Bitter Greens for Digestion

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Did you know bitter greens are great for kick starting your digestion? Sour flavors like lemon are great too!

You might ask, why should I care? Well, because generating ample stomach acid helps break down your meals properly. This is a key component to helping you actually absorb the nutrients you eat in your food!

You can eat all the superfoods you want, but if you can’t properly break them down, there of no use.

Stomach acid plays many important roles including:

  • Coats the stomach (2)

  • Disinfects and helps kill pathogens (2)

  • Initiates digestive enzymes like pepsin and gastrin (2)

  • Helps with protein break-down (2)

Having proper digestion is a critical component to your health and wellness. Stomach acid lets the gallbladder know to release bile to break down fats in the meal and also acts as an indicator that the pancreas should release digestive enzymes to help further break down food (1).

You may not be aware, but as you age, your stomach acid levels decline(3). Which means you’ll want to start incorporating habits that help boost your production naturally.

Lack of stomach acid can unknowingly wreak havoc on your health. For example, too little stomach acid can allow bad bacteria to proliferate in the GI tract (1).

Before you eat your meals, try consuming something bitter or sour, this will help kick start the process. I find starting with a small bowl of arugula with a squeeze of lemon and some olive oil to be a perfect appetizer to my meals.

Another really great option is dandelion greens, so try those out too. If a salad just isn’t your think, you can always try a small amount of lemon water before your meals.

If you want to dive into this subject further, I highly suggest reading Why Stomach Acid is Good for You by Jonathan Wright MD and Lane Lenard, PhD.

References:

(1) Ballentyne, S., PhD (2017). Paleo Principles. Canada: Victory Belt

(2) Nutritional Therapy Association. Module 4 - Digestion and Elimination. Olympia, WA.

(3) Wright, J. M.D. & Lenard, L. Ph.D. (2001).  Why Stomach Acid is Good for You.  Lanham, MD:  The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

DigestionLaura Snyder