Digestion Support With Digestive Bitters
For many years I struggled with bloating, it was uncomfortable, and embarrassing it stopped me from wanting to go out because of how my clothes fit me. I would wake up ok and then before the end of the day I looked 6 months pregnant.
There are several causes for bloating but common causes can be a lack of stomach acid, bile, and pancreatic enzymes. These are essential for breaking food down. If the food does not break down, bacteria ferment causing gas and bloating. This will make you more susceptible to other gut issues such as h.pylori, candida, SIBO, parasites, gut dysbiosis, and bad bacteria overgrowth. Not producing enough stomach acid can also cause nutrient deficiencies.
If you suffer from acid reflux and heartburn then there is a really good chance that you have low stomach acid. Most think that you have too much if you suffer from those, however, is it the complete opposite. See my blog on Acid Reflux and Stomach Acid.
Low stomach acid is VERY common. I haven’t worked with a client yet that hasn’t been deficient in stomach acid.
What are Digestive Bitters?
Digestive bitters are made of bitter herbs and are traditionally used to stimulate digestive juices, improve digestion, and promote gut health.
Digesting your food properly will increase the absorption of nutrients and support your immune system.
Stomach acid is a good thing! We need an adequate amount of stomach acid in order to break down our food.
Soothing relief of uncomfortable digestive symptoms such as acid reflux, heartburn, indigestion, constipation, bloating, gas, nausea
Encourage the release of stomach acid, bile, and digestive enzymes.
Support the liver
A unique spectrum of herbs with bitter compounds that help reduce sugar cravings and optimize nutrient absorption, critical to many bodily systems, including a strong immune system
Helps retrain the body’s digestive system, encouraging it to function more efficiently on-going instead of merely providing a temporary solution.
Promote the secretions of digestive juices in the digestive tract
Use For: Digestive problems such as gas, bloating, stomach upset, or any kind of dyspepsia. Canadian Bitters also makes for the perfect day to day balance and support for your digestive health and overall wellness
How It Works: Heartburn, indigestion, constipation, and bloating are all common symptoms of sluggish or compromised digestion. Digestive prompting can come from something today’s diets often lack: bitter flavours. These stimulate the vagus nerve in the mouth, which ultimately results in the production of saliva, gastric juices, enzymes, and bile–crucial elements of healthy digestion.
Bitters also help the nervous system to shift into “rest and digest” mode (rather than “fight or flight”), which allows for optimal digestion.
Improving digestion in this way has numerous benefits:
helps eliminate digestive upset such as gas, bloating, acid reflux, and heartburn
greater absorption of critical nutrients
support for the immune system
reduction in sugar cravings
retrains the digestive system to function more efficiently on-going, instead of merely providing a temporary solution.
I like Canadian Bitters by St. Francis Herb Farm, a Canadian company. You can save 10% if you use the discount code GIDGET10 at checkout.
How To Use Digestive Bitters:
The best time to use digestive bitters is 15 – 60 minutes before consuming a meal. The bitters will stimulate the production of bile and prime your stomach and digestive system for efficient digestion. This bitter blend can help reduce bloating and other gastrointestinal disturbances.
What Do Canadian Bitters Contain?
Medicinal Ingredients:
Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus, leaf), Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale, whole plant), Gentian (Gentiana lutea, root), Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla, flower), Turmeric (Curcuma longa, rhizome), Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum, fruit), Burdock (Arctium lappa, root), Black Walnut (Juglans nigra, fruit hull), Ginger (Zingiber officinale, rhizome)
Non-Medicinal Ingredients:
Distilled water, Certified Organic alcohol, Certified Organic Elettaria cardamomum (Cardamom) seed
Other Digestive Tips
Chew your food: We often eat on the go and in a rush not chewing our food properly during meals. We should chew our until it is a paste, about 25 to 30 chews per bite before swallowing. This has a huge impact on digestion our digestion. Chewing our food properly will also help the body to properly absorb nutrients.
Digestion begins before food even enters the mouth. The smell and appearance of the food allow for saliva to increase which is crucial for digestion. When we chew our food, it will send signals to the brain to alert it to begin digesting food.
Rest & Digest: Eat your food in a calm and relaxed environment sitting up tall with your feet on the floor at a table. Turn off the tv and put away the phone. Focus on chewing your food and enjoy the taste in each bite. When the body is stressed, tense or distracted, this can impair digestion. Taking 3 to 5 deep breaths before you eat will also help calm the Vegas Nerve. Take a deep breath in for 4, hold for 4, and exhale for 4. Even putting your fork down between bites is helpful.
Overnight Fast: Giving your body a 10 to 12-hour break overnight while you sleep will give your digestive tract some time to rest. So for example, if you finish your dinner at 7 pm, then you won’t have breakfast until 5 am - 7 am. During the day also be sure to give your digestion a break, don’t be snacking constantly. 3 to 4 hours is good, not before 3 hours.
Cooked foods: Cooked foods tend to be better tolerated and easier to digest than raw foods.
Don’t drink with or before & after meals: Avoid large amounts of liquid 30 minutes prior to and 30 minutes after your meal as this can interfere with digestion and removes minerals by diluting your stomach acid. You can have a tiny bit to take supplements, but that is it.
Bottom Line
Digestive issues can be frustrating, and painful and can hold you back from living your life.
Along with proper nutrition and lifestyle, Canadian Bitters herbal supplements can be excellent for supporting your gut healing journey.
To learn more about St. Francis Herb Farms products, visit their website here: https://stfrancisherbfarm.com/ they have many great products that I use daily. Don’t forget to use the code: GIDGET at checkout to save 10% on all of your orders.
If you suffer from digestion issues and want more support, I am excepting some 1:1 clients. My program Fix Your Gut Solution will get to the root cause of your digestive issues.
For more tips follow me on Social Media.
