Importance and Health Benefits of Fermented Foods to Your Health. By Dr. Mercola. As noted by Epoch Times,1 consumer behavior is changing in regard to food. Many are getting weary of processed fare and the dubious health claims that go with them, and are embracing more traditional foods and relearning ancient culinary methods such as fermenting. According to the featured article 3This change in our relationship with food can be explained by the rise of diets of enlightenment. In his book The Omnivorous Mind Our Evolving Relationship With Food, author John S. Allen,Ph. D., looks at how certain consumers are. Personal paths to enlightenment are leading shoppers to shun the marketized science of the food industry, in favor of homemade, experiential, and locally sourced options. A significant number of people now seem to be choosing their approaches to eating for reasons less to do with nutrition and more to do with wellness, sustainability and the search for identity. So goes the saying, you are what you eat. Your Body Is a Conglomerate of Microorganisms. What Is Fermented Foods' title='What Is Fermented Foods' />Fermented foods are very beneficial foods to add to the diet and can be made with vegetables, nuts, seeds, grains, beans or liquids such as vegan milks. Learn about. This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, fermentation typically refers to the. Were all used to hearing about fresh food as the answer to better health. But could fermented foodwhich intentionally sits for days, weeks or even monthsbe the. Which appear more protective, fermented soy foods, such as miso and tempeh, or unfermented soy, like tofu and soy milkMaybe youve heard the buzz Fermented foods are kind of awesome for you. They often begin as whole foods, and with the help of microorganisms, their sugars and carbs. Humans have been eating fermented foods since the time of the Paleolithic, but modern research suggests they may be good for your brain as well as your gut. If you like aged cheese, sauerkraut, kimchi, sourdough bread, yogurt, beer or wine, then youre familiar with fermented foods. Fermentation is a way to. In more recent years, scientists have discovered just how important your microbiome is for health. Indeed, some have suggested your body can best be viewed as a super organism composed of a diverse array of symbiotic microorganisms that need to be kept in proper balance for optimal physical and psychological functioning. You have approximately 1,0. You also harbor viruses bacteriophages, and they in turn outnumber bacteria 1. Theyve even realized your microbiome is one of the environmental factors that drive genetic expression, turning genes on and off depending on which microbes are present. Research suggests many are deficient in beneficial gut bacteria, making it a very important consideration if youre not feeling well, physically or psychologically. Why Ferment FoodsBacteria and yeast are both used in food fermentation, which boosts the nutritional content of the food. Bacteria convert sugars and starch into lactic acid, a process called lacto fermentation, whereas yeasts undergo ethanol fermentation. Beer and wine are examples of the latter and, while fermented, their influence on health is less beneficial compared to lacto fermented foods like yogurt, cheese and fermented vegetables, primarily due to their alcohol content. While you can do wild fermentation allowing whatever is naturally on the vegetable to take hold, this method is more time consuming, and the end product less certain. Inoculating the food with a starter culture speeds up the fermentation process and helps to ensure youll end up with a consistent, high quality end product. Besides preserving the food, allowing it to be stored for several weeks without the addition of preservatives, the fermentation process also produces Beneficial healthy bacteria that promote gut health. Fermented milk products also contain non digestible carbohydrate galacto oligosaccharide, which acts as a prebiotic,4 and essential amino acids. Beneficial enzymes. Certain nutrients, including B vitamins, biotin and folic acid. Fermented milk products also contain higher amounts of conjugated linoleic acid CLA7. Increased bioavailability of minerals. Short chain fatty acids, which help improve your immune system function. Most Stand to Benefit From Fermented Foods. In my view, optimizing your gut health is a foundational step if you are seeking to achieve good health. Addressing your gut flora is also important for most health conditions, be they acute or chronic. Considering current disease statistics, it seems clear that most people have poor gut health and would benefit from eating more fermented foods. While you could certainly use a high quality probiotic supplement, eating fermented foods is, I believe, a more effective and far less expensive option. Since different fermented foods will contain disparate bacteria, your best bet is to eat a variety of fermented foods to optimize microbial diversity. Fiber serves as a prebiotic and is another important component, and may even take precedence if youre already healthy, as fiber rich foods provide nourishment for the beneficial microbes already residing in your gut. By strengthening their numbers, these beneficial microbes help keep disease causing microbes in check. I recommend eating fermented and fiber rich foods every day, as research shows your microbiome can be very rapidly altered based on factors such as diet, lifestyle and chemical exposures. This is a double edged sword, no doubt, considering how many of our modern conveniences such as processed foods, antibiotics and pesticides turn out to be extremely detrimental to our gut flora. On the other hand, your diet is one of the easiest, fastest and most effective ways to improve and optimize your microbiome, so the good news is that you have a great degree of control over your health destiny. Do Bacteria in Fermented Foods Survive Your Digestive SystemLucy Shewell, Ph. D., a molecular microbiology research scientist, has written some well referenced articles about fermented foods, covering their nutritional makeup, health benefits and evidence showing many do in fact survive the treacherous journey through your gastrointestinal GI tract. According to Shewell 1. Large cohort studies conducted in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark found that fermented milk products were significantly associated with decreased disease states. These disease states include bladder cancer, cardiovascular disease and periodontitis. Bacteria derived from food appear to be members of the variable human microbiome with the ability to alter the gut microbiome. But do the bacteria we ingest in common fermented foods. The stomach is an extremely acidic environment p. H lt 3 and contains destructive digestive enzymes, such as pepsin, which break down proteins into smaller amino acid building blocks. Most ingested bacteria will not survive this first part of the journey. They must also be able to adhere to the gut epithelial cells in order to have any beneficial effects. Variation in the ability of probiotic strains to survive the human GI tract has been demonstrated. Studies subjecting various strains to conditions simulating the environment of the human GI tract found that strains of B. L. casei, L. rhamnosus and L. Research has also demonstrated that the Lactobacillus strain, found in yogurt for example, survives the human GI tract, provided the bacteria are present in the food in sufficiently high numbers. How To Get A Cake Out Of The Pan. The lactic acid bacteria found in kimchi have also been found to survive the journey through your digestive system. To be effective, research suggests dosages of 1. CFUs are needed. How Probiotics Influence Your Health and Well Being. Each of Shewells articles contains at least 8. I suggest reviewing them. In summary, research shows fermented foods, be it cultured dairy or fermented vegetables, have a wide range of beneficial effects, including the following Enhanced nutritional content of the food Restoration of normal gut flora when taking antibiotics Immune system enhancement Improvement of symptoms of lactose intolerance Reduced risk of infection from pathogenic microorganisms Weight loss aid. Certain fermented foods, such as kimchi, have been shown to have anti obesity effects in animals Reduced constipation or diarrhea and improvement of inflammatory bowel conditions such as Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome IBS and necrotizing enterocolitis Prevention of allergies in children, including the alleviation of peanut allergy when giving probiotics in conjunction with oral immunotherapy. Antioxidant. 17 and detoxifying effects kimchi. Kombucha also has antioxidant properties, thanks to a compound called D saccharic acid 1,4 lactone DSL1. Reduced risk for Helicobacter pylori H.