We all learned in school that we had taste receptors on our tongue: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter (we never learned about umami back then...). We even had a little map drawn for us that many adults remember to this day. The idea that there are specific tastebuds or taste receptors for distinct tastes (and the notion that these are separated into four separate spots on the tongue) has been refuted at least since the 1970s. In reality, each tastebud houses up to 100 taste receptors, and they detect them all (including umami!)As Americans, we have studiously avoided the bitter and have an over-fondness for the sweet. We also eat more processed foods than other cultures and thee include more refined flours and sugars. All of this has taken its toll on our collective digestion, skin health, and immune systems. (1) Other cultures eat more bitter foods and drink afternoon bitter drinks as a part of their diet.
What if I told you there was a general tonic we all should be taking that would make us healthier? That it helped regulate blood sugar, energy levels, the immune system, and more? That our bodies were built to have it, but as a culture we have denied ourselves this tonic in our food and now we need to take extra measures to replace it in our diet? This tonic we all need is bitters. It is the one product on Haven's website that every single visitor could benefit from. Buy it here.
What is bitters? Yes, cocktails contain bitters- but those are weakened formulas (mainly for flavoring) that evolved over time from actual herbal medicinal therapies (in fact, all of cocktail culture did). Bitter is something that simply tastes bitter in flavor: dandelion, gentian, coffee, dark chocolate and greens are all bitters. That bitter flavor indicates certain biochemicals that our bodies need to function well.
"Many traditional cultures around the world believe that it is important to have all 5 flavors within the diet and that each flavor has a specific effect on the body. The flavor of bitter is very much associated with the digestive system. As human beings, we evolved eating tons and tons of bitters- bitter greens, bitter roots, bitter barks. The majority of food growing in the wild has an element of bitterness to it. Even the ripest wild blackberry is not purely sweet; it also has a little sour, a little bitter to its flavor profile. Early humans rarely consumed sweets-honey was like food of the gods! Fast forward to modern times, as a culture we consume an immense amount of sweet, salty and processed food and we have a severe lack of bitterness. But our bodies are built for bitter flavors! Bitter engages and excites the digestive system. Bitter challenges the body, alerting it through taste that a complex food is being ingested, more complex than heavily processed food. It is very important for the body to have enough challenge—challenge keeps us strong, on our toes, ready for action! Bitters are like the gym for the digestive system, they help to keep it toned. Our brilliant tongue is like the doorbell to the digestive system and when we taste something bitter it rings that doorbell, “Ding-dong! Time to eat, time to wake up, time to digest!” All the digestive organs get “turned on”—excited. They start to secrete digestive juices in preparation for the incoming food! -Urban Moonshine WebsiteRead another article Lily wrote on Bitters for 614 Magazine.
"Herbal digestive bitters begin working as soon as they reach the taste buds in our mouth. The bitter taste has a reflex action on our stomach and pancreas, stimulating the production of digestive juices. Bitters also stimulate the liver and prepare the gall bladder for the release of bile. Using bitters before eating has always been a good idea, but the need for additional bitters has become a necessity as most people have eliminated most of the bitter foods from their diet."- Herb Pharm Website
Bitters are a true tonic that should be taken regularly over time in the same way that bitter foods would be consumed (if we Americans consumed them, that is). Continued use of digestive bitters is not only safe, it is the most best way to use them! The positive effect of bitters on digestion actually increases with time and the full effect is seen only after continued and prolonged use.
Keeping your bottle of Digestive Bitters in the dining room and taking them 15 minutes before a meal is an easy way to incorporate them into your life.
Haven Herbs makes a Digestive Bitters using local Hops, Dandelion root, Burdock root, and Yellow Dock and sometimes Gentian. We add three carminatives (for the "digestive" part of the formula, see?) to the mix: Cardamom, Orange peel, and Cinnamon for a great tasting all-around digestif.
Did you know that the benefits of bitters extend beyond digestion? As I indicated above, skin and immunity can benefit from regular use, and bitters also increase the tone of the autonomic nervous system (the system that energizes the digestive organs). This effect on the nervous system extends beyond the digestive organs and helps reduce anxiety and overall stress (and who doesn't need that?).
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(1) Digestion, skin health, and the immune system are closely linked. 90% of the immune system is in the gut, and the skin is an organ of elimination- toxins that we ingest come out through the skin as well as the digestive tract.