Bitter Leaf Just Doesn’t Care if You Like It

Some others will even not touch bitter leaf for the taste but at home, it was the norm. You just learn to accept that it is going to be bitter so you don't complain, you drink and move. It's everywhere, especially around rivers or bushy areas, even roadside sometimes. I just knew that the name is Vernonia something after I saw it on the internet, but we just refer to it as bitter leaf or people will just refer to it as what it tastes like, no one bothers with plant science like that.

When we were growing up, they would squeeze it on your mouth if you were coming on weak or had feverish behavior. I didn't know exactly what was in it but now everyone says there's vitamins and all those kinds of things like A, C, E, B1, B12. I don't know who weighed it or something but maybe it's true because before this would actually work. My mum even sucked on the stick sometimes when she's exhausted and just let the liquid dribble out slow like that, and then spat out the stick later.

Boiling is another case. You have to wash it repeatedly again and again until no longer bitter before you can throw it into soup. But others prefer strong, they just wash small and apply directly. I have even seen people blend fresh and drink as juice, which I do not because I detest that raw smell in my nostrils, morning specially. I was told to blend a little bit of it with salad, I did it once, didn't like it. Too harsh.

I only learned later they say it's beneficial for sugar level and malaria. I think that part because I've witnessed that help on my uncle when he had typhoid. I don't know if it actually detoxes your liver or lungs like they say or assists when you give birth. Perhaps it does. People talk a lot but then again sometimes they just tell you what they've heard.

A herbal woman advised me to take it at night so I sleep better and it sort of did, but not always. My body just feels calm when it is being cleansed from the inside out and bitter things somehow calm your stomach. It tastes like punishment but after a few minutes gives this lightness. I would not say that it cures all, but it does too much to ignore. Even if all it did was just help digestion, I’d still keep using it.

It’s one of those plants that are just there and people forget how much it’s doing until they get sick. Then everybody remembers bitter leaf again.