Bitter Foods

As I have previously said, my taste changed considerably when I quit eating refined food. It took me perhaps 10-15 days to observe the change. My sugar urges ended almost entirely. And I learned to enjoy the bitter taste in coffee, wines, cocoa, and dark green leafy vegetables. My coffee-consuming habit transformed from double cream and double sugar to double cream with Stevia throughout my Atkins period, but after I began the Superfoods diet, it transformed to pure black. My chocolate taste transformed from milk chocolate to dark chocolate and subsequently to extra dark (85 percent cocoa becoming the favored one). Also, my chocolate intake went from 8-12 squares of milk chocolate to 1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate. My wine-consuming habit modified from Merlot to Cabernet Sauvignon, which I kind of could not stand previously because of the intense tannins. Now Merlot tastes dull to me. My cocoa-consuming habit altered from cacao with milk and sugar to cacao with only a dash of milk and subsequently to pure cacao. I believed that this would be the last thing that I might have to either sweeten a little bit or to use a little bit of cream or milk to take the edge off the bitterness, but, today, I take pleasure in pure cacao with hot water.

The exact same story can be applied to bitter greens. I did not like them much before, and I have constantly seasoned them in order to reduce the bitterness. Bitter greens possess phytonutrients that assist the liver as it does its job handling cholesterol, detoxifying the blood, and balancing hormones. Bitter greens are awesome sources of vitamins A, C, and K as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, and magnesium. They are also very high in foliate and fiber and low in sodium and fat.

The bitter taste is antibacterial and antiviral so it assists with detox of the body. It also:

• is anti-toxic

• detoxifies your liver

• kills germs

• assists with skin disorders

• increases the firmness of the skin and muscles

• decrease fever

• assists digestion and minimizes intestinal gas.

List of bitter foods:

• burdock root

• Jerusalem artichoke: rich in inulin (prebiotic), which is a starchy food that is handled by the body in a different way than sugars and is also high in magnesium, iron, potassium and B vitamins

• bitter melon

• dandelion greens

• arugul a

• kale, which contains vitamins, anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidants and calcium

• sesame seeds

• eggplant

• castor oil

• cocoa and dark chocolate

• dill

• sesame oil

• cumin

• neem leaves

• saffron

• fenugreek

• coffee

• turmeric, which helps detoxify the blood, replenish damaged liver cells, and fight stomach upset and inflammation

• garden sage (Salvia officinalis) tea, which addresses disorders of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, dental abscesses, skin, mouth, throat infections, infected gums and mouth ulcers, and includes thiamin, folic acid, pyridoxine and riboflavin