REGULATE BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS, DETOXIFY YOUR LIVER

Now that our nutrition priorities are clear, it’s time to optimize them. In addition to drastically reducing your sugar intake, one of the many other things you can do to improve your daily diet is to indulge — or cultivate — a taste for bitter flavors.

The ancient European tradition of “digestive” bitters never really caught on around the world, nor did the Chinese ideal of including a Bitter food in every meal. Of the three truly bitter foods we regularly consume – coffee, chocolate and beer – the first two are usually vigorously sweet.

But there is a seductive logic to consuming bitters for health. Just as sweets cause blood sugar, insulin and hunger to spike and then drop – often leading to obesity and type 2 diabetes in the long run – research indicates that bitter foods can have the opposite effect, moderating both hunger and blood sugar.

The physiological reasons are complex, but if you want to better understand the benefits of bitters, I highly recommend a new book by herbalist Guido Masé titled The Wild Medicine Solution: Healing with aromatic, bitter and tonic plants. (in English)

Masé begins by warning that some caution is in order. We evolved to find a bitter taste off-putting because bitterness is sometimes a marker of toxicity. (Sweet foods, on the other hand, are almost never toxic—one of the reasons we prefer them.) But not all bitter foods are toxic; in fact, many healthy, nutrient-dense foods have some bitterness, such as Brussels sprouts and leafy green vegetables.

The fact that bitterness sometimes indicates toxicity may be the reason why bitter flavors reduce appetite. If the plant that one of our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate was bitter and poisonous, it would be a survival “signal” that the bitter taste reduced hunger so he or she ate less of it. Today, we can consciously exploit this tendency by eating bitters before meals to help control appetite.

Bitter foods also stimulate the liver to produce bile, which is an important part of optimal digestion. Bile emulsifies fats and makes nutrients – especially fat-soluble ones like vitamins A, D, E and K – no longer available. Another way to put it: Bitter foods challenge the liver. They make it work and help it stay healthy, just as muscles worked through exercise function better than those atrophied from underuse. A liver that’s frequently challenged by bitters can handle the occasional sweet treat effectively, but reversing that sweet-sour ratio — leads to fatty liver disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

So what are the best bitters? An ideal way to increase your bitter intake is five to nine daily servings of vegetables, including some with a bitter flavor element like radicchio, Belgian endive and broccoli rabe. I also recommend:

Bitter tonics: They often contain the bitter, non-toxic root of the great yellow gentian, Gentiana lutea, in an alcoholic base. Although typically added to cocktails, bitter tonics can also be added to soft drinks, or even taken as a mouth spray.

Bitter melon, Momordica charantia: Widely available in Asian-themed supermarkets and easy to grow from seed, this traditional Okinawan favorite may help explain why Okinawans have the longest lifespans in the world. Start with the sweeter Chinese variety, then “graduate” to the more bitter and intense Indian version.

Green dandelions, genus Taraxacum, several species: There are few healthier habits than regularly eating dandelion greens, which combine the benefits of a strong yet appealing bitter flavor with an extraordinary nutrient density, similar to that of collard greens. Greens are available at health food stores or in your yard (after making sure no pesticides or herbicides have been sprayed on them – and no dogs have visited the area).

Beyond health considerations, the appreciation of bitterness can open up a whole new world.

…The 6 Other Things Bitter Green Juice Can Do For Your Body

The bitter taste of any green juice is useful for various purposes :

Try this bitter juice recipe urgently (special liver detox):

• 3-4 Swiss chard leaves
• A handful of rocket leaves
• 1 cucumber (with peel)
• 1/4 lemon

Pour all the ingredients into a juice extractor, and drink this drink every morning on an empty stomach. This juice is suitable for diabetics. You can substitute Swiss chard with other dark leafy vegetables.

Other bitter vegetables that can be used as substitutes:

• spinach,
• cabbage,
• dandelions,
• bitter gourd / bitter melon,
• radicchio and chicory.