Imagine you finish your Thanksgiving dinner this year and you don't feel so bloated you wish you could unbutton your jeans and lay down on the floor.
Last week I promised I would share one of my favorite DIY herbal recipes with you, and this one is sooo good to have on hand during the holiday season. -And I think they're pretty tasty too, you can share it around and everyone will think you're pretty cool! (Read down to the bottom for the recipe.)
I used to think bitters were only for when you needed help digesting something a little more rich… but the truth is that bitter should be eaten every day, like at every meal. It's actually kind of weird that we don't do this regularly.
We live in a bitter deprivation environment.
We evolved to actually need bitters- we have receptors for them all over our body… So that just means this isn't like a nice thing to have, it's something that our body needs that we have to get from food (There is no supplement or drug that can do what bitter plants do for us).
It used to be normal for produce like veggies to be bitter, but overtime our veggies have been selectively bred over generations to be sweeter and milder, reducing their naturally bitter compounds.
We’ve unintentionally bred out one of nature’s key signals for digestion and detoxification.
OOPS!
Bitter compounds stimulate bile flow, digestive enzymes, liver function, and even regulate appetite and blood sugar.
When we remove bitterness from our diet:
Digestion becomes weaker (less bile and stomach acid production)
The liver gets sluggish (reduced detox capacity)
Blood sugar and insulin become more erratic
We feel less satisfied by meals, leading to more cravings
All of these also have a HUGE impact on your skin..
Congestion, inflammation, dullness, hormonal breakouts, and premature aging are often reflections of these type of imbalances.
So this is just your friendly message that bitter belongs on your plate… but there is also something else you can do….
Make a bitters tincture!
This was one of my “medicine making” projects when I was in herb school, and ended up being something I have continued to make again and again. I love taking it, it makes my tummy feel so good, and I love sharing it with others.
This is a gentle, beginner-friendly herbal tincture you can make at home. It uses white rum as the base, which not only extracts the herbal benefits but also adds a warm, slightly sweet flavor that makes the formula enjoyable to take.
These ingredients support digestion, liver function, and healthy skin from the inside out, and it's not overwhelming or overly bitter. (You can drop it into a little water if it's easier to take that way.)
