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From sauerkraut in Germany to kimchi in Korea, fermented foods are represented on a global scale. And there’s good reason – fermented foods have some excellent health promoting benefits. Here’s 10 reasons why it’s a great idea to include them in your diet regularly. 1. Contains beneficial bacteria for your stomach Many people get their probiotics through pill supplements, but it’s even better to get them fresh from a natural source. By balancing your good gut bacteria, probiotics help ensure your body will be better equipped to stave off disease. 2. Helps digestion With the help of probiotics, food can move through your digestive system more efficiently. In fermented foods especially, the live bacteria works to partially break down the food to a certain extent before you eat it, so the body has to do less work to digest the food all by itself. This makes the foods extremely gentle on your system. 3. Fights and destroys microbial pathogens Harmful bacteria find it difficult to survive during the fermentation process, so fermenting a food kills off potentially harmful pathogens before you can ingest them. Once inside you, the probiotics continue battling for you. Compare that to doctor-prescribed antibiotics, which destroy the bad bacteria, yes…but also kill the good bacteria, leaving you more open to another infection. 4. Reduce inflammation Fermented foods can actually help prevent inflammation before it even hits. Especially for people suffering from a chronic inflammatory disease like diabetes or pancreatitis, they can be lifesavers. But don’t reach for your favourite fermented beverage: alcohol is an exception to this rule, as it can worsen inflammation in other ways. 5. Build up your immune system Fermented foods help your body build up a good defence against intruding diseases. If you drink kefir for breakfast and then have an e.coli-contaminated spinach salad a few hours later, the beneficial bacteria from the kefir will fight the bad bacteria from the spinach. 6. Increase a food’s nutritional value Much like the human body is able to synthesise some of its own vitamins and amino acids, the bacteria in fermented foods can create additional vitamins (especially B vitamins and vitamin K) as they partially digest sugars and starches. 7. Enhances the absorption of nutrients Beyond creating more nutrients in the foods themselves, fermented foods also are rich in enzymes that enable your body to absorb and use them more completely. 8. Are safer to eat than their raw versions Millions of people suffer from food-borne illnesses every year, often from raw vegetables. Now, don’t take this to mean that you should cut out raw vegetables! However, incorporating fermented vegetables or other fermented foods will lessen your chances of being hit by one of these unpleasant bugs. 9. Enrich food flavour Fermented foods, with their unique, tangy flavour, can be an acquired taste – but it’s a taste worth acquiring. Fermented foods taste richer and more complex than the original food; it’s like eating something you’ve never tried before! 10. Can be preserved for a long time Do you like to stock up on food for emergencies or use throughout the year? Fermented foods are a perfect candidate: unlike raw vegetables, which usually spoil in a week or two, they often last a year or more. If you opt for probiotic yoghurt or kefir, try to avoid varieties with added sweeteners, which can undo the good that the healthy bacteria do. Fermented vegetables are a prime place to start experimenting. Try cabbage, carrots, pickles, celery, and more. Do you enjoy fermented food already? What’s your favourite? For more natural health tips visit our blog at: http://www.alkalife.com.au/blog
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