Pine gum making and benefits

When a small notch is made on the trunk of trees of the pine family, the tree secretes a mixture of paste and marbles in order to repair the damage to the trunk. Although this mixture is used for different purposes, what I want to describe is "pine gum.

Since pine and olive trees are common where I live, I prefer pine trees. Both types of trees have a structure that can survive for centuries. I produce my own pine chewing gum instead of the pine chewing gum produced in the market. I don't like chewing gum anyway, but I like the well-known aroma of pine chewing gum.

I also love the smell of the oily parts of the favorites of the pine trees. We call it "çıra" in the local language, and it often provides a practical convenience to ignite wood. It is enough to touch the match or the fire in the lighter, then it continues until the çıra piece burns completely and spreads the pleasant smell around.

In pine gum, you can find exactly the smell and aroma of kindling. The oily formation in the tree trunk is sent as a liquid to the notch opened and when the liquid comes into contact with the air there, a pasty formation is obtained.

The process is quite simple, make a small notch in the tree and after a while collect the pine gum accumulated in the notch. The tree itself fulfils the task between making the notch and collecting the pine gum.

Pine gum shrinks as you chew it. You will notice that it shrinks as you chew and disappears by itself after a while. It has a bitter taste and a strong pine wood flavour. It is honey-coloured but darkens and turns purple as you chew it. It has a hard consistency.

In order to be able to chew continuously, it is necessary to have a strong tooth structure. Since I don't have strong teeth and I can't give up its flavour, I take it in small quantities, chew it and move it around my mouth to benefit from its effect.

The reason why I prefer it is not only its flavour, I know that it has many benefits.

Here are some of the benefits;

• It removes harmful plaque in the mouth during chewing and has a direct effect on the development of the gums.

• It relieves the feeling of discomfort caused by the stomach as a result of eating heavy and fatty foods and facilitates digestion.

• Reduces cough and eliminates it in regular use.

• Eliminates inflammation that occurs or is likely to occur in the lungs. Cleans the respiratory tract and provides relief. When the pine gum is thrown into boiling water and the vapour is drawn into the respiratory tract after melting, it has a breathing feature. You can get an effective result even just by chewing.

• It regenerates the skin and slows down the effects of ageing by renewing the cells in the muscles that remain immobilised in the face during chewing.

It is used in some eye diseases and wound healing, but since this part requires some procedures other than chewing pine gum, I do not want to touch on that part of the work.

Despite everything, you should do your own research when it comes to health. I know that there are products in nature that will cure many diseases and that many formulas are obtained from those products. As a believer in alternative medicine, I have written in the past about thyme, laurel and the oil obtained from them, thyme and laurel juice obtained by dripping method.

We have been making and using thyme, laurel oil and water with ancestral methods for years. We have not come across any side effects so far, but we have seen many benefits.

The method and use of pine gum is just one of them. You should do your own research and only trust them!