What Are Bitter Herbs?
Flavor used to be medicine...
Before constituents and the microscopic world of phytochemicals we had actions, taste, doctrine of signatures, humours, and energetics to tell us what a plant does. Actions are how a particular plant can play a role in our body.
The taste of herbs will indicate which parts of our connected systems it has an affinity for. A bitter taste in herbs means that they work with the many bitter receptors we have in our body. These bitter herbs activate a nerve response in the digestive system which stimulates secretion of saliva, digestive juices, and bile, which helps the digestive system to more effectively break down ingestibles and absorb nutrients.
Since we have biter receptors in many areas of our body, not just our gut, some bitter plants have affinities elsewhere. We have bitter receptors everywhere from our intestines, lungs, heart, brain, and other tissues. The T2Rs, or Taste Receptor Type 2, is a family of receptors that mediate that bitter taste we experience.
When we ingest bitter foods or herbs these receptors send signals to our liver to produce digestive secretions such as bile. It also relaxes the muscles of the digestive tract easing nervous tension and improving overall muscle tone.
Bile, You Say? What's That?
Bile is a vital secretion produced by our liver and stored in our gallbladder for the purposes of digestion. Bile breaks down what we have ingested, so our bodies may absorb the phytochemicals.
This secretion, and other digestive fluids, break down food for absorption & make the nutrients bioavailable. Bile produced by the liver and stored and then later excreted by the gallbladder helps to remove toxins from the body. The entire digestive tract is nourished and toned as we consume bitters in our daily diets.
The main energetic property of bitter herbs and foods is cooling (most plants that are bitter have cooling actions - they suppress heat and help heat pass) Ingesting bitter foods will help to bring our vital force down when it's overstimulated. If the heart is too hyperactive, bitters, or cooling herbs, can bring shen/vital force/fire/heat down.
According to the ancient standards of Ayurveda, TCM and American Indian culture, our liver is where anger is stored. The word "ang" in Latin means "corner", and later became a symbol for heat, sharp pain, or a geometric position (angle, angular, etc.)
Can you see the similarities between the words below sharing a similar suffix?
- anguish
- angle
- anger
- Agni (Sanskrit word for fire)
- angst
When we are feeling an excess of anger it means we are either storing too much bile, and it is not being excreted properly, or we are not producing enough bile and we are accumulating toxins that are not being excreted properly.
Here are some cool links to learn more:
- All about Wild Lettuce
- A list of Bitter Herbs
- Scientific Breakdown of Motherwort
- Great Index/Materia Medica
Plants That Activate Our Bitter Receptors:
Taraxacum officinale, Dandelion: First, we have dandelion! Most of us are probably used to this common plant that has naturalized to most of the USA.
Phytochemicals of Dandelion: inulin, sesquiterpene lactones, triterpenes, Vitamins A, B, C, coumarins, carotenoids (oil-soluble antioxidants), taraxacoside, phenolic acids, minerals
Actions: digestive bitter, alterative, diuretic, choleretic, cholagogue, mild febrifuge /anti-pyretic
As you can see, Dandelion's actions contain both digestive and febrifuge properties. A great example of how bitter herbs can also help to lower external and internal temperatures.
Leonurus cardiaca, Motherwort: Next, we have Motherwort! One of my favorite plants of all time for both cooling down and for when I am experiencing menstrual discomfort.
Phytochemicals of Motherwort: furanic diterpenes (labdanes), alkaloids (of special interest being stachydrine), sterols, iridoids, flavonoids, ursolic acid, minerals
Actions: nervine, cardiac nervine, cardiac tonic, emmenagogue, bitter tonic, cardiac trophorestorative
Chew on a fresh leaf if you are feeling fatigued from life or the summer heat. Motherwort, as the name indicates, is great for mothers who are in their last stretch of their third trimester as it can help ease the nervous system greatly, and for women who experience painful menstrual cycles. This plant is very very bitter, so take a little at a time and see how you body responds. Maybe you got chills a few minutes after ingesting it, or perhaps you feel your heart that was once racing with anxiety begin to slow and cool down.
Lactuca virosa, wild lettuce: Lastly, we will take a look at Wild Lettuce! This herb is a dandelion look-alike, so be aware! This is a go to cool-down/meditation herb for me. While it is 'illegal' to sell this plant I encourage people to forage their own medicine, and wild lettuce is no exception.
Phytochemicals of Wild Lettuce: lactucic acid, lactucopicrin, 50 to 60 per cent lactucerin (lactucone) and lactucin. Lactucarium treated with boiling water and filtered is clear, but on cooling the filtrate becomes turbid. The usual constituents of latex are albumen, mannite, and caoutchouc.
Actions: The drug resembles a feeble opium without its tendency to upset the digestive system. It is used to a small extent as a sedative and narcotic.
Lactucarium, the white milky sap in the leaves, is what gives this plant its 'opiate' pain-reducing effects. I have seen people addicted to actual opiates take small tinctures of this and milky oats and it helped immensely in their efforts to wean off of opiates. I have personally used this for meditation and as a sleep aid. I will juice a few leaves with lemon, apples, and cucumbers for a cooling and refreshing lucid tonic.
Bitter herbs and foods are incredible allies for controlling our emotional body and making sure when we do become overheated or over excited we can cool down and collect ourselves before reacting. We teach children this at a young age, but as we age we do need the reminders to not allow our emotions to embody our responses. We take bitters to chill out, reflect and respond with the wholeness we have inside of us.
Want Your Own Blend Tailored to You?
Working on a blend specific to your systems is a helpful way of getting exactly what you need and seeing that work pay off! Let's work together to build an item exclusively for you!
https://www.sevendreams.co/
