If you don’t like yerba mate because it’s bitter, you might want to think about trying it again and again until you develop a taste for it.
A new study published in the journal Obesitydiscovered that people with high BMIs tend to have an aversion to bitter foods. The study also found that people with low BMIs were less likely to be turned off when they tasted something bitter.
we have bitter taste receptors not only on our tongue, but throughout the digestive system, and on other organs like the pancreas. There are 25 different receptors for bitter in the gut alone, while only one each to detect sweet.
These receptors play a very important role in digestion, appetite, metabolism and more. Bitterness sends a chemical reaction throughout our bodies and has numerous health benefits. When you sweeten bitter foods, you often destroy the health benefit of that food.
We’ve only just started to discover the benefits of bitter greens in our culture whereas centuries ago, in ancient Chinese and Hindu diets, culinary traditions regularly included bitter foods.
Bitters are excellent liver detoxifiers. They also stimulate the digestive system and improve the absorption of food while stimulating the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut.
There are saponins in yerba mate that contribute to its bitterness. These saponins have anti-inflammatory and cholesterol-lowering properties as well as other health benefits. A recent study showed that mate contains 16 saponins as compared to the original study which showed it had only 5 saponins.
If you want to begin to include more bitter green foods into your diet, eat things like kale, brussel sprouts, arugula and Jerusalem artichoke or drink mate every day. It’s one of the easiest ways to get green, bitters into your diet.
It may not taste great to you at first, but you can add a little stevia, to sweeten it up without the sugar. Before you know it, you’ll develop a love for that green bitter taste and join the ranks of the lower BMI group.