For many food lovers, bitter foods are hard to swallow because the intense bitter flavors overpower the sweet, salty, and umami notes of tasty dishes.
However, according to Amy Fischer, a registered dietitian, those who aim to incorporate more bitter foods into their diet enjoy an excessive payoff regarding gut health.
The surprising fact about bitter food is its plant-based chemicals that streamline your body the way it needs to react.
Moreover, the bonus of these bitters — and bitter-tasting food and herbs is that they are entirely nutritious; thus, making them part of your regular diet can dramatically improve your health and well-being.
Do you wonder, which kind of food is bitter yet considered great for your health? This blog post has compiled a list of all the food you can incorporate into your daily routine to aid your digestive system and enjoy its other nutritional benefits.
A List Of Common Bitter Foods That Must Be Part Of Your Diet
Bitter foods – to a large extent, have gained a bad reputation in the culinary world because their taste is off-putting to many picky eaters.
However, bitter foods are exceptionally nutritious and offer endless benefits – minimizing the risk of many disastrous diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes and improving eye, gut, and liver health.
Below is the list of 15 Bitter Foods That Are Good for You!
1. Arugula
Agula is a ubiquitous bitter food famous as a leafy green vegetable but in reality, it belongs to the Brassicaceae family – the family of cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.
Arugula is specifically helpful for your sliver as it stimulates the bile production that detoxifies the body.
In addition to facilitating life, this bitter food also aids in the prevention of cancer and regulating your body’s immune system.
Arugula hydrates the body because, like other green vegetables, its peppery flavor naturally creates a cooling effect on the body.
2. Coffee
Coffee is one of the bitter foods that most of us like to consume. In America, around 517 million coffee cups are consumed in one day. About 50% of US people gulp specialty coffee drinks per day.
This powerful detoxifier detoxifies the colon and liver. Coffees’ aromatic legume includes caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine. These compounds dilate the blood vessels and boost the bile flow.
Many studies have proved that coffee intake boosts the liver and helps it to regulate itself.
Similarly, many athletes acknowledge that coffee increases their performance rate and focus by reducing fatigue and activating their brain and nervous system.
3. Dill
Dill is an antibiotic that includes attributes to fight free radicals; the oil in dill features a compound – carvone – that helps in soothing the upset stomach, minimizes gas, and pushes the food through the digestive system.
Dill also fights terrible breath; many use it as a mouth cleaner to remove the bad smell. To enjoy this bitter food, you can dip fresh dill in stand dressing and sauces and later pile it up over the top of the salmon.
4. Dandelion Greens
Here comes Dandelion Green which is high in protein. Luckily, they are multifunctional as their one serving can dramatically improve the liver, minimizes gas build-up, relieve diarrhea and constipation, support weight reduction, prevent blood pressure issues, and diminish inflammation.
Fortunately, the long list goes on.
5. Jerusalem Artichokes
Jerusalem Artichokes are potato-looking vegetables; these knobby vegetables are inulin-enriched.
Inulin is a starch that is differently tackled by the body than sugar. Although it is not used for energy metabolism, it can improve the immune system and control blood starch.
Jerusalem Artichokes are enriched with iron, magnesium, potassium, and B vitamin that improves your overall health.
6. Saffron
Saffron is one of the high-priced bitter foods in the species world – it is expensive and high value as well – it’s one pinch that goes a long way ahead.
Keeping Saffron in your pantry is a great decision as one thread or two can help you reap its massive rewards.
Its antioxidant features improve blood circulation, reduce muscle inflammation, and eliminate lactic acid.
Saffron is particularly beneficial for athletes as it releases fatigue and muscle information and reduces lactic acid accumulation after vigorous exercise.
7. Kale
If a vegetable popularity contest is held, kale will reign as king. It features antioxidants, vitamins, calcium, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Kale’s soluble fiber and sulfur make it a fantastic detoxifier.
You can seed kale by adding it into soups, salads, and superfood bowls.
8. Sesame Seeds
Sesame Seeds stand on the list of the oldest and most historic plants cultivated in the world and have been used since Egyptian times, some 3,600 years ago, as medicine.
Roman soldiers also utilize honey and sesame seeds to accord energy and strength. Sesame seeds are enriched with magnesium and calcium, so they help in cleansing the colon.
It is preferable to pick unprocessed and raw seeds to utilize.
9. Turmeric
Turmeric is a fantastic spice that is most commonly used in India. It helps to regenerate affected liver cells, cleanse the blood, and fight inflation and digestion.
A little turmeric pinch improves the dish’s aroma and gives it a unique yellowish color.
Turmeric also acts as a natural painkiller; many people bear its bitter taste in warm milk because it relaxes injuries, bruises, broken tissues, etc.
The use of turmeric is also widely prevailing due to its role in improving the skin. You can get the next level of flavor by using this spice to curry or by throwing fresh turmeric into a smoothie, rice, and marinades but be conscious a little extra quantity can spoil the food taste.
10. Ginger
Ginger and galangal add a spicy, bitter flavor to curries, soups, tea, and salads. This natural bitter food is a fantastic global asset to many modern diets.
It is a powerful exotic root famous for motion sickness, nausea, and strengthening the immune system. It is also excellent for oral health as it keeps the mouth healthy and sparkles your smile.
Additionally, ginger helps to calm sore muscles, lower blood sugar levels and arthritis symptoms, and eases period pains. Due to these long lists of benefits, ginger is used as spice in almost every food recipe.
11. Citrus – Lemon, Lime, And Grapefruits
Among all citrus foods, grapefruit is extraordinarily bitter.
Grapefruit which features a yellow rind is an excellent source of bitter flavor that is a perfect option for diabetic patients and those who want to kick start digestion.
Besides the grapefruit, lemon is also sour and bitter in many cases; there are multiple uses for lemon, but adding its juice to warm water is the lemon juice to warm water is the best kickstart to your morning routine.
12. Peppermint
The name indicates that it would be a combination of deliciousness and tangy taste, right?
However, it is bitter and used for medicinal purposes, particularly for gut and bowel problems, because it stops gas build-up and expels gas issues.
Peppermint is also used to treat nausea, headaches, diarrhea, morning sickness, and anxiety.
13. Cocoa
Consuming pure coca is not easier as it is unbearably bitter, but it enhances the tolerance for bittersweet chocolates.
Connoisseurs understand that chocolate with 80% cocoa content delivers an exclusive taste experience.
It improves consumers’ tolerance for bittersweet chocolate as in the beginning; they can carry it with some variety of milk chocolate and then slowly add on the cocoa content.
14. Eggplant
Despite being bitter (a little bit), Eggplant tastes good and features a myriad of impressive properties.
You can consume it to cherish its unique taste and relieve hypertension, constipation, and stomach ulcers.
Eggplant supports your body in dispelling the toxic heat from the body, aids in digestion, and improves blood circulation in all age groups.
15. Green Tea
Green tea provides enormous benefits to digestive health, but in addition to it, the polyphenols present in green tea contain perfect cancer-fighting, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory properties.
The use of green tea dates back thousands of years in India and China as its roles for digestive health are unmeasurable.
A Bonus Bitter Food: Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts are another bitter food that offers enormous benefits to consumers’ health.
The sinigrin, a fantastic compound in broccoli, is also found in Brussels sprouts. It contributes to fighting the potent vegetable’s cancer-fighting properties.
Brussels sprouts’ natural heirloom contains Vitamins B and C, valuable bitters, potassium, and fiber to provide great strength to your body.
Our Summary
People of all ages refuse to eat bitter foods due to their resentful taste and severe smell, but every bitter food and spice is not brutal in flavor as many are immensely beneficial for human health.
So making them part of a regular food schedule would literally amaze you.
From improving general health to reducing several diseases, bitter food offers numerous other health benefits to human beings.
This article contains a comprehensive list of 15 nutritious bitter foods (and one bonus food) that you can incorporate into your diet plan to improve your gut health and blood flow, stimulate bile production, and gain numerous other benefits.