Bitter Herbs

[Yasjua]

I was put on an extremely bitter herb formula by a TCM practitioner and here are my observations regarding the energetics of bitterness.

 

Bitterness reverses the energetics of sweetness. Our bodies and tongues love sugar, but we consume far too much of it in the West. I'm observing that sweetness runs energetically toward the tongue (from the world, from foods), into the heart, and into the digestive system where it creates a sort of frenetic emotional activity - something like the basest possible kind of joy - it's an inbound energy for the body, and if we overuse sweets, it creates a sort of energetic groove that seeks perpetual refilling, like a canal that slurps hungrily at the world. Bitterness runs the opposite way. Our tongues reject it, they're hard to get down, and in some amazing healing way they neurologically affect our brains toward greater austerity and fulfillment. Bitter herbs have helped tremendously with my aggressive appetite and I'm actually coming to appreciate their flavor quite a lot. That's all.

 

 

 

[Orion]

There are two meridians that run to the tongue... spleen and heart. A spleen dominated tongue is into the addictiveness of sweet, whereas a tongue governed by the heart meridian makes more conscious food choices. This is something an old teacher of mine taught me. When you introduce more bitter into the diet, it tends to enter the heart meridian (bitter is the flavor of the heart, from the Table of Changes) and awaken the Shen (spirit) to improved consciousness.

 

Bitter also acts on the liver, releasing its grip on any organs it may be assaulting, the primary of which is usually the spleen. When the spleen isn't distressed, it tends to back down from its sugar frenzy.

 

Scientifically... weak digestions prefer simple carbs because they're easier to break down. Bitter often aids the digestion of more complex nutrients like protein, which eases sugar cravings quite a bit.

[Yasjua]

Thank you! Huge help in understanding.

[gendao]

Bitterness runs the opposite way. Our tongues reject it, they're hard to get down, and in some amazing healing way they neurologically affect our brains toward greater austerity and fulfillment.

There is a Chinese maxim to 吃苦 ("eat bitter"), meaning to endure hardship in order to develop character and enjoy sweetness (of life) more..

 

This is a foreign concept in the modern West, where austerity measures when drowning in debt are viewed as an obscene crime against humanity, lol. And truly bitter-tasting foods are almost never found on the menu.

Edited June 29, 2015 by gendao

[dawei]

I think we should have separate threads for each of the five flavors, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and acrid/pungent/spicy 

 

As this one is here...  how about some examples of bitter foods (and balancing them if one wants to go there) ?

[thelerner]

The main bitter food in the West is coffee, at least when its not sugared. Mustard is another very popular bitter.  Its one of the healthiest condiments.  Eating (or drinking) bitter before anything heavy, particularly meats is a very good practice.  It gets the digestive juices going. 

 

Sauerkraut, kimchi, horseradish are all good.  Bitters are making quite a comeback in liquor stores.  In the past there was mainly Augostura, nowadays you can get grapefruit, lemon and many exotic bitters.  Traditionally taking a few squirts in warm water a few minutes before a meal made for much better digestion. 

Edited June 29, 2015 by thelerner

[Orion]

I really enjoy eating the new, tender dandelion leaves which grow in the spring, but I also harvest the overwintered roots because all their sugars have been used up and you're left with a pure, bitter medicine. Those roots tossed into a hearty stew are so amazing during liver season.

 

I also try to eat collard greens, kale, chard, beet tops and carrot tops... they're all bitter and help things along.

 

I used to *hate* bitter. I remember the first time my herbal teacher fed me a raw dandelion root I almost hurled. Now I munch on the leaves while I'm gathering the rest. My family really grew up on the sweet, refined carb diet and bitter was such a foreign concept. Really love bitter orange as well.

 

Bitter tends to be cold and descending... so it tames all kinds of upward heat, like hyperactive liver yang, heart heat, etc. Good for the summer time (which is why the Table of Changes says heart = bitter = summer time). Just beware that if you eat too much it can damage spleen and cause diarrhea... which can be avoided by simply combining bitters with other flavours.

 

Watermelon pith is bitter... not the red flesh but the whitish-greenish flesh. It's very cold in nature, and it's one of the natural world's BEST remedies for sunburn. If I've been at the beach all day I eat watermelon, including the pith, while I'm there, and my skin suffers less damage. In TCM we use xi gua pi (watermelon pith) to treat summerheat disorders like heat stroke.

 

What else... oh, bitter melon, obviously Cabbage, lemon and lime (especially their skins and rinds), artichokes, chicory, ferments.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Orion

[idiot_stimpy]

Caraway and fennel seeds?

[Aetherous]

Something I read last night...

"When the flavors [consumed] are excessively bitter,
the qi of the spleen is not soggy,
and the qi of the stomach is strong."

- Su Wen chapter 3, page 81, Unschuld's translation

 

So, you saying that bitter is the opposite of sweetness is interesting, because excess sweetness as we know makes the Spleen "soggy" or damp, basically weakening the middle jiao...whereas bitter does the opposite according to this chapter.

 

(not that it's a good idea to practice herbalism or food therapy from this idea alone!)

Edited June 29, 2015 by Aetherous

[Daeluin]

wormwood

 

 

and let's not forget mugwort, aka moxa.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Daeluin

[liminal_luke]

I´m wondering about diabetes.  If sugar is bad, would the bitter flavor be especially helpful?

[Orion]

Something I read last night...

 

"When the flavors [consumed] are excessively bitter,

the qi of the spleen is not soggy,

and the qi of the stomach is strong."

- Su Wen chapter 3, page 81, Unschuld's translation

 

So, you saying that bitter is the opposite of sweetness is interesting, because excess sweetness as we know makes the Spleen "soggy" or damp, basically weakening the middle jiao...whereas bitter does the opposite according to this chapter.

 

(not that it's a good idea to practice herbalism or food therapy from this idea alone!)

 

Bitter tends to be drying and dispersing, so it would help the spleen function when used in moderation... but it is also cold and descending. The energetics of spleen qi move upward, because that is where the yingqi (nutritive qi) goes after the spleen processes it, also knowing as the qingyang or clear yangqi. Too much bitter will affect this dynamic.

 

I am not aware of bitter herbs, as a rule, being used to treat dampness. We'd use aromatics for that.

[idiot_stimpy]

According to Greek legend, man received knowledge from Mount Olympus in the form of a fiery coal held in a stalk of fennel. 

 

 

"[Prometheus:] It is because I bestowed good gifts on mortals that this miserable yoke of constraint has been bound upon me. I hunted out and stored in fennel stalk the stolen source of fire that has proved a teacher to mortals in every art and a means to mighty ends."

Edited July 3, 2015 by idiot_stimpy