Re: 8 Reasons to Eat Fermented Food

thought I'd go ahead and post this whether or not it applies to you...good info. Pick up the book "wild fermentation"... :)

http://www.cheeseslave.com/2009/07/30/got-bacteria-10-reasons-to-eat-fermente...

8 Reasons to Eat Fermented Food

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, and you’re good to go.

Here are a few of my recipes for fermented foods:

Kefir
Kefir Soda Pop
BBQ Natto with Shrimp
How to Make Whey & Homemade Cream Cheese

Sally Fallon-Morell has lots of recipes for fermented foods in her book, Nourishing Traditions.You could also pick up a copy of Sandor Katz’s book, Wild Fermentation.

Where to Find Fermented Food Starters

Check out my resources page for sources of starter cultures like sourdough starter, kombucha scobies, kefir grains, and yogurt starters. You can also find sources of fermented vegetables.

You might also enjoy this article I wrote about the benefits of eating naturally fermented sourdough bread: Top 10 Reasons To Eat Real Sourdough Bread — Even If You’re Gluten Intolerant

This post is a part of the Food Roots blog carnival at Nourishing Days.

Sources: Fermentation (Food) (Wikipedia), “Getting Cultured with Fermented Foods”(Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune), “Health Benefits of Raw & Fermented Foods” (Food Renegade blog), “Fermented Food: Benefits of Lactic Acid Fermentation” (Nourished Kitchen blog)