Bitter leaf and other bitters are healthy, but you hate them…

Bitter leaf and other bitters are healthy, but you hate them…

Posted by Sylvester on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 0

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Bitter leaf

Bitter cola

Bitter flavor and medicinal bitters are essential for our internal health. They balance the sweet, salty and rich foods that are overwhelmingly packed into the standard diet. It’s time for bitters to finally take the spotlight because a bitterless diet results in poor digestion, gas and bloating, heartburn, constipation, fatigue and poor skin. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably experienced one or more of those conditions. We spend millions every year on medications that shut off stomach acid or ease bowel movements. Why not give bitters a chance and prevent those problems from happening in the first place?

You’re likely familiar with the flavor bitter, but do you really know what bitters are? No, I don’t mean the common bar mixer — which may contain flavors of bitter herbs that are not medicinal. The term “bitters” refers to helpful foods and herbs traditionally ingested around mealtimes to help the digestive process move along without a hiccup… or burp. Benefits of bitters:

• Start digestion if taken shortly before a meal

• Encourage digestion to occur normally and decrease the need for digestive aids

• Keep you regular

• Energetically grounding and bring the mind into the present moment

• Curb cravings for sugar

• Stimulate poor appetite

• Decrease food sensitivities, when taken regularly

Bitters help elicit all the wonderful juices your body must produce to turn that bite of food into energy via mechanical and chemical action. Think about the feeling in your cheeks when you smell a bitter juice. You get a tingling sensation in your salivary glands and you start the drool, right? Their action is similar to that, but happens from your mouth all the way down. Bitters bring balance to flavors in food, our bodies as well as our lives– if you have much sweetness in your life, a dose of bitters will bring out that sweetness all the more.

I encourage you to try taking bitters around mealtime or in your meal, because bitters can be medicine or food! These will be particularly helpful if used daily, weekly or monthly or even over the holidays or at a dinner party. You will be the toast of the evening after you introduce your guests to the magic of bitters.