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
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.