Fermented Foods – one of the greatest benefits to our health

• Fermented foods have been used for thousands of years by many different countries and cultures all over the world. A small amount of fermented food was traditionally taken with each meal to populate the gut with healthy flora, vital for our overall good health.
• Our general health benefits when we are exposed to as many different varieties of good gut bacteria as possible as each has their own role to play.
• There should be a ratio of 85% good gut bacteria to 15% bad but it’s often the other way around. Gut flora is knocked off balance due to the overuse of antibiotics; processed foods; alcohol; medications; drugs; stress etc.
• Gut bacteria is a gatekeeper to undesirable bacteria and fungi (yeasts). It helps balance our water level; helps with our pH balance; it ferments and digests foods; encourages the absorption of key nutrients; helps to balance our cholesterol and if that isn’t enough, 80% of our immune function is also found here.
• Gut bacteria weighs around 3-5lb, outnumbers the total number of body cells by 10 to 1 and is found mostly in the colon. There are around 300-1000 different types of bacteria but around 30-40 species make up the bulk i.e. Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus etc.
• Natural fermented foods are sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, kombucha tea and generally any vegetables you like. Don’t get confused with the pickled vinegar varieties as these do not contain the probiotic and enzymatic values we require. To purchase online then visit: http://www.lauriesfoods.co.uk
• You can buy some traditionally fermented foods in the supermarket i.e. tamari, miso, tempeh and some natural yoghurts. Green tea and ginseng tea are also thought to increase the numbers of beneficial gut bacteria. However, these alone are not enough and should be used as a top up only.
• In a glass of kefir (fermented raw organic milk) you are benefitting from a similar number of gut bacteria that can be found in a whole pot of probiotic capsules. It is easy to make and takes around 5 minutes. For more information on how to make your own fermented foods visit www.cultureforhealth.com but this is only one of the many informative sites that are available.
• Probiotics are our modern day equivalent of fermented foods. However, all probiotic capsules/powder are not equal. In order to benefit from as many varieties of gut bacteria as possible I suggest purchasing 3 different types of probiotics which contain different types of gut flora. I use Optibac probiotics and I recommend that one of your choices is the Extra Strength (20 billion) capsules; the other two of your choices should be chosen according to your symptoms. Take a month’s supply of one type then move on and take another variety the following month and again change it on the third month, this way you are rotating the bacteria. For more information visit www.optibac.co.uk