London - Super-hydrating coconut water may have been the health drink to be seen with this year. But in 2015, it’s birch water, a drink extracted from silver birch trees, that looks set to overtake it in the popularity stakes.
Why? Well, it’s thanks to its array of potential health and beauty benefits. With only 18 calories per 100ml, birch water contains lots of important, naturally occurring nutrients, such as antioxidant vitamin C, rehydrating potassium, immune system-boosting zinc, and copper — thought to have anti-ageing benefits.
The thin, watery sap is tapped from birch tree trunks in early spring and has been a popular drink and herbal remedy in Russia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and even some parts of Northern China for centuries.
Credited with helping a range of maladies, from high cholesterol to flu, kidney stones, headaches, eczema, cellulite and dandruff, birch sap is also considered to have powerful hydrating and detoxifying effects.
No wonder it’s recently become the fashionable health drink du jour in the US, where birch water is now found not just in cafes, gyms and healthfood stores, but is even on sale in petrol station chiller cabinets.
But what, exactly, is in this magic elixir and why does it have such an impressive reputation? According to the website of Byarozavik, one of the biggest American birch water brands, the basic nutritional profile of birch water is very similar to its coconut cousin — but with a couple of impressive nutritional extras.
It is also infused with natural sugars, protective antioxidant vitamins, hydrating electrolytes (nutrients like potassium that help the body to rehydrate itself) and trace minerals such as copper, calcium, zinc and magnesium.
Unlike coconut water, birch water also contains compounds called saponins, which are said to have powerful cholesterol-reducing properties.
“Saponins are found mainly in legumes such as soya beans and peas,” says Azmina Govindji, of the British Dietetic Association.
“There is some research to suggest that saponins may help to lower cholesterol levels, although these claims have still not been approved by the European Food Safety Authority.”
The other super-ingredient that birch water boasts and coconut water does not is xylitol — a sweetener with 40 percent fewer calories than sugar.
Used commercially as a low-calorie sweetener in chewing gum, toothpastes and mouthwashes, xylitol — which reduces tooth decay and strengthens enamel — is found in useful amounts (around one to two percent) — in birch water.
So where does birch sap come from? Most of the commercially sold birch water is sustainably harvested, by hand, in huge organic forests in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
Byarozavik water, for example, comes mostly from Belarus, while Sealand Birk, another popular brand, comes from Finland.
The window for harvest is incredibly short and unpredictable: only a few weeks in early spring, when the climate is right and the sap starts to run up the trees to nourish budding leaves, will supply large quantities of the water.
Depending on the weather, and how well the trees have been growing, up to four gallons of sap can be taken from a tree for several consecutive days.
It is collected in much the same way as maple syrup — from a simple tap driven into the trunk. The trees are then carefully plugged so as not to damage them. Unlike maple syrup, which is boiled down to intensify its sweetness, birch water is usually bottled with no more than a little light pasteurisation to extend its shelf life.
The result tastes very fresh — like super-clean spring water, with a subtle underlying sweetness and woody aftertaste.
In an effort to make birch water a bit more appealing, some companies are adding natural fruit flavours and even carbonation to their drinks.
It would be all too easy to be cynical, but it’s worth remembering that birch extracts have been widely used, and valued for their natural health benefits — particularly for urinary tract problems, arthritis and hair loss — for hundreds of years.
And a recent study by Lancaster University, also showed the tree’s amazing detoxifying capabilities when they planted silver birch trees between a street of houses and a busy road.
According to Professor Barbara Maher, the trees were able to absorb more than 50 percent of the particulate dust — linked to respiratory problems — from passing traffic, much more than other species, such as oak.
So should we all rush out to buy birch water? Azmina Govindji says: “It’s definitely healthier than sugary soft drinks, even if some of the more sensational health claims can’t yet be substantiated.” - Daily Mail