This drink has become popular recently! Some people call it "liquid diamond", but its nutritional content is surprising...

Since the beginning of this year, a new "health drink" has become popular, which is birch sap (also called birch water).

The major anchors also claimed in the live broadcast room that it is a "noble drink" and "liquid diamond", which can not only resist aging and protect the skin, but also improve energy, sober up, fight inflammation, and fight cancer...

Promotional image of a certain brand of birch sap

What exactly is this “magical” drink called birch sap? Can drinking it have the health benefits claimed in the advertisements? Let’s have an objective discussion about this.

Birch sap, a local product of Northeast China

In fact, when birch sap drinks first appeared on the market, some friends pointed out that this is not a new product. In some areas of Northeast China, the tradition of drinking birch sap has continued for many years , and birch sap is also considered a "Northeast local specialty." In "The Right Bank of the Ergun River" written by Chi Zijian, it is described that the Ewenki people living in the Greater Khingan Range cherish birch trees and birch sap.

Birch trees grow in high-latitude cold regions, such as Northeast China, Northern Europe and Eastern Europe. Birch sap is the sap of birch trees , which is usually collected only in early spring when the snow melts. It is said that once the birch trees unfold their leaves, it is difficult to collect sap. The natural birch sap collection period is so short, which is one of the reasons why birch sap is expensive.

The traditional way to collect birch sap is to make a slightly deeper hole in the trunk, and then use a diversion tube to drain the sap into a pre-prepared collection container. The collected birch sap is quickly transported to the factory, and after being processed in a modern factory, it can be canned into birch sap drinks sold on the market. As early as more than ten years ago, some local companies in Northeast China have produced birch sap drinks.

Birch sap collection. Copyright image from the library. Reproduction may lead to copyright disputes.

Actually, it’s not that magical

Since the beginning of this year, birch sap has become a hot-selling "new health drink" on major platforms. Whether it is middle-aged people who are under great pressure and have health anxiety, or young people who love to try new things, they can't help but buy it to try.

A study analyzed the nutritional components of birch sap and found that it contains glucose, fructose, some amino acids, and minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium, and sodium, as well as various phytochemicals, especially birch triterpenoid active substances - betulin and betulinic acid.

Glucose and fructose not only give birch sap a slightly sweet taste, but also provide energy to the human body; amino acids, as components of protein, are involved in various important physiological functions of the body; iron, magnesium, potassium, etc. are all important minerals needed by the human body; and the triterpenoid plant compounds in birch sap have also been found to have anti-tumor, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

All of these seem to prove that birch sap has its magical properties. However, no matter what kind of nutrient in what kind of food, if we want to explore its benefits to humans, we must base it on a certain content and intake. Even if a nutrient is "excellent", if the content in the food is very low or the intake is very small, it will not have the expected effect.

Studies have found that the sugar content in birch sap is between 0.5% and 2%. Although this content is slightly higher than mineral water, it is still difficult to use as a source of energy. Even pear juice, which has a lower calorie content among juices, has a sugar content of about 7%.

Another study found that the amino acid content in birch sap is 0.0003 g to 0.006 g/100 ml. If you really want to supplement amino acids or high-quality protein through drinks but don't want to consume too many calories, you can drink soy milk, or low-fat or skim milk.

As for the content of various minerals in it, the results of various studies vary, but in general it is still very low. For example, some studies have shown that the iron content in birch sap is about 0.17 mg/100 g, and the potassium content is 0.5-3 mg/100 g.

Even if the content of these nutrients is low, don’t we still have triterpenoid active substances? Yes, betulinic acid and betulin have indeed shown strong biological activities in many studies, such as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiviral.

However, on the one hand, triterpenes are mainly distributed in birch bark, and the content in the juice is not high ; on the other hand, phytochemicals (such as polyphenols) that can exert similar effects such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and immunity enhancement are actually widely present in fresh fruits and vegetables.

In general, although birch sap does contain a variety of nutrients, the content is not outstanding. After all, as a type of beverage, quenching thirst is the core.

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Finally, as an aside, the application of birch sap in skin care products may be more mature than being promoted as a beverage. Because its original juice and processed products have good moisturizing and skin barrier repair effects, some domestic and foreign skin care brands have added birch sap extracts to their products. This means that perhaps the "birch sap" products we see on the dressing table are more cost-effective.

References

[1] Chen Tieshan. Study on the nutritional components of birch sap from Qinling Mountains [J]. Chinese Herbal Medicine, 1996, 27 (9): 54-55.

[2] Li Ying, Yin Jing. Research progress on the biological activity and mechanism of action of betulinic acid and its derivatives[J]. Chinese Herbal Medicine, 2020, 12, 51(24).

[3] Wang Yunfang, Xu Guoying. Study on chemical composition of birch sap in Xinjiang [J]. Arid Zone Research, 1995, 12(1): 40-44.

[4]Ana I. Sancho, Tina Birk, Juliane M. Microbial safety and protein composition of birch sap, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis,

Volume 107,2022.

[5] Zhang Pengchun. Economic benefits of birch juice as a nutrient[J]. Shanxi Forestry Science and Technology, 1986, 02.

[6]Hordyjewska, A., Ostapiuk, A., Horecka, A. et al. Betulin and betulinic acid: triterpenoids derivatives with a powerful biological potential. Phytochem Rev 18, 929–951 (2019).

Planning and production

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Yang Yaping

Editor: Yang Yaping

Proofread by Xu Lai and Lin Lin

The cover image and the images in this article are from the copyright library

Reprinting may lead to copyright disputes