Did you know our salivary glands produce 1.5 liters of saliva each day!? —— Many factors can contribute to the state of our digestion, including our basic constitution, stress, our actual diet etc —- Due to a variety of factors, such as gastrointestinal imbalances, HOW you actually eat (not chewing properly, or eating under stress, trolling on social media, drink beverages while eating and even consuming cold foods) many of us do not properly absorb all of the nutrients that we actually consume…and we all know, it is not just as simple as “you are what you eat” anymore, but rather, you are what you absorb —— Herbs that are considered tonics to the digestive system and generally help to support overall digestive health include bitters, carminatives and prebiotics —— Bitter tasting herbs have a direct relationship with the nervous system and the gut. When bitter taste receptors on our tongue (and throughout our digestive system) sense the bitter taste, a signal is sent (through the taste and vagus nerves) to the brain to tell the body it is time to start the digestion process —— The parasympathetic nervous system (rest/digest and feed/breed) is activated and digestive secretions (which can include bile from the liver, insulin from the pancreas, and digestive enzymes from the stomach) are released —— I love bitters so much because they not only improve the digestibility of food, but also have a calming effect on the nervous system (via the hypothalamus and the vagus nerve aka gut brain connection) which can put is in a more emotionally relaxed state —— Bitter herbs should be taken 15-20 before a meal, or you can use throughout the day (I add mine to seltzer water for a fun pick me up!)….some of my favorites include dandelion, gentian, artichoke, chamomile, fennel seed, Oregon grape root, ginger root, prickly ash bark, yellow dock root and rosemary ——- #briannaapproved #bitters #botanicalBri #Britanicals #digestion #digestivehealth #guthealth #gutgeek #digestion #liver #liverhealth #herbs (at Juanitos Restaurant) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDnP2yjyla/?igshid=153l4oulm5grd