Birch Bark Tea or Caps do they help?

I'm always looking for natural solutions to alleviate disease. I have recently come across a new/old product that is proving to be greatly beneficial to me. Birch Bark, yup the stuff they peal off of birch trees, ground up and put in a tea bag or capsule and swallowed. I learned of this from someone I know that is actually currently serving time for a mistake he made. He thought the prison was serving coffee which he had not been drinking, in reality the have been serving birch bark tea.

His good wife investigated it and found it is reputed to have several great benefits. Once he started drinking the tea himself he soon realized that some ailments he had been suffering from where leaving him, he was feeling more energetic, and healthier in general. So his wife shared her discovery with me and now I'm sharing it with you, because I am likewise feeling the benefits of taking birch bark capsules.

So here are some links for you to follow to learn more about it for your self:
http://www.sciencedaily.com
http://www.herbco.com
http://www.anniesremedy.com
http://www.mountainroseherbs.com

Benefits:

   Appreciated for its properties, birch tree is renowned for being a good diuretic, without forcing the kidneys. It has the capacity to produce perspiration and to help in treating rheumatism and inflammations of the urinary bladder (I'm finding this true for myself).

   Birch eliminates cholesterol from the blood, and disinfects the body. It is also efficient against liver diseases, ascitis, diarrhea, constipation or intestinal parasites. Cardiac edemas, originating in circulatory insufficiency, arterial hypertension, and atherosclerosis are also treated with the help of brews based on birch. It is also recommended in treating the flu, fevers, colds and chronic sinusitis. Also in internal use, it is used for easing headaches produced by hyperzotomy, dizziness, allergies and for tonifying the nervous system.

   Through diuresis, it eliminates the excess of uric acid, toxins and water from the tissues, having an important role in eliminating cellulite and obesity (under investigation). Birch leaf baths help strengthen hair roots (have yet to try this), prevent the forming of dandruff and contribute to the healing of skin irritations.

   The juice squeezed out of fresh leaves is used in treating infections and inflammations of the urinary tract, renal calculosis and edemas. The birch wood coal is chewed immediately after the manifestation of intoxication (I wouldn't need to verify this myself).

   Externally, it is used for treating affections of the skin - dermatitis, eczemas, and furunculous.

   The bark, rich in betulin and betulinic acid is used in the pharmaceutical industry. Ripped into bands and moistened in hot water, it can be used for immobilizing articulations or fractured arms.
This information is taken from: http://www.liveandfeel.com

I hope you find this information useful to you.
You can find the tea at: http://www.frontiercoop.com
Capsules are available from: http://www.swansonvitamins.com
Or make your own: http://www.ehow.com

Also of interest is a fungus that grows on the Birch tree which tends to contain much of the active ingredient known as Chuga: http://en.wikipedia.org