to get rid of edema. By the way, it is to reduce swelling that pregnant and lactating women are advised to drink juice.
• It can also be used to heal ulcers and wounds.
• It is believed that birch sap helps slow down the development of tumors.
• And finally - birch sap will help you save male power, and if you are a woman, it will ease menopause and eliminate unpleasant symptoms.

In any case, birch sap can be used as additional remedy in the treatment of almost any disease - moreover, it is suitable for both children and adults.

Are there any contraindications?

Their minimum is individual intolerance and an allergic reaction to birch pollen. Agree, great?

How is it used?

Ideal for drinking birch drink fresh in pure form. Just remember, even in the refrigerator, birch sap can be stored for a maximum of 2 days. An alternative is to freeze the juice, but this is not very convenient in terms of storage, so it is worth freezing the juice only in cubes for cosmetic use.

They extract birch sap and industrial scale- while selling in canned, pouring into three-liter jars or one and a half liter bottles. Prices vary greatly depending on the manufacturer and packaging method.

Juice canning at home

You can preserve birch sap yourself. This will require:

• 7 liters of juice
• 3 sprigs of dried mint or half a lemon
• 1/2 tsp regular citric acid
• 10 tbsp Sahara

Birch juice put on fire, bring to a boil, in the process removing the foam that forms on the surface of the juice. After boiling, add all the above ingredients and keep on fire for another 10 minutes. Then we pour the resulting drink, having previously filtered it, into sterilized three-liter jars. Banks are rolling up.

By the way, you can mix it with other juices (except tomato) - birch tears definitely won't ruin the taste.

And what other recipes are there with birch sap? Let's talk about 2 classic ones.

birch kvass

You need to take some kind of container, preferably a large one - you like kvass and you can drink a lot of it, right? Pour birch sap there, add dried apples and overcooked barley. The ratio of components can be selected based on experience. You can start your experiments, for example, with 0.5 liters of drying, a glass of barley (it can be replaced with fried brown bread) and 19 liters of birch sap. We put the container in cool place for a month. And then enjoy kvass.

birch syrup

It is obtained by evaporation - the liquid leaves, the sugar remains, while the concentration of sugar naturally increases. Take a clean basin, fill it with birch sap, put on fire and bring to a boil. After that, the juice should boil, and you should remove the resulting foam. When only two-thirds of the original volume of liquid remains, add to the basin fresh juice. And so 2-3 times. After evaporating, strain and bottle the syrup.

birch sap - real gift nature. Spring drink is now available all year round. On the shelves of stores flaunt bottles with a transparent, sweet-tasting liquid. On sale you can find pure juice or a drink with the addition of lemon, mint and other fragrant herbs. In any case, the product is considered a valuable source of nutrients. It is used for various purposes, actively used in folk medicine and in cosmetology. The widespread distribution of the drink makes you think about whether everyone can use it, to whom it can harm.

Content:

Features of the selection and storage of birch sap

Birch sap is on sale in different packages: in plastic or in glass bottles, in cardboard boxes. Sometimes you can find three-liter jars. With all the variety of containers, it is desirable to give preference to glass. It has a number of advantages over plastic, polyethylene and boxes:

1. The purity of the material. Unlike plastic, glass does not release any harmful chemicals into the product during storage and sterilization.
2. Sterilization and pasteurization. Exactly at glass container you can buy pure, safe, microorganism-treated juice.
3. Transparency. It is easy to assess the purity of the liquid, the presence of impurities, sediment, notice product spoilage, mold.

A sealed bottle of pasteurized or sterilized beverage is stored at room temperature up to two years. open product is a breeding ground for microbes. Therefore, you need to store it only in the refrigerator and no more than two days.

Advice! If there is unused juice left, it can be frozen in an ice cube mold and used for cosmetic purposes.

The benefits of birch sap for the body

Birch sap is rich in potassium, magnesium, manganese, nickel, phosphorus, copper. It also contains salts of sodium, silicon, strontium. The drink is rich in saponins, vitamins, essential oils and organic acids.

In addition to the above, birch sap, the benefits and harms of which have been studied enough, has other important qualities:

1. Struggles with avitaminosis. The product contains a number of vitamins, microelements, helps relieve fatigue, increase tone, improve mood.
2. Removes swelling, has a pronounced diuretic effect.
3. Increases the level of hemoglobin. Works well in combination with apple and beetroot juices.
4. Reduces nervousness, irritability, helps fight stress and prolonged depression.
5. Useful for weight loss, speeds up metabolism, while the calorie content is only 24 kcal per 100 ml of drink.
6. Accelerates skin regeneration, healing of wounds, abrasions and other damage to the dermis, helps fight acne, normalizes the sebaceous glands.
7. The drink can be taken to prevent diseases of the joints and the skeletal system: arthritis, sciatica, arthrosis, rheumatism.

Attention! Natural juice birch, harvested independently, may contain harmful, even dangerous substances, traces of vital activity of insects, animals. It is impossible to use it in its pure form without preliminary sterilization. It is safer to buy already prepared product.

Birch sap from cholesterol

Birch sap contains the phytoelement saponin, which does not allow cholesterol to be absorbed, maintains clearance in the vessels, and normalizes blood pressure. It is enough to consume 2 glasses of the drink every day to feel the improvement in the condition, to get the first benefit from the product. Allowed to add lemon juice, mint, ice cream, milk, kefir and various syrups. Thus natural medicine Easily turns into a wonderful drink or dessert.

Birch sap in cosmetology

For treatment acne and acne often use Birch buds. Decoctions, water infusions and alcohol tinctures are prepared from them. But it is much more convenient and easier to use birch sap: it contains more essential oils, phytoncides, acids and tannins that have antiseptic properties.

To treat acne, they wash themselves daily with birch sap or wipe problem areas with cotton pads dipped in liquid. To get rid of puffiness under the eyes, relieve puffiness and preserve youthful skin, rubbing the face with ice cubes made from the drink is practiced.

The juice has a pronounced antimicrobial and soothing effect and is effective in the treatment of the following diseases:

• increased oiliness of the skin;
• dandruff.

For hair care and scalp treatment, birch sap is used in its pure form or as part of masks. To get rid of dandruff, the liquid is rubbed 2 times a day into the roots until a positive and stable result is obtained. The duration of the course is not limited. Juice will improve the condition of the hair, strengthen it, make it shiny.

Recipe for a mask for hair growth and shine

Compound:
Birch sap - 100 ml
Water - 100 ml
Alcohol (tincture of red pepper) - 1 tsp.
Burdock root - 2 tsp

Application:
The crushed burdock root (you can use dry) is poured with water, boiled under the lid for ten minutes, cooled, filtered. The broth is mixed with birch sap, alcohol is added or alcohol tincture red pepper, which can be purchased at the pharmacy. The product is well stirred, rubbed into the scalp for several minutes. For oily hair type, you can apply the rest of the product to the length. Next, put on an insulating cap. Wash off the mask after an hour warm water with shampoo. Store the mixture in the refrigerator for two days, then prepare a new portion.

Recipe for a cleansing and toning face mask

Compound:
Birch sap - 2 tsp
Honey - 1 tsp
Sour cream - 1 tsp

Application:
All ingredients are mixed until smooth. The mask is applied immediately after preparation on the cleansed skin of the face, neck and décolleté. After 15 minutes, the mixture is washed off with warm water. Then the skin is wiped with an ice cube, which is prepared from birch sap or chamomile broth.

Is it worth giving birch sap to children

Birch sap can be introduced into the child's diet starting from the second year of life. Only pasteurized product is used. The drink is introduced in small portions starting with one teaspoon a day. Maximum daily portion- 100 ml. The benefits of birch sap for children are also undeniable:

• compensates for vitamin deficiency, minerals;
• strengthens the immune system, helps fight viruses;
• strengthens bone tissue, teeth;
• improves appetite.

Birch drink is useful for women during breastfeeding positive effect on lactation. But you need to introduce it into the diet carefully, observing the reaction of the baby.

Drinking a drink during pregnancy

Is it possible to drink juice during pregnancy, if not allergic reaction for birch products. The benefits of juice during pregnancy are as follows:

• relieves unpleasant manifestations of toxicosis;
• normalizes blood pressure;
• expels water from the body, relieves swelling.

It is allowed to drink up to three glasses of the drink per day in its pure form or as part of different dishes, cocktails.

Video: Healing properties of birch sap

Harm of birch sap and contraindications

Not everyone can use birch sap, no matter how useful it may be. Since the drink contains a large number of glucose, should not be consumed by people with diabetes. With caution, treat with birch sap when nephrolithiasis. Taking a diuretic can lead to colic. If a person has an allergic reaction to birch pollen, it is necessary to drink the drink for the first time with extreme caution: it is likely that it will not work and will only harm the body.

Many from childhood are familiar with a pleasant, slightly sweet taste birch sap, which can be safely called one of the most wonderful gifts of nature. Birch sap has been used by man since time immemorial, people valued it for its beneficial properties. The juice contains great amount vitamins, mineral salts (, sodium, calcium, silicon, copper, iron, etc.), acids, enzymes, phytoncides, tannins. And it's far from complete list useful substances that make up birch sap. Due to such a rich composition, this natural product has a complex healing effect on the body.

birch sap has low calorie and stimulates metabolism.

It is noteworthy that birch sap can be extracted precisely in early spring, when our body, weakened after a long and cold winter most in dire need of vitamins. Medical studies have shown that drinking at least one glass of this miraculous juice a day for 2-3 weeks will help to cope with spring beriberi, fatigue and depression after winter. In addition, phytoncides and vitamins, which are part of birch sap, strengthen the immune system and help the body fight viruses and bacteria.

This drink is useful for many diseases. digestive system especially in gastritis peptic ulcer stomach and duodenum, in which the use of other fresh juices is limited or completely contraindicated. Birch sap stimulates metabolism, improves work gastrointestinal tract, . Due to these properties, the juice helps to get rid of excess weight and restore the harmony of the figure, it is used in many diets, since its calorie content is very low (only 24 calories per 100 ml), and nutritional value high enough.

Birch sap also has a beneficial effect on the genitourinary system. It is recommended to drink with urolithiasis and pyelonephritis, as well as inflammatory diseases genitals. Juice is useful for pregnant and lactating women, as it helps to increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood. It is useful to drink birch sap for inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system, diseases nervous system, skin and joints.

Birch sap is very useful not only to drink, but also to apply externally. It perfectly tones the skin, helps restore its fat balance, cure acne and get rid of age spots. Masks from a mixture of birch sap and honey (1:1) improve the condition of the skin and give it a healthy look. Birch sap will help strengthen hair, improve their growth and get rid of dandruff, for this you need to rub it into the scalp and rinse your hair with it after washing.

There is only one contraindication to the use of birch sap - an allergic reaction to birch pollen. There is simply no such thing as "the harm of birch sap". The amount of birch sap that can be drunk per day is not limited, if desired, it can also make up the entire volume of liquid consumed per day. Doctors believe that in order to improve the body, it is enough for an adult to drink 3 glasses of juice a day half an hour before meals.

Is it possible to give birch sap to children?

It is not recommended to give birch sap to children under 1 year old. Despite its harmlessness, you should start adding juice to the baby's diet, guided by all the rules for introducing new products. For the first time, you can offer your child to drink no more than 1 teaspoon of juice. In the absence of an allergic reaction, the volume gradually increases, but not more than 100 ml per day. Children are advised to give only fresh, recently harvested juice birch.

How to collect birch sap?

Birch sap is collected by making a small hole in the tree trunk.

Birch sap is harvested in early spring, when the buds are just beginning to swell on the trees and sap flow begins (around mid-March), before the leaves bloom. You need to choose a strong tree (trunk diameter of at least 20 cm) with a spreading crown. If you notice damage to the bark on the tree or traces of the fact that someone has recently collected juice from this tree, then it is better to choose another one. You should not collect more than 1–1.5 liters of juice from one tree, otherwise it may die.

The most intensive sap flow in trees occurs during daylight hours, so it is better to start collecting juice in the morning at 9-10 o'clock. The number of holes that can be made in the barrel depends on its thickness. If the trunk diameter is 20–25 cm, then more than one incision should not be made, 25–35 cm, then two holes can be made, 35–40 - three. Even on the thickest trunk, you should not make more than 4 holes.

When starting to collect, you need to make a shallow incision on the tree trunk or drill a hole 1–1.5 cm deep with a gimlet and insert a tube or groove into it, the free end of which must be directed into a container for collecting juice.

There is another way to collect birch sap, some consider it less traumatic for a tree. It is necessary to cut off the end of one of the branches, wrap it with a clean rag or bandage, and lower its free end into the prepared container.

After you collect right amount juice, a cut of a branch or an incision on the trunk must be carefully covered with wax, plasticine, laundry soap or hammered with moss. This will help prevent bacteria and fungus from entering the wood, which can lead to rotting of the damaged area and death of the tree.

The collected birch sap can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days. To keep the juice on long time, it can be frozen, canned or made into a drink. For cosmetic purposes, the juice is frozen in small cubes in ice-making containers.

How to prepare birch sap?

Conservation

Like any other sap, birch sap loses some of its beneficial properties during preservation, however most of vitamins are still preserved. For conservation, it is necessary to prepare sugar (at the rate of 2 tablespoons per 1 liter of juice), citric acid and lemons to taste (if desired, they can be replaced with oranges). Lemon (orange) should be cut into thin slices, put in a saucepan with birch sap filtered through several layers of gauze, add sugar and citric acid (at the tip of a knife) and quickly bring to a boil. Next, the juice is poured into sterilized jars, lemon or orange slices are placed there, after which the jars must be hermetically sealed. After cooling, containers with canned birch sap should be stored in a dark, cool place. This method will keep the juice until winter.

birch kvass

In Russian villages traditional drink birch kvass has long been considered. To prepare it, you will need birch sap, sugar at the rate of 50 g per 1 liter of juice and raisins, if desired, you can add a little lemon peel. Freshly picked birch sap must be filtered through several layers of cheesecloth to remove forest debris, add sugar, raisins (5-10 berries per liter of juice) and leave to ferment for three days. Then strain again, pour into clean containers, close tightly and put in a dark cool place. The resulting birch kvass can be stored for 3-4 months. Thanks to this harvesting method, you will get a delicious refreshing drink that will retain all the beneficial properties of birch sap.

Birch sap is a product familiar to almost every one of us from early childhood. It tastes like clean water with a slight woody taste and sweetness due to the content of natural sugars. And the main value of this drink is that it is absolutely natural, and contains many substances necessary for health. Despite the natural origin of the product, in some diseases it should be drunk with great care.

What are the benefits and harms of birch sap, and how to use it correctly?

Composition, benefits and harms of birch sap

Birch sap has beneficial effect on the body

The benefits of this drink are due to big amount useful substances, vitamins and microelements, thanks to which it has a beneficial effect on almost all body systems.

Chemical content

The chemical composition of birch sap is diverse. It contains natural sugars essential oils, phytoncides and other substances

In 100 g life-giving drink contains essential oils, tannins, natural acids, saponins and other bioactive substances.

There are no fats in the product, and the protein content is minimal, so the calorie content of 100 ml of juice is only 8 calories.

Beneficial features

Regular consumption of birch nectar has the following effects on the body:

• cleanses the kidneys, improves functioning urinary system, eliminates stones;
• normalizes activity digestive tract, facilitates the processes of digestion and assimilation of heavy food;
• stops inflammatory and infectious processes;
• eliminates beriberi, depression and insomnia, has a beneficial effect on the activity of the nervous system;
• activates the immune system;
• removes toxins and toxins, has an antioxidant effect;
• tones the body, increases efficiency and relieves chronic fatigue;
• heals wounds and cuts, slows down the aging process, maintains healthy skin, hair and nails.

Juice is good for women: it relieves inflammation genitourinary system, eliminates oily skin, reduces the number of skin rashes

For women, birch sap is primarily useful in that it normalizes the function of the genitourinary system, relieves inflammation, and, due to the content of phytoncides (natural antibiotics), fights pathogenic microorganisms. Diseases of the genitourinary system, due to the special structure of the urethra, are much more common in the fair sex than in men, and with regular use birch sap, the risk of such pathologies is significantly reduced. In addition, the product is often used in cosmetology to eliminate oily skin and hair, reduce the number of wrinkles and rashes.

During pregnancy, the drink normalizes kidney function, relieves edema, toxicosis and jumps blood pressure(common problems among expectant mothers), and when breastfeeding increases the amount of milk and improves its quality.

In men, when drinking a drink, blood sugar levels normalize, metabolism is restored, and the activity of the sex glands improves.

In the stronger sex, birch sap is often used to improve sexual function. Useful material, which are part of the product, contribute to the normalization of blood sugar levels and body weight, restore metabolism and purify the blood of toxins, thereby improving the production of testosterone. This helps to increase potency, libido and the activity of the sex glands that produce seminal fluid.

Juice stimulates the immune system, replaces carbonated drinks and reduces the risk of obesity and destruction of tooth enamel in babies

IN childhood birch sap will be an excellent substitute for harmful carbonated drinks, to which all kids are not indifferent. He contains natural sugar and acids, due to which the risk of developing obesity, destruction of the gastric mucosa and tooth enamel is practically absent when using it. In addition, the drink is rich in vitamin C, stimulates the immune system and protects against colds. It is best to give children juice that was collected on their own in early spring - after a long winter, the body especially needs an increased amount of vitamins and trace elements.

Contraindications

There are no direct contraindications to the use of birch sap - it is an absolutely natural product that will not cause serious harm to health.

With caution, this drink should be consumed by people with urolithiasis and ulcerative lesions of the gastrointestinal tract - due to the presence of organic acids in it and the diuretic effect, they can exacerbate the pathological process.

At diabetes, especially in severe form, before drinking birch sap, you should consult a doctor.

In people who are allergic to pollen from flowering birch, it can cause unwanted reactions in the body.

Rules for the use and collection of the drink

Nuances of consumption

Juice should be drunk with caution and no more three glasses in a day

The optimal amount of birch sap for healthy people- 1 glass per day, maximum you can drink 2-3 glasses.

Everything you need to know before drinking important nuances product use and human health.

1. During pregnancy. In the absence of allergies and normal tolerance of the drink, birch sap can be consumed at any time. In the first trimester, he will get rid of toxicosis and become good source vitamin C, and later dates normalizes body weight, blood sugar levels and the functioning of the urinary system. The main thing is to observe the measure and not get carried away with the product too much: expectant mothers are advised to drink no more than a glass a day.
2. When breastfeeding. During breastfeeding, birch sap can be consumed when the baby is 2 months old. For the first time, you are allowed to drink half a glass of juice, diluted boiled water, then observe the reaction of the baby. If there are no allergic manifestations or problems with the stool, you can gradually increase the amount of juice and reduce the amount of water. Nursing mothers are advised to drink birch nectar in a glass no more than twice a week.
3. For feeding. It is not recommended to give any juice to babies under the age of one year, including birch (with the exception of apple) - the best food and drink in the first months of life is mother's milk. Upon reaching the age of one, you can give the child a teaspoon of juice diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 1. If there is no negative reaction, the volume is gradually increased to a tablespoon 1-2 times a week. Children aged one to three can be given 100-150 ml of drink 2-3 times a week, and after three years optimal amount is 1 cup.
4. With various diseases. People who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and biliary system are advised to take half a glass of pure birch sap daily before meals (can be divided into several doses), the course of treatment is a month. For colds, the optimal dosage is also half a glass, but the liquid should be slightly warmed up, add a teaspoon of honey and a slice of lemon, and hold it in your mouth a little before swallowing the juice. Inflammatory gum diseases, such as gingivitis or periodontitis, are also successfully treated with birch sap - you need to rinse your mouth with a slightly warmed drink 2-3 times a day.
5. For weight loss. Birch sap does not have special fat-burning properties, but it is often used in combination with diet and exercise for weight loss. The recipe is simple - you need to drink a glass of birch sap before each meal. It will reduce appetite and the amount of food consumed by filling the stomach, and will also provide the body with those vitamins and minerals that are often lacking during diet food. When using birch sap for weight loss, you need to monitor your own condition and the reaction of the body - in some people it causes an increase in appetite due to an increase in the concentration of glucose in the blood.

In case of serious acute and chronic diseases, it is better to consult a specialist before drinking birch sap. Do not forget that this healthy drink can become an addition to the complex therapy of pathologies, but not the main medicine.

When collecting juice, you should be careful - the trees should not die

The liquid is collected at the end of March, when an active movement of juices begins under the birch bark. When collecting this life-giving drink, you should be guided by the following instructions:

• Pick up the appropriate tools - a screwdriver / electric drill with a drill, a dropper / tube (vinyl or metal) and a container. If there is no screwdriver, then you can use a hammer and a tube matched to the diameter of the dropper.
• Select birch grove away from roads, industrial enterprises, villages and villages. To obtain birch sap, only an adult birch with a trunk diameter of 20 cm can be used.
• Drill a hole in a birch at a distance of 20 cm from the ground and a depth of 2-3 cm, then stick it into a dropper, previously cut at an angle of 45 degrees.
• One birch can collect 1 liter of liquid.
• After collecting the juice, the hole must be closed with moss or wax.

If you exceed the liquid collection rate, make deeper holes or do not cover them up after the end of the process, then the tree may die.

A fresh drink can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. In order to prepare it for future use, you need to boil the product and roll it into sterilized jars. Such juice can be stored for about six months, but it must be kept in a cool and dark place.

Video repetition: benefits, harms and features of the collection

Reliable scientific data about useful properties birch sap today either does not exist at all, or they are hidden away from human eyes. Self-extraction of juice is treated as a crime, and if you ask a person about what birch sap is, then the first thing he will remember will be a sweet and sour liquid “packed” in a glass jar or tetrapack.

Of course, later, perhaps, someone will remember the trees with black and white bark, but that will be later. And this is somewhat disturbing.

On the other hand, the time is now when natural products A person recognizes nutrition not in the forest, in a clearing or near a river, but in a store, studying the colorful labels of semi-finished products.

Well, what kind of health can we talk about here ...

However, we have strongly deviated from the main topic of the article. After all, our main task is to find out what birch sap is, how it can be useful to us, how to prepare it and whether it is worth storing it for a long time.

Let's get started...

The benefits and harms of birch sap

Birch sap is a tree elixir of life that nourishes the birch throughout its existence.

This definition is far from scientific or at least generally accepted, but we believe that it reflects the essence of birch sap, its main purpose and value. At the same time, despite such a clearly defined biological role of birch sap, it is able to nourish not only the tree, but also the human body. And with no less efficiency.

At first glance, birch sap is very similar to water, but it is not water at all. And the point here is not at all in the sweet taste, which is a kind of " calling card» birch sap. In fact, the two liquids have different chemical compositions.

The maximum that water is capable of is saturation with minerals. Birch sap, in turn, contains minerals, vitamins, enzymes, phytoncides, fructose, tannins, organic acids, essential oils and, most likely, much more. Because even in our advanced age, not everything is visible through a microscope.

Thanks to such a rich composition, birch sap benefits everyone who is able to drink it. And this, not a lot, not a little - almost the entire population of our vast planet. The only exceptions are two categories of people:

• those who were not lucky enough to “get their hands on” an allergy to birch catkin pollen
• healthy children under six months of age who are able to eat breast milk his mother (sick children at this age will not be given birch sap either, but hypothetically it can help them too)

For everyone else, birch sap will be a good help in life, as it improves metabolic processes in the body, and with regular use it can quickly remove a huge amount of toxins from the gastrointestinal tract and human blood.

In addition, all sorts of inorganic deposits (salts, trans fats, etc.) are susceptible to birch sap, which are waiting in the wings in the joints, internal organs, connective tissue and under the skin.

Such an effect on the body allows us to say with confidence that birch sap will be useful to everyone who has one or more diseases from the following list:

• sciatica, arthritis, rheumatism, gout
• stones in the kidneys, urinary and gallbladder(be sure to start with small volumes of juice and constantly monitor the size and position of the stones)
• functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys and others internal organs and systems
• cardiovascular diseases
• sore throat, cough, chronic runny nose, tuberculosis, acute respiratory infections and other diseases associated with the release of mucus and pus through the upper and lower respiratory tract
• any oncology
• any inflammatory processes in the body, and especially in the organs of the genitourinary system
• intoxication of any origin
• chronic fatigue, drowsiness and even depression

This is not a complete list of diseases and conditions in which raw fresh birch sap is indicated. However, here we do not medical encyclopedia, but just a small article about health. Therefore, on this conversation about the beneficial properties and diseases, we, perhaps, will finish.

We only note that fresh raw birch sap has the greatest healing cleansing power. A little less good will bring frozen raw juice, and you will get very little benefit from all kinds of kvass, tinctures, industrial drinks called "Birch sap" and other products of industrial and home processing of this wonderful elixir.

How to collect birch sap

Acquaintance with the technology of self-collection of birch sap should begin with an answer to the question WHERE it can be collected. Although, of course, purely physically birch sap can be stored anywhere, including the Chernobyl "reserve". Only now only the juice that was collected away from any factories, cities, major roads(including railway) and agricultural fields.

Only in this case will birch sap be pure (without heavy metals, radionuclides, pesticides and other harmful chemical compounds), safe and nutritious.

You can collect birch sap from the moment when the first buds swell on the birch trees, and until the first leaves appear. At the same time, in sunny glades, collection can begin a little earlier than in the depths of the forest. True, the leaves here bloom faster than in the wilderness. Therefore, start in clearings and gradually move to darker places.

You can check if the juice has flowed with the help of a thin awl - pierce the bark and see if a drop of juice appears. If it appears, you can start collecting.

Trees should be selected based on the following parameters:

• trunk thickness at chest level of an adult - at least 20 cm
• developed "lush" crown

To apply to birch minimal harm, the hole in the trunk should be made at an angle of about 45 degrees (to make it easier for the juice to drain), with a thin drill - no wider than 1 cm, no more than 3 cm deep. As a groove, you can use curved pieces of tin, wooden and plastic tubes, medical systems and etc. The main thing is that these grooves do not “enrich” the tree and the collected juice with harmful chemical elements and compounds.

Each birch that meets the above criteria is able to produce an average of 1 to 7 liters of juice. At the same time, the holes made are tightened over time, and we get less and less juice. We recommend not making the hole deeper, but simply changing the tree. Just be sure to treat the damaged area - seal the hole hermetically with garden pitch, wax or clay.

How to save birch sap (until winter, at home)

Fresh raw birch sap can be stored in a cold place for up to 2 days without compromising quality. After this time, as well as when stored warm, birch sap starts to sour very quickly. And here methods come to the rescue long-term storage birch sap...

The ideal way to preserve birch sap until winter is to freeze it. Moreover, the juice must be frozen quickly, then everything useful will remain in it.

If there is no freezer, then you can “roll up” birch sap into sterilized glass jars. To do this, it is heated to 80 ° C, poured into jars and rolled up. tin lids. After that, the sealed jars are kept in 85-degree water for 15 minutes and left to cool at room temperature.

You can also make birch concentrate. To do this, the juice is brought to a temperature of 60 ° C and 75% of the total volume is evaporated. The remaining 25 percent of the concentrate is poured into sterilized jars and hermetically sealed. And before use, mix such a concentrate with water.

What is prepared from birch sap?

Since the "discovery" of birch sap, people have come up with dozens of recipes for making delicious and healthy (though not always) drinks, which include all kinds of kvass, syrups, homemade wines, fruit cocktails, sweet "vodichka" and others.

The simplest drink is obtained by mixing birch sap with fruit or vegetable juices. In any proportions - to taste.

A little harder to prepare birch kvass(one of the options):
Fresh birch sap is poured into a glass bottle, a handful of raisins (at the rate of a few pieces per liter) and sugar (2 tsp per liter) are added there. If desired, you can also throw a little lemon zest, fruits or berries into the bottle. After that, the bottle should be tightly closed and put in a cool place. In a few days, kvass will be ready, but you can open it either immediately or after 2-3 months. Will not deteriorate.

Another option is birch-bread kvass:
Pour birch sap into any clean container (preferably in oak barrel), put a cloth bag with rye breadcrumbs and close the container. After a few days, the juice will ferment, and you can add dill stalks, cherry leaves and oak bark. Then future kvass closed for at least 2 weeks. After that, the vessel can be opened, and kvass can be drunk.

Prepared from birch sap medicinal drinks. Usually for these purposes, birch sap is mixed with berries and honey.

For example, here is a recipe for making a birch-lingonberry drink:
The first step is to squeeze the juice from 150 grams of lingonberries. Then put the pomace in a saucepan and pour 1 liter of fresh birch sap. Hold this "compote" for 5 minutes in a water bath and cool. Mix with previously pressed lingonberry juice and add a little honey (or a lot if you really like sweets). Drink according to your mood. The drink has a pronounced diuretic effect.

As we have already said, there are a great many recipes for such drinks - at least according to a recipe for a berry. And if you remember about lemons, oranges and dried fruits, then during the spring you can provide yourself with a variety of drinks for the whole year. True, before that you will have to stock up on berries and dried fruits well ...