Bamboo: A Versatile Natural Product
When mentioned "bamboo", what will you think of? Is it the cute panda, the delicious bamboo shoots, the beautiful bamboo craftwork or the bamboo floor on the boardwalk? Yes, bamboo is really so versatile, and can be found in everywhere from roads and bridges to entire home constructions, even clothing, crafts, beverages, food and the automotive industry etc.
All parts of the bamboo are valuable, it is one of the most valuable plants in the world. Here are just some areas where bamboo is widely used today.
1. Food And Medicine
Bamboo shoots can be eaten. Bamboo is commonly eaten as a soup or salad in Asian cuisine. The young bamboo shoots that are fit for human consumption are boiled at a very high temperature. A toxin called taxiphyllin is naturally found in bamboo, and the boiling counteracts it so that it can be safely eaten. The protein content of bamboo shoots is around 15.23%, which is a nutritious vegetable, and show up as delicious food on the dining tables. The bamboo leaf contains a large number of EOB-F, can be produced as beverages as well.
Furthermore, bamboo has medicinal effects. Juice from young bamboo shoots is used to make medicine, for asthma, coughs, and gallbladder disorders. Bamboo also has incredible healing properties. It contains methanol, a powerful healing agent that cleanses and promotes healing skin. Not only does it work with minor cuts or scrapes, but the beauty industry has taken this magical factor and ran with it.
2. Construction and Furniture
Bamboo has an innate structure that is unbelievably but truly stronger than steel. Steel has a tensile strength of 23,000 pounds per square inch, while bamboo surpasses steel with a noticeable lead at 28,000 pounds. Its high tensile strength, ability to withstand compression, and bending property makes it a very promising material in the field of construction. Mostly in eastern countries, it is used for scaffolding. It is also used for floors, bridges and house walls cladding, by not only offering a natural aesthetic look, but also more durable and cost-effective.
The quick-growing grass has long been used in furniture. With better manufacturing processes, there are many more options and applications nowadays. You could choose to have your whole house built from bamboo products and then furnish it in the same material, everything from the chairs and tables to the beds.
3. Paper Making and Craftworks
Bamboo pulp can be made into bamboo paper. Bamboo paper is strong and it has wide applications. The bleached bamboo paper is used to manufacture offset paper, typing paper and high-grade culture paper. The unbleached bamboo paper is generally applied to package papermaking.
Bamboo is so flexible, it can be bent into round and curved shapes without breaking, which is popular in making daily-use products such as baskets, strainers, sieves and writing brushes.
No part of the bamboo grass goes to waste. Bamboo scraps can be used to produce chopsticks and remaining waste can be used to make charcoal or organic fertilizer as well. In addition to these, bamboo has a greater usage, that is to reduce carbon dioxide! Bamboo absorbs two times more carbon dioxide and releases 35% excess oxygen than trees. Every bamboo plant has a capacity to absorb about 400 kg of CO2 a year.
Taking these facts into consideration, it is a good idea to promote the growth and use of bamboo to ensure lower costs of living and a better environment for our future generations.
Future needs bamboo, make it happen.