It's the Holiday
Season! That means it's time to get together with friends and family.
Time to share gifts, drinks, and stories. Time to get fat and lazy
after eating amazing meals. All of this can be very exciting and
wonderful. However, this can do a serious number on your digestion. I
figured that I could let you in on a tip to help keep your digestion
going strong even after a day of gorging yourself on food you don't
normally eat.
Over the years,
“Bitter” has gained a bad reputation. The word is most commonly
associated with harsh feelings like anger, resentment, and pain.
However, “Bitter” can be a wonderful and healthy tool to use.
Bitter herbs help digestion, and a number of them are already in our
diets. Coffee, most culinary herbs, and leafy greens are just a few
examples. Even though we do continue to enjoy our bitter herbs, we
don't have enough of them to really use their true potential. If you
aren't tasting the bitter flavor, you aren't getting the benefit. But
before I dig to deeply into that, here's a basic introduction to the
world of Bitters.
Bitter Herbs and Foods:
In Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM), there are 5 flavors of food. Sweet, Salty, Pungent
(sometimes referred to as Spicy or Acrid), Sour, and Bitter. Each of
these flavors is associated with certain actions on your digestive
system, as well as your body as a whole.
Bitter herbs and foods
help to stimulate digestion by triggering the production and/or
release of digestive enzymes, hormones, and various digestive
secretions (saliva, bile, etc). This action benefits the gallbladder,
stomach, liver, pancreas, and just about your whole body. Bitters
help us to properly digest proteins, fats, and starches. They help
increase nutrient absorption, improve the integrity of the tissues
lining the digestive tract, and help to create a protective barrier
against pathogens. Most bitters are also cooling in nature, helping
to reduce inflammation and rid the body of excess heat. They also
help aid the elimination process.
With such a wide range
of bitter options available to us, why do so many health
professionals think that the modern American diet is all but devoid
of bitter flavors? Because sweetening the bitter flavors destroys
most, if not all, of the health benefits. So eating those dark leafy
greens in your salad is a great choice, but using a salad dressing
packed full of sugar negates most of the healthy benefits. This is
one of the reasons that herbal bitters are such a great tool for your
health.
Herbal Bitters:
The herbal bitters we
usually refer to are mixtures of various herbal extracts designed to
help aid digestion. There are an unlimited amount of combinations of
bitter herbs out there that can be put into these herbal bitters, and
many recipes date back thousands of years. Some of the oldest recipes
come from the Mediterranean region and date back over 2,000 years
ago. Some of the more famous recipes are still in use today, though
mostly as cocktail ingredients. The most famous of these is Angostura
Bitters which is used in the traditional Old Fashioned. And for those
of you who are fans of Gin and Tonic, tonic water started off as a
bitter folk remedy as well.
Who Should Take Bitters?:
EVERYONE!
Bitters
are great for everyone to use. Pregnant and nursing women should use
caution with certain herbs, but an Herbal Bitter formulated with
fennel and other gentle herbs can be a great asset, especially since
fennel helps increase breast milk production. Those of you who have
had problems with your gallbladder, pancreas, liver, or kidneys can
benefit tremendously from taking bitters. People who suffer from
anemia, or iron deficiency, should think seriously about adding
bitters to their diet. Our bodies need bitters in order to properly
absorb and use iron.
How Do You Use Bitters?:
I
typically recommend using bitters 15 min before you plan on dining.
Bitters most often come in liquid extracts with droppers, but
occasionally you will find them in spray bottles. In the case of the
droppers, take 1-2 dropperfuls, under your tongue. For the spray,
spray into your mouth 2-3 times. When in doubt, follow the
instructions on the bottle.
Whatever
your digestive concern, there is an Herbal Bitters formula out there
for you (or you can make your own). I urge you all to talk to a
nutritionist, herbalist, or other health professional about adding
bitters to your daily routine.
I hope I have gotten
you excited about herbal bitters, and I hope that they help you
throughout this holiday season. If you have any questions or
comments please leave them below.
Where to Buy Great Bitters:
Check out your local
Farmer's Markets
There are also several
people who sell their herbal products on Etsy
I have also been known to
make bitters occasionally. For more information, please contact me
directly at BatLadyHerbals@gmail.com
Resources:
5 Reasons Why You Should Eat
Bitter Foods and Herbs: Natures Sunshine:
http://blog.naturessunshine.com/en/5-reasons-why-you-should-eat-bitter-foods-and-herbs/
10 Reasons to Use Bitters:
Hint it All Starts with Digestive Health : Radiant Life:
https://blog.radiantlifecatalog.com/bid/70036/10-Reasons-to-Use-Bitters-hint-it-all-starts-with-digestive-health
Benefits of Bitters: Organic
Spa Magazine:
https://www.organicspamagazine.com/the-benefits-of-bitters/
Digestive Bitters: Better
than Probiotics: Gwen's Nest:
http://gwens-nest.com/digestive-bitters/
Herbal Bitters: Invaluable
Aid to Fat Digestion: The Healthy Home Economist:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/bitters-invaluable-aid-to-fat-digestion/
Herbal Medicine: Tonics,
Bitters, and Digestion: Healthy.net:
http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/Tonics_Bitters_and_Digestion/862
Natural Healing: Befriending
the Bitter Herbs: Mother Earth Living:
https://www.motherearthliving.com/health-and-wellness/natural-healing-bitter-is-better-befriending-the-bitter-herbs
Properties of Food from a
TCM Perspective: Shen Nong:
http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/lifestyles/food_property_food_tcm.html
Taste and Action of Chinese
Herbs: ITM Online:
http://www.itmonline.org/articles/taste_action/taste_action_herbs.htm
Thank you.
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