Pretty healthy, these bitter substances!

With bitter foods, some grimace at first. Rightly so, because not everyone likes them either. HEALTH BAS will tell you why you should occasionally include foods with bitter substances in your menu.

A bitter beer, the beloved cup of coffee, a piece of dark chocolate – that’s all right. But bitter substances in foods, such as chicory? The majority prefer to use milder variants.

Loss of bitter receptors

The problem is that our children are less and less used to bitter substances, the less we eat them ourselves. 25 bitter receptors are located on the tongue, but they may soon have completely disappeared.

However, this is not only due to the fact that bitter food is often quite deliberately avoided, but the bitter substances have been deliberately bred away over the past decades or have disappeared through conventional cultivation. This applies not only to the already bitter foods such as chicory, artichoke or rocket, but to all types of vegetables and fruit.

The loss of the bitter may be more pleasant for the taste buds, but the body also loses the benefits of the bitter substances, because in small quantities bitter food is also extremely healthy for the human body. However, an excess of bitter substances can attack the gastric mucous membranes.

Why bitter substances are so healthy

Bitter substances, such as those found in cabbage types such as broccoli, are so healthy because they have an antioxidant effect, can prevent malignant tumor diseases and are real fat burners. The fact that they help the body burn fat is due to the fact that the feeling of satiety lasts longer after consuming bitter substances.

Also for the gallbladder are bitter substances essential because there is a possibility to Gallstones form when the body enough bitter substances are not supplied. The bitter substances avoided by many not only stimulate the production of bile, but also promote healthy digestion, as they stimulate blood circulation.

But this is not the only reason why bitter substances are so healthy; they can also help with nausea, help against bacteria, viruses and other microbes, help with over acidification of the body and can have a positive effect on blood sugar levels. Bitter foods also have a blood-purifying effect and support the liver.

Bitter substances are also important for dental and oral health, since the teeth are less susceptible to tooth decay due to the reduced desire for sweets due to the consumption of bitter substances and the oral flora also benefits from bitter foods with sensitive gums and inflammation.

Which foods contain bitter substances?

The most common foods are certainly known: chicory, radicchio, grapefruit or eggplant. But these foods are also full of bitter substances:

• Bitter cucumber
• Green leafy vegetables
• Olives
• Dark chocolate
• artichokes
• sesame
• cinnamon
• ginger
• turmeric
• Mustard seeds

But there are usually far more bitter and aromatic substances in wild plants. So how about going in search of ground weed, nettles, dandelions, milk thistle or garlic mustard yourself?

Knowledge to take away!

Bitter substances are very healthy as they have many positive effects on the body. Among other things, they help with nausea, against bacteria, support digestion and are also real fat burners.

Many of the foods you get in the supermarket contain the healthy bitter substances. These include, for example, grapefruits, chicory or artichokes. But wild plants such as dandelions and ground grass usually contain much more of this substance! However, excessive consumption can also damage the stomach lining.