Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

Slide 1 so much that we’ve essentially bred it out

Welcome back to the Herbal Jumpstart from most of our foods.
Course where we’re exploring What’s the
Best Herb for You? Slide 5
For example, there are so many wonderful
kinds of lettuce out there, many of them
Slide 2 with a slightly bitter taste, but yet most
So far, we’ve looked at three of the five restaurants serve only very bland iceberg
tastes in herbal medicine. In our last video lettuce.
we summarized the tastes and concepts
we’ve explored so far. So, if you haven’t Slide 6
already seen the previous videos, then I
recommend watching them in order. But bitters are making a comeback! And
not just with herbalists but with chefs
and even bartenders. And while we’re
Slide 3 beginning to appreciate the nuance of
bitter flavors in our foods, herbalists know
Now on to the bitter taste. This is easily how incredibly important bitter herbs are.
one of the most important tastes in herbal
medicine and many of our favorite herbs,
like dandelion, have some degree of Slide 7
bitterness. But let’s be honest… The bitter flavor enhances digestion,
increasing a wide range of digestive
secretions that help us to break down
Slide 4 everything from carbohydrates to proteins
The bitter taste is one that people most to fats. The bitter flavor also enhances
love to hate. We despise the bitter taste your immune system and can soothe

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Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

your nervous system. Bitter herbs have Slide 12

a lot in common with pungent herbs,
The genus name for chamomile is
however they differ in a very significant
Matricaria, which has its roots in the word
way. While pungent herbs are warming
“mother”. Some people say this is because
and stimulating and are best used for
chamomile is wonderful for mothers.
symptoms of cold and damp, most bitter
Others say that drinking chamomile is like
herbs are cooling in nature and are best
getting a hug from your mother.
used for symptoms of heat.
Slide 13
Slide 8
I think it could also point to the way that
The plant we’re going to explore within
chamomile is like a mother who has the
the bitter taste is chamomile. I’m kind of
ability to be gentle and sweet,
embarrassed to say I used to think that this
was a weak plant that is best used for small
children or you know, if you just want to Slide 14
make a cute cup of tea. Now, chamomile but can be strong and powerful when
astounds me. It has so many lessons to needed.
teach.
Slide 15
Slide 9 Chamomile is an interesting plant
Have you ever really looked at a chamomile energetically. Some herbalists classify it as
flower? I mean, really up close. I love thoseslightly cooling because of its bitter taste
little flowers. You have the simple white and its diaphoretic effects which we’ll talk
ray flowers creating a halo around all those about in a moment. Others call it slightly
teeny tiny disc flowers. You know what we warming due to its pungent aromatics. So,
commonly call one chamomile flower is this is an aromatic plant that if you crush it
actually an inflorescence of hundreds of and smell it it has a very strong smell. In
flowers. either case I consider it very close to neutral
and therefore it’s tolerated by most people.
Slide 10 Mostly, when I think of chamomile I think
of its aromatic and relaxing characteristics
And chamomile is in camouflage. All those
and how wonderful that can be for tension
tiny flower heads, sitting atop these little
and irritability.
thin stems which branch out with these
wispy leaves. I mean the plant looks weak!
Slide 16
Slide 11 Especially when taken as a strong tea,
chamomile relieves muscle tension
But if you’ve ever spent time with
whether it’s tense musculature in the neck
chamomile, you’ll know it supports a lot of
and shoulders or even intense spasmodic
life.
pain like menstrual cramps and leg

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Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

cramps. One of my favorite indications and anxiety in people. Another clinical

for chamomile is during a fever when study found that chamomile relieved mild
somebody has a fever and they’re restless to moderate anxiety in people who are
and listless and they also have muscle diagnosed with general anxiety disorder.
aches and a tension headache. I mentioned
the word diaphoretic earlier. A diaphoretic Slide 19
is a plant that we use to address fevers. In
Chamomile is a plant that I recommend
this case chamomile can be used when
everyone keeps on hand because it
someone has a fever. It doesn’t negatively
does so many things.So, I mentioned it
lower a fever or artificially lower a fever but
supports the fever process and can be
what it does is helps the body to acclimate
used as a diaphoretic herb. It modulates
to the fever, helps excess heat escape
Inflammation, can be used both topically
and can relieve that muscle tension and
and internally to help address eczema.
headache pain that can often accompany
It’s an amazing herb for pink eye. I’ve
a fever.
used this myself, wonderful antimicrobial
and very specific for that. It’s also just a
Slide 17 wonderful digestive plant. And it can be
While chamomile can effectively decrease used to support digestion, it can relieve
pain, even as I mentioned, intense gallbladder inflammation, GI inflammation
spasmodic pain, it also goes beyond and also just calm an anxious stomach.
this simple use. In one clinical study, That makes it a great after dinner tea. It
nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs also soothes pain and irritability especially
or NSAIDs things like ibuprofen were those that are associated with colic and
compared with chamomile in women teething. So, great for kids in that respect.
with PMS. After two months, those using
chamomile had a reduction in pain similar Slide 20
to that of the women who are using NSAIDs,
Chamomile is commonly used as a dried
but also had significantly fewer negative
herb. I recommend getting it as a bulk
emotional symptoms as well.
herb. So, buying it at a pound at a time or
less but in a bulk amount as opposed to
Slide 18 using it as a tea bag. When you use a tea
Herbalists have been relying on bag you probably aren’t going to get as
chamomile’s relaxing properties for good a quality as when you buy it in bulk.
centuries. It’s used to decrease anxiety, let And you’re probably going to go through a
go of a stressful day and even to promote lot of tea bags. So, it’s a lot cheaper to buy
sleep. And science is now catching up it in bulk. And when you’re buying in bulk
on confirming this traditional use. In an look for brightly colored flowers that are
exploratory study, researchers found that wonderfully aromatic. They don’t have a
chamomile, even in a relatively small strong smell then they’re probably past
dose of 220 mg, was more effective than their prime.
a placebo in relieving both depression

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Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

Slide 21 without it. It’s one of my most used herbs.

And it’s an herb I know I can trust to do so
Drinking a chamomile tea that’s made
many things, yet it’s gentle enough to be
with a simple tea bag or one tea bag can
enjoyed every day as well.
be a really delicious tea, but if you want
more powerful effects then I recommend
making a really strong tea. When you make Slide 25
a strong tea, you’ll really get why this is So, now you know that chamomile is a
a bitter herb. Right, when you just use a bitter herb that soothes and calms. It can
little tea bag and you steep it for a short be used to relieve painful muscle spasms
amount of time it almost tastes sweet. like menstrual cramping or leg cramps.
But the more you use and the longer you But is especially beneficial when taken as
steep it that bitterness really comes out. a strong tea. It has many many gifts it can
And while that may not be our first choice be used for fevers, eczema, pink eye and
for a delicious beverage that’s where you more or simply enjoyed after dinner as a
get those results for things like intense delicious tea. And it can be used as a tea
spasmodic pain or helping with a fever. or tincture.

Slide 22
Dosage-wise, 9-15 grams of it a day,
that could be about 3-5 tablespoons.
Chamomile also works great as a tincture
and I like taking that at night when you
don’t want to have a lot of liquid before
bed.
Slide 23
Chamomile is a very safe herb for children
and adults. And also, a very effective herb
for children and adults. There are a small
percentage of people out there who are
allergic to plants in the aster family so if
you know that’s you then you would want
to avoid chamomile.
Slide 26
To help you further feel the bitter gifts of
chamomile I’ve included two recipes for
you in your workbook. The first is a really
delicious and beautiful blend of calming
herbs that is a recipe excerpt from my
book. The second is a very strong cup of
chamomile tea – and so the second recipe
doesn’t really taste great but again, it’s a
powerful way to address things like muscle
cramps, fevers, irritation, and restlessness.
I would only recommend drinking that
really strong tea if you’re able to lay down
afterwards. You wouldn’t want to drink it
in the middle of the day if you had a lot
going on that day.

Slide 24 Slide 27
So, as you might imagine, chamomile is
jim mcdonald an herbalist and a friend
one of the 29 herbs that I include in my
of mine sums up chamomile’s teachings,
book, Alchemy of Herbs. And I wanted
he says … “Gentle does not mean weak.”
to mention that in these presentations
And after having dismissed chamomile
I’ve been citing a lot of studies. All of
for many years, I now can’t imagine being

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Herbal Jumpstart Part VI - Bitter

those studies are clearly footnoted

within Alchemy of Herbs. There’s over
250 scientific studies in that book that I
cite. And most of them are human clinical
trials and there are a few in vitro studies
and never any animal studies. So, all high-
quality studies that I’ve vetted myself and
look at in-depth. So, lots of great kind of
scientific resources within the book as
well. And you can pick up a copy of this
book where ever books are sold. As a
thank you gift I have several bonuses for
you which you can instantly download at
www.alchemyofherbs/order.

Slide 28
Our next taste is one that’s easy to love:
Sweet. See you in the next video!