To: Permaculturist Health <pchealth@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [pchealth] Bitters and digestion, diet & recipes
Date: Fri, 4 Oct 2013 11:07:13 -0400
Bitters:
Its
bitters for digestion, Swedish bitters is a traditional formulation.
They are tinctures, usually in alcohol or water. You only take a little
bit in an eyedropper, before meals. Use ginseng the same way, half an
eyedropper before breakfast, once a day. Herbs Etc. offers "Ultimate
Ginseng", a blend of ginseng types, red, white, Siberian and so forth.
This is the one I use. So do most asians.
Bitters are decoctions of herbal essences, certain ones known to promote healthy digestion. Wikipedia: Ingredients
Common
ingredients in bitters includes cascarilla, cassia, gentian, orange
peel, and quinine from cinchona bark (grown in Peru and Indonesia).
The flavor of Angostura bitters, Suze and Peychaud's Bitters derives
primarily from gentian, a bitter herb. Bitters are prepared by infusion
or distillation, using aromatic herbs, bark, roots, and/or fruit for
their flavor and medicinal properties.
In
Foundations of Health, Christopher Hobbs, LAc, AHG lists angelica root
(A. archangelica), artichoke leaf (Cynara scolymus), bitter orange peel
(Citrus aurantium), blessed thistle leaves (Cnicus bendicutus), gentian
root (Gentiana lutea), goldenseal rhizome (Hydrastis canadensis),
wormwood leaves (Artemisia absinthium), and yarrow flowers (Achillea
millefolium) as typical contents of bitters formulas. History This 1883 advertisement promised help with a variety of ailments.
Angostura
bitters was first compounded in Venezuela in 1824 by German physician
Dr. Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert. Originally, bitters was compounded
as a cure for sea sickness and stomach maladies, though other medicinal
uses had been discovered long before this.[1] Dr. Siegert subsequently
formed the House of Angostura, a company that previously sold the
bitters to sailors. The oldest and rarest of
antique bottles command prices of tens of thousands of dollars.[3] Digestive bitters
Digestive
bitters are typically consumed either neat (unadulterated) or with ice
at the end of a meal in many European and South American countries.
Some, like Fernet Branca or Campari, are regularly used in cocktails, as
well.
Some
brands of digestive bitters available today are: <....> Swedish
bitters is a traditional herbal tonic,[citation needed] said to have
been formulated originally by Paracelsus[citation needed] and
rediscovered by 18th century Swedish medics Dr. Claus Samst and Dr.
Urban Hjärne.[citation needed] In modern times Swedish bitters has been
popularised by Maria Treben, an Austrian herbalist.[citation needed] The
tonic is claimed to cure a large number of ailments and help digestion.
However, these claims are presented with little in the way of
scientific evidence to support them.
One
published recipe[citation needed] uses the following ingredients:-
aloe, myrrh, saffron, senna leaves, camphor, angelica root, zedvoary
root, manna, theriac venezian, carline thistle root and rhubarb
root.[citation needed]
There
are variations on this recipe and herbal shops supply alcoholic and
non-alcoholic versions of the drink. The alcoholic Swedish bitters is
reported as having a similar flavour to Angostura bitters, though
perhaps a little drier. Ingredients
The following herbs are added to alcohol to make Swedish Bitters[clarification needed][citation needed]
aloe (active ingredient) water extract of the following herbs: angelica root carline thistle root camphor manna myrrh rhubarb root saffron senna theriac venetian zedoary root You have probably heard of Bitter Campari.
<>
Diet, foods and recipes:
My
experience: I tried them along with orange oil and a number of
commercial tinctures designed to promote good digestion. They can be
useful. I discovered that I really needed probiotics, simple meals with
lots of fiber and plenty of fresh raw and dried fruits and vegetables.
For probiotics: miso, kraut, kim chee, kombucha, yoghurt, etc. Rice and
corn grits, barley, oats, sesame are all excellent grains for fiber.
Lots of raw salads, soups (not overcooked), sauteed or stir fried
vegetables. Tofu and tempeh are good to eat a few days a week. Meat:
pork, fish, poultry, beef, lamb, goat....eat all you want but balance it
with plenty of dietary fiber and raw salads and raw or dried fruits;
get plenty of vitamin C, raw citrus especially, pineapple, bananas, etc.
Sprouts are also a mainstay of one's dirt: sunflower, buckwheat, radish,
broccoli, alfalfa, mung, soy, adzuki(?) and eat plenty of beans, cooked
any way you choose, good for protein and fiber: Peruvian or Pink Beans
are best, should be available in Mexico - they cook really quick, no
soaking needed; open 1# bag, pour in pot, add water, no salt, a little
oil, maybe a little onion or garlic, put lid on pot, cook until you can
mash them in the pot with bottom of can or bottle to consistancy of
mashed potatoes, put on plate, add salt and black pepper - they are best
this way - very tender, delicious, my favorite next to pinto,
cannellini, navy, great northern, red, lentils, french red or green
lentils, kidney, a lot of other types of beans from traditional hispanic
cuisine. Coarse ground corn grits are really delicious. Serve topped
with olive oil, herb salt, black pepper, nothing else, as a side to pork
sausage, glass of fresh squeezed orange juice or grapefruit half,
scrambled eggs, buckwheat pancakes, butter & maple syrup. Seeds:
sesame, pumpkin, sunflower; grains: barley, corn, rice, millet, oats,
rye, spelt. Buy grain whole and grind it in your kitchen with a hand
crank grinding mill (Corona, Azteca).
[pchealth] Bitters and digestion, diet & recipes,
Lawrence London, 10/04/2013