Birch, A Very Effective Cleanser

This tree, easily identifiable by the white color of its bark, has been highly appreciated in Europe since ancient times for its great healing potential.

It is slender, with an elongated crown, hanging branches, small, triangular and serrated leaves, and tiny fruits, equipped with ailerons to facilitate their dispersal. It grows on humid soils, sometimes mixed between conifers, being confined in our latitudes to high mountain areas.

The tree takes advantage of the leaves, which are collected in spring, but also the buds, sap and bark. They are rich in flavonoids. The bark also contains an essential oil, betulinic acid, betulinol, potassium salts and tannins.

Powerful diuretic

• Its essential virtue is as a urine activator and general cleanser of the body. It facilitates the elimination of toxic agents, such as an excess of uric acid and urea, and is used successfully for the dissolution of kidney stones.
• If we add to its diuretic strength its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, we will be facing a very interesting natural remedy to face all kinds of urinary tract conditions, such as cystitis or urethritis, difficulty in issuing urine or gout.
• It is also effective to combat overweight caused by fluid retention, or swelling of the legs and feet for the same reason and that can occur during the menstrual period.
• It also contributes to reducing arterial hypertension when it has a kidney origin.

Herbalist formula

For all this, herbalists propose us a very effective diuretic formula, in which birch is combined with horsetail, corn whiskers and grass, in equal parts.

How to prepare the infusion

Four tablespoons of the mixture are boiled for one minute per liter of water, and the mixture is kept at rest for another ten minutes. After filtering, you can drink throughout the day.

Other uses:

• To promote the expulsion of the grits, simply add to this formula salsufragio ( Silene saxifraga ) and arenaria ( Arenaria glabra ) in the same proportion.
• If you want to obtain a cleansing effect and eliminate toxins, nothing better than this new infusion, where birch is combined with detoxifying plants such as dandelion, burdock, horsetail and sarsaparilla. For this, the same indications of the previous formula must be followed.
• The oil distilled from the leaves is analgesic and healing, and acts effectively to heal skin wounds and to be applied on skin impurities such as eczema and psoriasis. It is also anti-inflammatory, and is recommended to alleviate joint pain, in cases of arthritis and osteoarthritis, and to relieve tendinitis.
• The inner bark is astringent and antidiarrheal, and is used for difficult digestions, intermittent fevers and flu.
• A decoction of the bark applied as a lotion is also used to stop hair loss.