In gemmotherapy the birch sap bud-derived is used to drain the body from excess fluids and help it in the detoxification process. The drainage produced by birch sap (in the form of bud-derived is called Betula verrucosa lymph ) acts on the lymphatic system, which regulates the accumulation of liquids in the tissues and is considered the bulwark of defense of our body.
In fact, along the lymphatic pathways there are organs, called lymph nodes, capable of producing the so-called lymphocytes, which defend the body from infectious agents.
In plants , the sap is able to counteract the force of gravity and reach considerable heights of height (30 m), to distribute nutrients absorbed by the soil in all parts.
Over time, man has learned to use plant sap to his advantage, to support the work done by our lymphatic system and help him eliminate excess waste.
The functions of the sap in the human body
In humans (and animals) the sap performs the function of collecting liquids and waste material, such as metabolic waste and toxins from the periphery and then convey it to the purification organs (liver, kidneys, lungs, skin). When the precious lymphatic drainage system goes haywire, considerable quantities of liquids can accumulate in the interstitial spaces, causing liquid retention, cellulite, thus retaining harmful substances that poison the body.
Furthermore the lymph is not pushed by the cardiac activity, but flows in the lymphatic vessels, moved by the action of the muscles. By contracting and relaxing, these fabrics function like a real pump . When this action fails, for example due to excessive immobility, the lymph tends to stagnate, accumulating in the tissues. For this reason, feet and ankles swell when you stand for a long time in a static position or do little physical activity.
Find out also what draining sludge is and how it works
The action of birch sap on the human lymphatic system
The bud derived from birch sap to drain the human body is the only remedy used by gemmotherapy that is not obtained from buds or growing parts (meristematic tissues), but precisely from lymph, secreted by birch. The sap also contains calcium, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and less than 1% of sugars, mostly fructose .
Birch sap is an effective natural purifier that helps the body eliminate uric acids, toxins (especially those derived from pharmacological treatments, cortisone or hormonal therapies, hyperuricemia and hypercholesterolemia) and fluid stagnation in tissues. Therefore it is advisable for everyone to maintain or return in shape, for the beauty of the skin, to fight cellulite, to promote the reduction of waste. The sap-derived gemmoder is also used effectively in the presence of edema, caused by heart and / or renal failure. Due to these peculiarities and to its cholesterol-lowering property, which characterizes it, it is part of the therapeutic schemes of the treatment of overweight .
In addition, it not only supports our lymphatic system in its draining function, but also acts as a stimulant of the body's natural defenses, against the damaging effects of free radicals and attacks by infectious agents.
Furthermore , it contains two heterosides, which by enzymatic release methyl salicylate with analgesic, anti-inflammatory and diuretic action . In the treatment of hyperuricemia it can be considered, in fact, a first choice remedy, as its regular intake for 2-3 months allows a reduction of 20-30%: it is thus possible to obtain a decrease in risk not only vascular, but also articular, always present in hyperuricemia.
Birch sap in the past and the extraction technique
The first written testimony of the use of birch sap to drain, as a support to the proper functioning of the kidneys and against uric acids, is the " Historia Vegetabilium Sacra " of 1695 (a collection of all the herbal trees plants flowers and fruits mentioned in the Holy Scriptures). The use of birch sap as a health drink has long traditions in the countries of the Scandinavian peninsula, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Japan and Korea. In Sweden and Lapland, birch sap is used as a purifier, taken as it is or as a concentrate.
This is harvested following a special technique: at the beginning of March, during the spring whipping, they are practiced in adult birches, which grow in wooded areas, and preferably on the part of the trunk facing south, some holes about a meter from the ground, deep from 2-5 cm., slightly obliquely upwards, into which a small tube is introduced from which the sap flows into the containers placed on the ground (a trunk of 50 cm in diameter provides an average of 3 in four days -4 liters of sap).
