Fermented Foods: Top 8 Reasons to Eat Them
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It’s very recent that fermented foods have begun to disappear from
our plate. Modern pickles and sauerkraut are made with vinegar instead
of the traditional method of lacto-fermentation using salt. Bread and
pasta are made with commercial yeast instead of being naturally leavened
with wild yeast (sourdough). Wine, beer and cheeses are being
pasteurized — killing off all the good bacteria we so desperately need
to maintain health.
But there are many advantages to going back to the traditional ways of our ancestors, and eating more fermented foods.
Humans all over the world have been fermenting food since ancient
times. The earliest evidence of winemaking dates back to eight thousand
years ago in the Caucasus area of Georgia. Seven-thousand-year-old jars
which once contained wine were excavated in the Zagros Mountains in
Iran. There is evidence that people were making fermenting beverages in
Babylon around 5000 BC, ancient Egypt circa 3150 BC, pre-Hispanic Mexico
circa 2000 BC, and Sudan circa 1500 BC. There is also evidence of
leavened bread in ancient Egypt dating back to 1500 BC and of milk
fermentation in Babylon circa 3000 BC.
“In the normal scheme of things, we’d never have to think
twice about replenishing the bacteria that allow us to digest food. But
since we’re living with antibiotic drugs and chlorinated water and antibacterial soap
and all these factors in our contemporary lives that I’d group together
as a ‘war on bacteria,’ if we fail to replenish [good bacteria], we
won’t effectively get nutrients out of the food we’re eating.” – Sandor
Katz
8 Reasons to Eat Fermented Foods
1. Fermented foods improve digestion.
Fermenting our foods before we eat them is like partially digesting
them before we consume them. According to Joanne Slavin, a professor in
the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of
Minnesota, “…sometimes people who cannot tolerate milk can eat yogurt.
That’s because the lactose (which is usually the part people can’t
tolerate) in milk is broken down as the milk is fermented and turns into
yogurt.”
2. Fermented foods restore the proper balance of bacteria in the gut.
Do you suffer from lactose intolerance? Gluten intolerance?
Constipation? Irritable bowel syndrome? Yeast infections? Allergies?
Asthma? All of these conditions have been linked to a lack of good
bacteria in the gut.
3. Raw, fermented foods are rich in enzymes.
According to the
Food Renegade
blog, “Your body needs [enzymes] to properly digest, absorb, and make
full use of your food. As you age, your body’s supply of enzymes
decreases. This has caused many scientists to hypothesize that if you
could guard against enzyme depletion, you could live a longer, healthier
life.”
4. Fermenting food actually increases the vitamin content.
According to the
Nourished Kitchen
blog, “Fermented dairy products consistently reveal an increased level
of folic acid which is critical to producing healthy babies as well as
pyroxidine, B vitamins, riboflavin and biotin depending on the strains
of bacteria present. [1. Vitamin Profiles of Kefirs Made from Milk of
Different Species. International Journal of Food Science &
Technology. 1991. Kneifel et al]“
5. Eating fermented food helps us to absorb the nutrients we’re consuming.
You can ingest huge amounts of nutrients, but unless you actually
absorb them, they’re useless to you. When you improve digestion, you
improve absorption.
6. Fermenting food helps to preserve it for longer periods of time.
Milk will go bad in the fridge but kefir and yogurt last a lot
longer. Sauerkraut, pickles and salsa will keep for months. And if
you’ve got a huge batch of produce in your garden that you don’t know
how to use up — ferment it!
7. Fermenting food is inexpensive.
There’s nothing fancy required for this hobby. And many of the foods
required to make these recipes are very cheap. You can use inexpensive
cabbage to make sauerkraut, or get yourself a kombucha scoby and with
just pennies’ worth of water, sugar and tea, you’ve got a health elixir
slash soda pop.
8. Fermenting food increases the flavor.
There’s a reason humans enjoy drinking wine and eating stinky
cheese. There’s a reason we like sauerkraut on our hot dogs and salsa on
our tortilla chips. It tastes good!
How to Incorporate More Fermented Foods Into Your Diet
Look for sourdough bread instead of bread made with commercial yeast.
(Trader Joe’s has a few real sourdough breads, and I love the real
naturally fermented bread at the chain bakery, Le Pain Quotidien. Or you
can make your own.
Drink fermented beverages.
Kefir and kombucha are available at many health food stores. They’re also very easy to make at home.
Serve food with pickles, sauerkraut, salsa, ketchup, sour cream, kim chi, mayonnaise and other naturally fermented condiments.
You can buy naturally fermented condiments at health food stores — or make your own.
Get creative and experiment!
Try making kefir ice cream, sourdough crackers, fermented coconut
milk, mead (honey wine),Eat some Japanese natto (it’s good!) with rice.
Visit an Ethiopian restaurant and sample some of their delicious
fermented
injera bread. The options are endless!
How to Ferment Foods At Home
It’s easy to get started with fermentation. You just need some starter cultures, some mason jars,
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