6 Health Benefits of Eating Bitter Foods

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HowDoFoodsGetTheirBitterTaste?

Thebittertasteoffoodscanbecausedbyavarietyoffactorsincludinganalkaline pHorthepresenceofcertaincompoundssuchasalkaloidsorglucosinolates, whichareboundinmanyleafygreen vegetablessuchasdandelion,cabbage, broccoliandkale.Somepeoplearealso geneticallymoresensitivetothebittertaste offood.Scientistshavecalledthesepeople “supertasters”.

Mostpeopledon’tfindbitterfoodstobetoo appealingtotaste.Thismaybecausemany naturallyoccurringtoxinsalsohaveabitter flavourprofile.Accordingtothistheory,our aversiontothebittertastehasan evolutionarybenefitaswehavebeenless likelytoconsumesomethingtoxicor poisonous.

6HealthBenefitsofEatingBitterFoods

Bitterfoodstendtohaveanumberofhealth benefitsincluding:

1.HigherNutrientAbsorption:The higherlevelsofstomachacidsecreted whenyoueatbitterfoodsstimulates

HealthHack:EatMoreBitterFoods

thesecretionofintrinsicfactor,aproteinthathelpsyourbodyabsorb vitaminB12fromthestomachlining.Italsohelpsyourbodyabsorbfatsolublevitamins(A,D,E,andK)andiron.

2.ProtectsAgainstCancer:Glucosinolates(thebittercompoundnaturally occurringinbrassicafamilyvegetables)hasbeenshowntodecreaseriskof severaltypesofcancerincludingbreast,lungandcolorectalcancers.

3.ImprovesDigestiveFunction:Bitterfoodsstimulatethedigestivesystemto secretemoredigestiveenzymestobreakdownfoodmoreefficiently.

4.ImprovesGutHealth:Manybittertastingfoodsalsocontainfibreand prebiotics,whichactasfoodforbeneficialgutbacteria,therebyimproving overalldigestivehealthinthelongrun.

5PromotesKidneyFunction&HealthyDetox:Bystimulatingthebitter reflex,weallowbileandassociatedtoxinstoaccumulateinthestooland moveoutofthebody.

6.Appetiteregulation:Recentresearchhassuggestedthatwhenbittertaste receptorslocatedinthedigestivesystemarestimulated,certainappetite regulatingguthormonesaresecretedwhichinfluencehungerandfood intake.

WaystoIncorporateMoreBitterFoodsinYourDiet

Onesimplewaytohelpreducethebitternessofcertainleafygreensistomassage themuntiltheyareabrightergreenandslightlywiltedconsistency.Itisidealto massageyourkalesaladleaveswitholiveoilordressingofyourchoiceforseveral minutestohelpneutralizethebitterness.Thismethodwillnotleadtoany nutrientlossasisthecasewithboiling.

Anotherwaytoimprovethetasteofbitterfoodsistopairthemwithaflavour thatismorepalatable,suchassweet.Addingsomedriedfruitorahoneybased saucecancutsomeofthebitterflavour.Spicyflavourscanalsomasksomeofthe bitterness.Tryusingaspicysausageorbaconinsomebittergreensrecipesto helpwiththeflavour.

Ifyouchoosetogetthebenefitsthroughsupplementation,considertakinga tinctureorherbalcapsules.Thesupplementchoiceshouldbebasedonthenature ofthespecifichealthbenefitoneishopingtoachieve.Forexample,people lookingforsomeofthecancerprotectiveeffectsofcruciferousfamilyvegetables mayopttotakeasupplementwithDIM(Diindolylmethane)whichisacompound createdwhenyoudigestcruciferousvegetables,suchasbroccoliorBrussels sprouts.Forotherswhoarelookingforappetitecontrolbenefits,Berberinemay beaninterestingsupplementtoconsider.Berberineisanalkaloidnaturallyfound inBerberisshrubsandotherplants.Studieshaveshownithasapowerfuleffect onbloodglucoselevels,cholesterollevelsandweightmanagement.

IVTherapy-TheUltimateHealthHack

Bitterfoodsareagoodoptiontoimprovehealthinthelong-run.Butifyou’re lookingforamoreimmediatewaytoupyourweightloss,nutrientabsorption, andotherimportantfactorsthatinfluenceyourhealth,IVvitamintherapyisthe ultimatehack.

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