What are Prenatal Digestive Bitters and their Benefits in Pregnancy?
Chances are at some point in your life you’ve experienced digestive distress like heartburn, nausea, cramping, gas or bloating.
Despite what you might have been told, common digestive issues like heartburn and acid reflux can be a sign that you have too little stomach acid, not too much. Taking medications or over the counter products that stop or reduce stomach acid might only make things worse.
And this is no different in pregnancy. In fact, because of a woman’s changing hormones, digestive issues can be exacerbated. There’s also the added consideration of what medications or supplements may or may not be safe for a pregnant woman and her growing baby.
Instead of running to conventional methods that may have more side effects or risks than their overall benefit, you might try a gentle yet effective natural approach with prenatal digestive bitters to help ease those symptoms throughout your pregnancy.
What are Digestive Bitters?
Digestive bitters are distilled bitter-tasting botanicals (herbs, spices, barks, fruits, flowers or roots) infused in high-proof alcohol or an alcohol and vegetable glycerin blend.
Bitters are designed to activate your digestive system. The bitter compounds signal to your stomach to release important digestive juices and chemicals like pepsin and acid to break down food.
It’s no surprise that cultures around the world have used digestive bitters for centuries due to not only their availability but also their numerous medicinal properties for a wide variety of health problems.
God didn’t mess up when he created everything on Earth. It all has a purpose, even bitter plants, flowers and herbs. How these bitter botanicals interact with the human body is actually quite complex and incredible.
Think about how your body responds when you taste something bitter like fresh arugula, citrus or apple cider vinegar. You immediately recognize the taste, maybe you make a sour face, or start salivating.
There’s a deeper process at play here.
Receptors on your tongue actually send signals to your brain, triggering your vagus nerve to kickstart your entire digestive system — starting with your salivary glands. Your bitter receptors also encourage the valves at the top and bottom of your stomach to close, which helps reduce acid reflux by keeping stomach acid where it belongs — the stomach!
Additional receptors in your intestines also secrete hormones into your bloodstream to control your appetite by slowing the passage of food. We have these same T2R receptors in our lungs and airways that can trigger an immune response when bacteria are detected. Our ancestors had to rely on their senses (such as taste) to identify harmful or toxic plants and substances. We even have receptors in our heart tissue and blood vessels to impact blood flow.
Not only can bitters improve sluggish digestion and alleviate digestive distress, but they also enhance other areas of your health seemingly unrelated to your gut like improved blood sugar levels and a strengthened immune system.
Our Prenatal Digestive Bitters
There’s just one problem with nearly every single digestive bitters on the market.
They contain herbs that are often considered unsafe for pregnancy.
Frustrated with the lack of digestive bitters safe for consumption during pregnancy, and seeing my wife struggle with nausea, heartburn and indigestion, I did what I always do — take matters into my own hands and figure out a way to make my own.
When developing this recipe, I was careful to select only safe botanicals, that would not only taste yummy but also help alleviate other common pregnancy symptoms!
Ginger and fennel are two of my absolute favorite natural ways to help support nausea during pregnancy. Nicole was drinking a lot of ginger tea, especially in the first trimester when she was more prone to nausea. The addition of ginger in our prenatal digestive bitters really helps, and can even be taken in between meals whenever nausea hits.
Another effective but commonly overlooked bitter botanical is cinnamon. Cinnamon has been shown to help improve blood sugar balance, which is of course incredibly important for pregnant women. A lot of women are worried about the glucose test, and cinnamon can be a safe and effective way to maintain healthy glucose levels in combination with a balanced, nutrient dense diet.
Lastly, I included dandelion root (and ginger) because they are also gentle ways to reduce constipation, which can be a common pregnancy symptom.
If you’re wondering how to use bitters in pregnancy — it’s simple. Take 1-2 droppers 10 minutes before meals, or whenever you feel any indigestion.
All of the herbs we use are organic or wildcrafted and are of the highest sourcing and quality. You can read more about that on our about us page.
We offer our regular Prenatal Digestive Bitters as well as an alcohol-free Prenatal Digestive Bitters that uses 100% food-grade glycerin for any pregnant or nursing mama who wants to play it extra safe.
Although the trace amount of alcohol is safe for both women in pregnancy and who are breastfeeding, we get that some might choose to avoid it completely.
You can visit our store to try out our Prenatal Digestive Bitters for yourself. And if you know a pregnant woman who is struggling with uncomfortable digestive symptoms, send her this article!
Benefits for Pregnancy
To summarize, let’s look at the benefits of using prenatal digestive bitters during your pregnancy:
Alleviates digestive distress, heartburn, cramping, nausea, bloating, gas
Stimulate and controls appetite
Improves acid reflux
Regulates bowel movements to help prevent pregnancy constipation
Stabilizes blood sugar, which is critical for a healthy pregnancy
Boosts digestion and nutrient absorption for better health
If you are pregnant and struggling with any of the issues I mentioned in this article, please don’t wait to try our Prenatal Digestive Bitters today! My wife will be the first one to tell you, these bitters work and are a blessing to any pregnant woman suffering from uncomfortable, even debilitating digestive issues.
Have questions? Reach out to us by using the contact form on our website, send us a message on Instagram or shoot us an email at info@fruitofthewombherbals.com
