Why take bitters

Eating bitters regularly has been shown to:. With processed foods delivering artificial, tongue-tingling flavors and spices to addicted mouths, it has become difficult to find quality bitter foods in the marketplace. Even the fruit and vegetable varieties packed into produce departments have been intentionally hybridized and bred to minimize bitterness, selecting instead for qualities of sweetness, bright color and full shape. While these traits certainly make veggie shopping more appealing to browsing consumers, they also represent a tragic limitation of nutritional value and an overall lack of phytonutrient, anti-oxidant and flavonoid variety in our foods.

Today, true bitter flavor is enjoyed in just a few commonly munched-on items such as greens particularly dandelion and arugula , coffee, hops, olives, and dark chocolate.

To make up for the general deficit of bitter flavors in most modern diets, many practitioners recommend the use of a supplemental herbal tonic or tincture. Common botanicals that have a natural bitter flavor include: gentian, cascarilla, cassia, orange peel and cinchona bark among others.

Bitter tonics can be found at many health food stores and online, but I personally love our Urban Moonshine Bitters , which have been carefully crafted by a Vermont herbalist using local, certified organic ingredients.

For those wishing to avoid the alcohol that is traditionally used as a solvent and preservative in bitter tonics, Flora Swedish Bitters offer a non-alcoholic style that is equally as potent and beneficial. Simply squirt on the tongue after meals and delight in the dazzling flavor of nature's most powerful digestive aide!

To read more on bitters, check out a great article from the Weston A Price Foundation here. Home Blog 10 Reasons to Use Bitters hint: it all starts with digestive health. Bitter: A Mysterious Flavor Bitter is an intriguing flavor. Eating bitters regularly has been shown to: 1. People finding it hard to digest fats have recorded a great improvement when they take bitters. Taking herbal bitters before meals do not only enhance the production of HCL needed for digestion in the stomach, it also ignites digestive fire by getting ready the pancreatic enzymes and bile while it also ensures easy bowel habits.

Herbal bitters are known to stimulate the production of bile in the liver, which hence aids effective digestion and absorption of our foods, especially fatty foods. Bile is needed for digestion of fat and it is thus necessary that there be a sufficient production of bile to aid the process of digestion. Bile encourages fat digestion as well as improves the absorption of soluble vitamins A, D, and K which have been identified as critical to our health.

Taking herbal bitter can help relieve occasional symptoms of heartburn and also ensures that food moves along smoothly by enhancing adequate bowel movement, which in turn gives relief for occasional nausea. One of the most active organs in our body is the liver as it works tirelessly every day. However, at the taste of bitters on your tongue, a reflex signal is being sent through the vagus nerve directly to the liver and the entire digestive system to waking it up and ensures it stay on top of the game.

Bitters also supports the healthy release of hormones like cholecystokinin CCK known to stimulate gallbladder contraction. The phytochemicals present in bitters directly support liver cells by ensuring healthy bile synthesis, antioxidant production, and metabolism. A good ally in the struggle against the hold of carbs is herbal bitter.

It can reframe your relationship to food. It helps support a healthy, normal appetite and gives you that feeling of fullness and satiety preventing you from overeating and the need to bite on sugars unnecessarily.

At the same time, if your blood sugar levels are normal, bitter will help you ensure they remain that way. When liver function is compromised, the skin tries to take up the slack. But due to the critical role played by bitters in ensuring a healthy liver function, it indirectly helps the skin to flourish and enhances fat processing in the sebaceous glands under our skin. One of the digestive ills most women face during pregnancy is nausea and having bitters by their side could be a great companion in combating this symptom.

However, pregnant women need to consult their doctor before deciding to go for any brand on the market. This is because some brands are contradicted for pregnancy, including gentian and angelica. Generally, bitters are safe for children over the age of two. It helps them achieve a healthy growth and keep them away from sickness.

However, the serving size given t them has to be adjusted based on their weight. We will be doing ourselves lots of good to include herbal bitters in our daily meal. There are several brands of bitters on the market, but choosing one from a trusted brand will not only give you an assurance of safety, it will also produce the right result expected from taking it. A very good herbal bitter to consider in this case is the DiGest Forte produced by Standard process.

Apart from the fact that this digestive herbal bitter is being produced by a trusted company like standard process that ensures quality in all their products, the bitter has also recorded several good reports from countless of people.

DiGest Forte. DiGest Forte herbal bitter is a bitter tonic produced by Standard Process from a right combination of ginger, gentian, tangerine Chen Pi Feverfew, and wormwood.

The bitter has been recognized by many people to be a perfect solution to various digestive conditions because of the combinations of compounds present in the ingredients used to make the bitter. These compounds, among many others, are pungent principles including gingerols , secoiridoid bitter glycosides including amarogentin and gentiopicrin , sesquiterpene lactones including parthenolide and absinthin , monoterpenes and flavonoids.

DiGest Forte has been known to help:. This herbal bitter is just what you need to boost your digestive health and get better digestion, and absorption. Your gastrointestinal will thank you for making such decision.

Gentian is a simple bitter that has been used for over 3, years to revitalize the gastrointestinal tract by optimizing levels of stomach acid and digestive enzymes.

Gentian is especially helpful for protein and fat digestion. Avoid if pregnant or on H2 receptor antagonists, like Zantac, or other antacids. Dandelion is high in nutrients and is bitter, which stimulates the cascade of digestive secretions.

Dandelion also has a significant cleansing effect on the liver by stimulating bile production, which is important for fat digestion. Ginger also supports healthy bowel movements.

Digestive bitters can be dropped directly onto the tongue or mixed into a small amount of pure water or sparkling water. How to make digestive bitters! A DIY recipe to make digestive bitters to improve digestion naturally and relieve bloating, gas, indigestion.

If the jar leaks, I swear by these leakproof lids for a wide mouth jar, use these instead. You can also use wax paper with the metal mason jar lid to prevent it from leaking; simply remove the lid and place a square piece of wax paper over the mouth of the jar before twisting the lid back on.

These bitters should not be used during pregnancy. Instead, try these. Keywords: digestive bitters, homemade bitters, homemade digestive bitters, digestive bitters recipe. Ok, making your own bitters is easy promise , but I get it. Our favorite brand of bitters is Urban Moonshine. You can even buy this portable digestive bitters spray to bring it on-the-go.

Hi, should I use fresh or dried herbs? With dandelion root out of the yard be OK? I never spray any chemicals on my yard. Is there a preference between fresh and dried and would the amounts be different? Hi Melanie!

I make this with dried angelica root, dried gentian root, dried dandelion root, and dried ginger root and then add some fresh herbs, like rosemary, if I feel like it. You can use apple cider vinegar instead of the alcohol in the recipe or if you prefer store-bought, I like these alcohol-free digestive bitters.

Hope that helps!