Bitter Foods - benefits, when to accent, when to avoid

[shelley]

Bitter foods and herbs are very powerful medicine. Tribal peoples, Ayurvedic, Chinese and Grandmother wisdom therapies all included them. It used to be whenever anyone felt ill or ate something that was different from their usual, simple "peasant" fare, they would take a spoonful of something bitter or oily to make it pass through easily. All this we have forgotten.

In our modern diets we tend to only accent the sweet and salty. The building foods. Too much building and one gets clogged.

Bitter foods are cleansing and purging foods, and thus slimming. They may be astringent (drying) or laxatives, or both depending on dosage. They are often blood cleansers and help the liver by promoting bile flow.

The most famous bitter tonic is probably Swedish Bitters. This is an excellent way to add bitters to your diet if you really hate any of the natural bitter foods. People prone to acne, Gilbert's Syndrome and constipation should really consider adding a near-daily spoonful of Swedish Bitters to their regular routine.

The next most widely used is dandelion tea. Dandelion tea was used for just about everything, and since it is very rich in minerals, really helps a lot of different issues as well detoxing the liver. For example, it also helps with moodiness.

Unless you're really wasted and fatigued or severely Vata in nature, you should have one bitter thing each day, preferably following your sweet/building foods so they don't get "stuck" and cause toxins/Ama. The French style of eating of having the bitter green salad as the last course is actually a wonderful digestive/health practice.

Bitter foods are good to have as the last thing eaten in the day so you wake up with a clean tongue/digestive system the next day.

Bitter herbs (not a comprehensive list): Swedish Bitters, gentien, goldenseal, aloe vera, dandelion, coriander, turmeric, curry. These are stronger than bitter foods, so if you don't like eating raw spinach and other bitter greens regularly then use these instead.

Bitter herbs are anti-parasitical. Some are poisonous and kill parasites directly (Black Walnut, Clove Oil) and some indirectly by promoting bile production. This is why liver cleansing should happen before parasite cleansing - it often does the job right there and then so you don't have to take the more poisonous Black Walnut.

Bitter therapy should be avoided if you're really fatigued (too much cleansing), too weak to undergo a purge, or are having bad headaches.

[LILA1963]

I started drinking Dandelion herbal tea for about a week when I have my period and it does indeed help with my moods !!!
and since it's rich in minerals; I guess it's a bonus, especially at a time when we tend to feel weaker ... I also make sure
to eat Iron rich foods and fiber in order NOT to get constipated ... NOT easy being a woman !!
LOL
My question is this : Am I better off drinking a cup of Dandelion herbal tea every 4-5 days lets say ~ OR ~
once per month for about a week ? Thanks Shelley ... Hope that u're well