The Perks of Eating Fermented Foods

Almost every culture cultures food - kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, kimchi, kvass, cheese and even wine.  Why? Practically speaking it was a way of preserving food, but it turns out that fermenting foods makes nutrients in the foods more accessible and has positive effects on our digestive tracts due to their probiotic properties.

Kefir consistently shows increased levels of folic acid, B vitamins and biotin depending on the strains of bacteria used.

Vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains subjected to fermentation also see increases in their nutrient profiles. For example the bioavailability of amino acids like lysine and methionine increases with fermentation.

For grains, sprouting prior to souring can also increase the availability of protein. Fermented vegetables as in the case of sauerkraut and kimchi, often see an increase in the activity of vitamin C and vitamin A. Sauerkraut is considered particularly healing to the gut due to the presence of l-glutamine and the probiotics used in the fermentation process.

Fermentation decreases the activity of phytates (or phytic acid) naturally present in grains. Phytates are anti-nutrients that bind to minerals preventing their proper absorption in the gut. People suffering from iron deficiency often do better if they decrease their intake of grains and therefore phytates.  Since souring grains reduces the phytic acid content, fermentation enables your body to absorb more minerals than you would be able to otherwise.  Research has also shown that fermentation reduces the gluten content of grains like wheat and the people with a gluten intolerance can sometimes tolerate sourdough bread.

There's a new recipe for Sweet Potato Squash Delight on our website
http://forcesofnature.ca/HealthyRecipes.htm#Sweet_Potato_Squash_Delight here.

Yours in health,

Pamela

www.ForcesofNature.ca
http://www.NaturopathToronto.ca
http://naturopathicdetox.blogspot.com/ Detox Blog
http://h1n1naturopath.blogspot.com/ H1N1 Blog
http://naturopathtoronto.blogspot.com/ Weekly Emails Blog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/pfranknd

Copyright 2009 Forces of Nature