Silver Birch is a tree that always catches my eye, so much so, I planted 8 of these beautiful trees in the front garden with another 7 thriving out in the back garden. I just love how its trunk stands out from all the other trees and can be recognised anywhere with its magnificent white peeling bark. I love its elegance, how it rises majestically up into the sky with thin wispy branches adorned with small delicate leaves. I have watched it bend and lean precariously in storms fearing it may never right itself, only to see it settle back into exquisite gracefulness once again.
Vesco was chatting with me recently and as always our conversations can take any direction, this particular day it took the path of the healing benefits of silver birch.
Did you know….
“The white peeling bark is great for lighting fires and the buds and twigs have tons of medicinal uses:
- A great source of vitamin C, tannin, and flavonoids, silver birch is useful in preventing viral infections and even cancer.
- Silver Birch contains powerful diuretic properties that help in flushing out harmful toxins, uric acid, and excess water from the body, making it a good anti-inflammatory, and helpful for maintaining kidney and liver health.
- Its anti-inflammatory properties mean it can treat conditions like arthritis, high cholesterol, heart and kidney swelling, and cystitis.
- Silver birch stimulates the digestive system and aids in better digestion.
- Its nutrients are also effective in strengthening the bones and boosting overall immunity.” www.schoolofthewild.com
I was delighted to learn that you can make tea from the twigs and the buds. I am here presently sipping and thoroughly enjoying a fresh brew which I made from some of the new growth leaves and buds. I simply placed a fistful of the leaves and buds into a herbal teapot, poured boiling water over and let it draw for a couple of minutes. It tastes wonderfully light and refreshing. It is something I think I would like in the summer with ice as it would be really delicate.
The heading of this blog is “Grief, Silver Birch and Digestion – The healing link”.
What I have learnt from my personal experience over the last couple of years is this. Shock and grief are difficult to face, deal with and release from the body. Due to a decline in my health last year I was made to face and have a good hard look at myself. I realised that where I am moving forward from the enormous grief on a physical level, I wasn’t dealing with it as such on an emotional level. I had reverted to my steadfast pattern of shoving it down (into my stomach and intestines), keeping active and pretending that all was well, getting on with things outwardly but struggling inwardly at times.
However, my body had had enough, my stomach or intestines were not digesting properly, I wasn’t receiving the full nutrients my body required no matter how healthy my diet, or the amount of exercise, my muscles were not being fed properly and aches and pains had moved in regardless of the amount of yoga I was doing. My health had started to deteriorate and I was physically feeling the effects. I turned as you normally do to the Medical Profession for answers. Trips to Specialists, Doctors, hospitals, scans, test after test to discover there was nothing wrong physically. Emotionally was another issue, so many months later I found my answer in the holistic approach.
I didn’t know that after any type of a shock it is advisable that you up your intake of Vit C, B’s and Zinc. This has been life changing for me. For the first time in months I have a reserve tank behind me, I had known for months that there was nothing physically left in my body to fight if anything had shown up medically. Taking the above concoction resulted in my body reacting and absorbing immediately what it had been starved of for so long. This has been huge relief in itself as I started to feel better not just physically but emotionally also. I began to feel more sane and grounded.
As a result I have started to focus on nature and what is growing around us in a bid to feed my body the nutrients it badly needs.
Fear is stored in the kidneys. Anger is stored in the liver, grief and sadness are stored in the lungs which if not dealt with over time will weaken the nervous system and also weaken the energy in the body as well. What I have noticed is this, my body is coming alive, it is like it has been crying out for this type of food for a long time. It feels nurturing and beneficial in my system. If I was a cat my insides would be purring with pure satisfaction.
The benefits of dandelion are as follows:
- Promotes a healthy liver
- A natural Diuretic
- Lowers blood pressure
- Lowers cholesterol
- Aids weight loss
- Helps fight against cancer
- Supports a health digestion and treats constipation
- Boosts you immune system.
Nature has a way of bringing us back into balance, I personally feel human again just by being in the presence of the power of the ocean, or walking in the woods. Nature provides for us and if you look at the benefits of both the Silver Birch and the Dandelion they have quite a lot in common both work on the kidneys, liver and digestion.
The Dandelion pesto (see earlier post on Facebook) and the benefits of silver birch above are all based on natural nutrients found free in nature and all around us. They act as a deep cleanse for our liver, boost kidney energy, power up our digestion system and improve our immune system all freely available and at hand to our disposal. So don’t just see weeds next time you spot a dandelion see a nutricious boost for your body.
Today the sun is shinning, I made a delicious dandelion pesto and I’m drinking silver birch tea. Life is indeed good and I’m really grateful..
Om shanti Noreen.