Birch tea: not only a tasty beverage Health Dictionary

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Birch Tea: Not Only A Tasty Beverage: From 1 Different Sources

Birch tea is a medicinal beverage made from the leaves or the bark of the plant. It is enjoyed worldwide for its health benefits and also for its tasty flavor. Birch tea description Birch is a soft-wood tree, found in the woodlands of cold climate countries, especially in North America and Europe. It is a fast-growing tree that can reach 65 feet in height. The birch tree is known for its silvery-white bark that tends to peel off in layers. The ‘oil of birch’ has potent properties in the anti-cancer treatment. Birch is a natural pain reliever with salicylate, the compound found in aspirin. Birch leaf is a medicinal remedy for various forms of upset stomach. Birch tea is the resulting beverage from brewing the abovementioned plant. Birch tea brewing To make Birch tea from the leaves:
  • Place 2 to 3 teaspoonfuls in a cup and pour on boiling water.
  • Cover the mix and allow it to steep for 10 minutes.
  • Drink the tea about three times a day.
Birch tea can also be made using the bark of the tree:
  • Place a teaspoon of dried birch bark in a cup of boiling water.
  • Allow it to steep for 15 minutes.
  • Drink the tea twice or thrice a day.
Birch tea can be sweetened with honey. The resulting beverage has a very aromatic flavor. The parts used for tea are the leaves, twigs, and the bark. Birch tea benefits Birch tea has been successfully used to:
  • alleviate joint pain related to rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
  • combat gout
  • fight urinary disorders
  • increase urination
  • treat melanoma
  • help fighting skin breakouts and other dermatological problems (applied topically as a wash or added to bath water)
  • soothe sore muscles
Also, Birch tea may help remove excess fluids from the body. Birch tea side effects Birch tea is not recommended to pregnant and nursing women. Also, it not advised to people allergic to aspirin. Birch tea is best known for itsanti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties. It is also largely used to remove excess fluids from the body.
Health Source: Beneficial Teas
Author: Health Dictionary

Allspice Tea: A Tasty Choice

Allspice tea is well known for its healing properties and, it proved to be an important ingredient when cooking stews, soups but not only. Allspice Tea description The Allspice plant was discovered by Christopher Columbus on a Jamaican island, in 1494. The Spaniards called it “pimienta” (pepper) and started to use it widely when cooking. It is a small berry, tasting like a mixture of pepper, cloves, juniper, nutmeg and cinnamon. Nowadays, this plant is added to recipes and brewes in order to obtain a healing beverage. Due to its taste, Allspice is commonly used to flavor stews and soups. Rice dishes become tastier when this spice is added. Allspice tea is best known for its aid in digestive processes but not only. Allspice Tea brewing To prepare Allspice tea:
  • place 1 or 2 teaspoons of dried allspice fruit (or powder) in 1 cup of boiling water
  • steep them for 10 to 20 minutes
  • drink the tea (sugar or honey might be added)
Allspice Tea benefits Allspice tea is said to:
  • facilitate and promote good digestion
  • help bloating, belching and flatulence
  • help in preventing allergies
  • help lower blood sugar
  • help relieve toothache and muscle/joint pain
  • help uplift the mood and relax the body
Allspice Tea side effects Breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women must not take allspice in any form. Allspice tea may cause serious allergic reactions in hypersensitive individuals. It is contraindicated for those with chronic gastrointestinal conditions such as duodenal ulcers, reflux disease, spastic colitis, diverticulitis, disarticulates and ulcerative colitis. It should not be consumed by patients with cancer. Also, allspice tea should not be intaken by people with a high risk of cancer. Discovered by Christopher Columbus, allspice plant was firstused in cooking recipes and afterwards, the resulting beverage turned out to be a useful aid in treating several ailments. Allspice tea is a good choice to treat oneself and to strengthen the body.... allspice tea: a tasty choice

Birch

Protection, Exorcism, Purification and Cleansing... birch

Birch, European

 Silver birch. Betula alba L., B. pendula Roth. German: Weissbirke. French: Bouleau. Spanish: Abidul. Italian: Betula. Bark and leaves.

Action: Astringent. Bitter. Anti-inflammatory. Cholagogue. Diuretic. Contains salicylates which have an aspirin-like effect. Young leaves increase the flow of urine. Popular in Scandinavia.

Uses: Rheumatism and gout (dried leaf tea). Sore mouth (gargle). Kidney and bladder complaints. Sluggish kidney function. ‘Heart’ oedema. Cellulitis due to retention of metabolic wastes.

Preparations: Tea: 1 teaspoon dried leaves to each cup boiling water; infuse 15 minutes. Strain. Wineglass thrice daily.

Methyl salicylate, a rheumatism remedy, obtained by distillation of the twigs. (A. Vogel) Birch tar oil. (Ointment) External use only (UK). ... birch, european

Birch, Sweet

Betula lenta

FAMILY: Betulaceae

SYNONYMS: B. capinefolia, cherry birch, southern birch, mahogany birch, mountain mahogany.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: A graceful tree about 25 metres high which has a pyramidal shape while young. It has bright green leaves and a dark reddish-brown aromatic bark, which is broken into plates or patches.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to southern Canada and southeastern USA; produced mainly in Pennsylvania.

OTHER SPECIES: There are numerous species of birch, spanning several continents, such as black birch (B. nigra) found in North America. Not to be confused with the European white birch (B. alba), which produces birch tar oil used in chronic skin diseases.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: The cambium (the layer directly under the bark) is eaten in the spring, cut into strips like vermicelli. The bark, in the form of an infusion, is used as a general stimulant and to promote sweating. As a decoction or syrup, it is used as a tonic for dysentery and is said to be useful in genito-urinary irritation. The flavour of wintergreen and birch bark, in the form of a tea, was popular with the American Indians and European settlers. More recently, this has been translated into a preference for ‘root beer’ flavourings.

ACTIONS: Analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antirheumatic, antiseptic, astringent, depurative, diuretic, rubefacient, tonic.

EXTRACTION: Essential oil by steam distillation of the bark macerated in warm water.

CHARACTERISTICS: Colourless, pale yellow or reddish tinted liquid with an intense, sweet-woody, wintergreen-like scent.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: Almost entirely methyl salicylate (98 per cent), produced during the maceration process. It is almost identical in composition to wintergreen oil.

SAFETY DATA: Methyl salicylate, the major constituent, is not exactly toxic but very harmful in concentration.’ It can be absorbed through the skin, and fatal poisoning via this route has been reported.’. ’ It is also classed as an enviromental hazard or marine pollutant.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE None.

OTHER USES: Limited use as a counter-irritant in anti-arthritic and antineuralgic ointments and analgesic balms. Limited use as a fragrance component in cosmetics and perfumes; extensively used as a flavouring agent, especially ‘root beer’, chewing gum, toothpaste, etc. (usually very low-level use).... birch, sweet

Birch, White

Betula alba

FAMILY: Betulaceae

SYNONYMS: B. alba var. pubescens, B. odorata, B. pendula, European white birch, silver birch.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Decorative tree, up to 15–20 metres high, with slender branches, silvery-white bark broken into scales, and light green oval leaves. The male catkins are 2–5 cms long, the female up to 15 cms long.

DISTRIBUTION: Native to the northern hemisphere; found throughout Eastern Europe, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic coast, northern China and Japan.

OTHER SPECIES: Many cultivars exist of this species of birch. The paper birch (B. papyrifera) and B. verrucosa are also used for the production of birch bud oil and/or birch tar. NB Should not be confused with the oil from the sweet birch (B. lenta) which is potentially toxic.

HERBAL/FOLK TRADITION: Birch buds were formerly used as a tonic in hair preparations. Birch tar is used in Europe for all types of chronic skin complaints: psoriasis, eczema, etc. In Scandinavia the young birch leaflets and twigs are bound into bundles and used in the sauna to tone the skin and promote the circulation. The sap is also tapped in the spring and drunk as a tonic. Buds, leaves and bark are used for ‘rheumatic and arthritic conditions, especially where kidney functions appear to need support … oedematous states; urinary infections and calculi.’.

ACTIONS: Anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge, tonic.

EXTRACTION: 1. Essential oil by steam distillation from the leaf-buds. 2. Crude birch tar is extracted by slow destructive distillation from the bark; this is subsequently steam distilled to yield a rectified birch tar oil.

CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Pale yellow, viscous oil with a woody-green balsamic scent. It crystallizes at low temperatures. 2. The crude tar is an almost black, thick oily mass. The rectified oil is a brownish-yellow, clear oily liquid with a smoky, tar-like, ‘Russian leather’ odour. It blends well with other woody and balsamic oils.

PRINCIPAL CONSTITUENTS: 1. Mainly betulenol and other sesquiterpenes. 2. In the tar oil: phenol, cresol, xylenol, guaiacol, creosol, pyrocatechol, pyrobetulin (which gives the ‘leather’ scent).

SAFETY DATA: Non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitizing.

AROMATHERAPY/HOME: USE

Skin Care: Dermatitis, dull or congested skin, eczema, hair care, psoriasis etc.

Circulation Muscles And Joints: Accumulation of toxins, arthritis, cellulitis, muscular pain, obesity, oedema, poor circulation, rheumatism.

OTHER USES: Birch bud oil is used primarily in hair tonics and shampoos, and in some cosmetics for its potential skin-healing effects. The crude tar is used in pharmaceutical preparations, ointments, lotions, etc. for dermatological diseases. It is also used in soap and leather manufacture – rectified birch tar oil provides the heart for many ‘leather’ type perfumes and aftershaves.... birch, white


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