I get asked, almost every week, why I sell something that tastes like grapefruit peel and old leather.
The answer is that the taste is the point. Bitter compounds, on the tongue, trigger a cascade. Saliva first. Then gastric acid. Then bile from the gallbladder. The stomach gets ready to do its job before food arrives.
Three drops on the tongue before you eat. Don't dilute it. The whole effect lives in the taste.
Why most heartburn medicine is the wrong end of the problem
When food sits in the stomach without being broken down, it ferments. Fermentation produces gas. Gas weakens the muscular ring at the top of the stomach. Acid backs up. The person reaches for an antacid.
Antacids cut the acid. The reflux gets better in the short term. But the food is still not being broken down — there's just less acid to back up. Over months, this can become a problem of its own.
Bitters, taken before meals, work in the opposite direction. They wake the stomach up. They ask it to do its job. Food gets broken down. The pressure at the top of the stomach drops. The reflux often resolves.
Who shouldn't take them
If you're pregnant, skip the bitter formulas — some bitter herbs are uterine stimulants. If you're on a proton pump inhibitor, talk to me before starting. We'll usually need to taper the medication while we introduce the bitters.
Otherwise, three drops on the tongue, fifteen minutes before you eat. Let me know how it goes.
