Add Some Fermented Food for Your Health!
Written by Gayle
We have a problem in our modern society. Our guts are not healthy. Digestive disorders are placing a growing burden on Americans, according to Stephen Bickston (an American Gastroenterological Association fellow and professor internal medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, and quoted in USNews Health website
here.) That translates into an ever-increasing number of doctor visits and hospitalizations, not to mention lots of people living with pain and discomfort.
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| image from drlibby.com |
One of the reasons for that ever-increasing burden is that our diets are full of processed foods. Those foods are dead–no enzymes, no probiotics, very little of anything healthy. We don’t eat enough of the live, raw, or fermented foods that our ancestors ate for centuries–the foods that introduce or encourage healthy bacteria into our digestive systems. We also use medicines (specifically antibiotics) that reduce the healthy bacteria. Poor digestion and inflammation often result.
And it’s not just our tummies that suffer. Inflammation is also linked to a diet heavy in processed foods and light on probiotics.
Research is finding that a diet rich in raw, live, and fermented foods can make a big difference in our digestive–and by extension–overall health.
So What Are Fermented Foods?
Fermented foods are made when natural bacteria feed on the sugars and starches in foods. This process (which produces lactic acid and is called lacto-fermentation) preserves the foods, and at the same time creates probiotics, enzymes, b-vitamins, and Omega-3 fatty acids. These beneficial by-products aid digestion and contribute to overall better health.
Sauerkraut, Korean kimchi, raw pickles, non-pasturerized yogurt, kefir, kombucha–there are lots of options when you are reaching for fermented foods. All of these can be made at home, but there are many commercially available products as well.
In the next few weeks I’ll get us started making some fermented foods, but for today, enjoy a glimpse of some of the many fermented foods we carry at Lassen’s!
Kombucha is a fermented tea which is very high in probiotics. We have many varieties with lots of creative flavors!
Make sure your yogurt has live cultures!
These raw pickles and sauerkraut are very high in healthy probiotics!
Enjoy eating live foods–you’ll feel the difference!
Love,
Lassen’s
