How Bitter Foods Help Our Digestion
Even the thought of bitter foods can make us shudder. But even more than sour tastes, which especially trigger the production of saliva in our mouth, bitter-tasting food can help us feel more centred in our body. In contrast to sweets, which can lift our spirits if the mood turns “sour” or if life becomes too “bitter”, natural bitter substances can help when our stomach and digestion seem out of balance.
Bitter foods to improve digestion
For many of us, our taste buds have grown unaccustomed to bitter flavours because the food industry limits our access to healthy bitter substances from plants. But it can still be said that “bitter is better” for the body – in moderation, of course. Not only do naturally bitter-tasting foods stimulate saliva production but also the activity of the liver, gall bladder and pancreas, aiding in the digestion of fats. Bitter substances stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and also help to decrease sugar cravings. With bitter substances, we can support our body in making the best use of the food we eat.
Healthy bitter herbs include gentian, bogbean, chicory, centaury and wormwood. Bitter substances are also found to a lesser degree in dandelion, hops and angelica. Common bitter foods include Belgian endive, radicchio, rocket salat and artichokes, as well as grapefruit.
Bitter substances and emotional processes during digestion
A healthy metabolism involves a series of steps in which the food we eat is broken down and processed by the body. Not only does our digestion involve physiological processes but also our conscious and unconscious emotions. These can influence how our body processes food, our sense of hunger, appetite, thirst, instincts and taste preferences. Just the thought of food can make our mouth water. We produce more stomach acid when we are irritated, and lose our appetite due to sorrow or extended illness, while anxiety can cause dry mouth. Bitter flavours help us eat mindfully and actively support our digestive process.
Bitter substances have a positive effect on our organs
Bitter substances help to strengthen the internal awareness of our various organs. This positively influences bile flow, liver activity, gastric secretion, pancreas function and even blood formation. It also affects other organs with bitter receptors, such as the lungs and skin.
Three types of healthy bitter herbs: In herbal medicine, bitter substances are usually divided into three types of “amara” (Latin for “bitters”)
- Amara tonica or amara pura. These are bitter substances with a tonic, strengthening effect. They include yellow gentian, bogbean and centaury. All three plants belong to the gentian family. Yellow gentian, for example, is a high-altitude plant that blooms only after seven years. It represents pure amarum, tasting bitter even in a dilution of 1:20000. The absence of tannins eliminates any astringent or stomach-irritating effects, so that its invigorating effects are most prominent. It also significantly improves the tolerability of some hard-to-digest foods by stimulating secretion and activity in the digestive tract. Further noteworthy bitter plants in this category are dandelion, which has a positive effect on the liver and gall bladder, and chicory, which has a healing effect on the entire digestive process due to its milky latex, bitter substances, alkaline salts and silicic acid.
- Amara aromatica. These contain essential oils that not only have a tonic effect but also a warming effect. They include the wormwoods, yarrow, lemon balm, bitter orange and sage.
- Amara acria. These pungent herbs, such as ginger and galangal, are mostly used as spices and commonly associated with Asian cuisine.
It’s not easy to address all digestive disorders with a single medicinal plant as symptoms often overlap. For instance, loss of appetite combined with weakness of the gallbladder and liver and flatulence. This is why there are formulations, such as those by Weleda, that combine a number of bitter herbal extracts (such as from chicory, centaury, gentian and yarrow).
By understanding the healing effect of bitter substances in herbs, fruits and vegetables – such as salad greens, cucumbers and cabbage or other cruciferous vegetables – we can identify how they can support a digestive system weakened by stress, irregular eating habits and nervousness. We can only hope that bitter substances are neither “debittered” through selective breeding, or that these important substances are forgotten in our lives. Put simply, enriching your diet with bitter foods is good for your health.
