One way I keep each day fresh & new is to watch the roadsides of my daily drives. I name the plants I see as practice and also note the newcomers to scene. When I was in St. Louis at the very end of spring, that felt like deep summer there, this blue roadside flower caught my attention. It wasn’t until the end of June that this plant made its debut for the season in Northeast Wisconsin, and now it is lighting up the roadsides. My investigation revealed that this is chicory, and my mind was blown. Chicory is known as a coffee substitute, so my brain had a hard time putting this delicate periwinkle-esque flower in the category of a more earthy, warming taste.
Chicory is a Eurasian plant that found its way to our roadsides where it, at least in my world, happily takes its place when in full bloom. Its stems are stick straight like branches, that weep milky contents when cut. The stems shoot from the ground and its alternating leaves and flowers take turns decorating the ascension. Chicory’s lower leaves are covered with hairs that can grow up to eight inches. In NorthEast Wisconsin, chicory is the star of the show from the end of June until October, when the scene primes for fall with explosions of goldenrod.
As I mentioned, chicory is most popularly known for being either mixed with or replacing coffee. It is thought that roasting chicory root for coffee started in Holland in the late 17th century. We cannot forget that chicory was used in practice all the way back to ancient Egypt, but the coffee mix may be a more modern use. Since the United States Civil War, chicory has been used as a rationing measure to stretch the coffee supply. To this day it is used in the Cafe du Monde blend as a New Orleans staple.
My research revealed some other interesting uses for chicory and I highly recommend the Elder Hour podcast episode on the more magical uses of chicory. A topic that kept popping up in my research was the benefit of chicory in feed additives for chickens and pigs. In the study done on chickens, one day old broiler chickens were fed a control feed or feed with probiotics or a percentage of chicory. The control group was found to have higher triglycerides, LDL and lower HDL cholesterol levels as well as more incidents of E. Coli in their gut flora than the groups fed chicory or the probiotic blend. This gives a different form of evidence for what we know chicory to be, hepatoprotective and beneficial for metabolism functions like blood sugar and cholesterol. The study on pig feed also showed that supplementation of chicory is hepatoprotective, serves as an antioxidant, and modulates how the liver’s cholesterol metabolism.
While chicory has served its social purpose across time, its addition to coffee culture also adds amazing health benefits. As mentioned above chicory is protective to the liver and enhances the body’s metabolic pathways, including blood sugar regulation. If you choose to add chicory to your morning coffee not only are you jump starting your mental system, but also your gastrointestinal system we well. Chicory is a prebiotic food and is helpful for digestive issues and ulcers. This blend may make coffee less harsh on a sensitive stomach or replace it completely for those just looking for that earthy grounding taste to start their day (add dandelion and cinnamon for ever more benefits!).
Last but not least, chicory is known for its benefits to your immune system. Chicory seed and root extracts have been found to be antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, antitumor, antiprotozoal, antiaging, and an antioxidant! Learning all of this is inspiring me to add chicory to a mushroom/dandelion root blend to really soak up so much goodness to boost me in these coming cold winter days!
Yet again I am so glad I followed my curiosity and was not afraid to admit I didn’t know something. Following the powder blue trail led to a greater understanding of chicory. I also gained another plant ally on my team to help keep my liver and immune system functioning to the best of their abilities!
Sources:
The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies – Apelian, Ph.D & Davis
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/chicory-coffee-mix-new-orleans-made-own-comes-180949950/
Khoobani M, Hasheminezhad SH, Javandel F, Nosrati M, Seidavi A, Kadim IT, Laudadio V, Tufarelli V. Effects of Dietary Chicory (Chicorium intybus L.) and Probiotic Blend as Natural Feed Additives on Performance Traits, Blood Biochemistry, and Gut Microbiota of Broiler Chickens. Antibiotics (Basel). 2019 Dec 20;9(1):5. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9010005. PMID: 31861921; PMCID: PMC7168175.
Lepczyński A, Herosimczyk A, Ożgo M, Marynowska M, Pawlikowska M, Barszcz M, Taciak M, Skomiał J. Dietary chicory root and chicory inulin trigger changes in energetic metabolism, stress prevention and cytoskeletal proteins in the liver of growing pigs – a proteomic study. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2017 Oct;101(5):e225-e236. doi: 10.1111/jpn.12595. Epub 2016 Nov 17. PMID: 27859709.
Pouille CL, Ouaza S, Roels E, Behra J, Tourret M, Molinié R, Fontaine JX, Mathiron D, Gagneul D, Taminiau B, Daube G, Ravallec R, Rambaud C, Hilbert JL, Cudennec B, Lucau-Danila A. Chicory: Understanding the Effects and Effectors of This Functional Food. Nutrients. 2022 Feb 23;14(5):957. doi: 10.3390/nu14050957. PMID: 35267932; PMCID: PMC8912540.