I recommend including a bit of naturally-fermented food with every meal.
Naturally-fermented food enhances the digestibility of the meal it's eaten with. Benefits of fermented foods include:
- increased vitamin levels
- a wealth of beneficial enzymes
- antibiotic and anticarcinogenic properties
- promotion of healthy gut flora throughout the intestines.
All sorts of benefits from eating naturally-fermented foods have been demonstrated in research studies. Just one example: In a 2013 review of studies on probiotics in pregnancy: "Results demonstrated that probiotic use in pregnancy could significantly reduce maternal fasting glucose, incidence of GDM (gestational diabetes) and pre-eclampsia rates and levels of C-reactive protein (a marker of inflammation)." Pretty amazing!
What is Lacto-Fermentation?
Lacto-fermentation originated as a means of preserving vegetables for long periods of time without the use of freezers or canning technology. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Sugars and starches in vegetables & fruits are converted to lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid producing bacteria, or lactobacilli. Lactobacilli re on the surface of all living things, especially leaves and roots of plants living in or near the ground. People around the world have developed techniques for controlling and encouraging the lacto-fermentation process. From them, we inherit all sorts of recipes for naturally-fermented fruits & veggies: pickles, relishes, chutneys, kimchees, etc.
In Europe, the principle fermented food was sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is an easy first project if you want to begin making your own ferments at home.
Here is a recipe from Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions. I bring home a cabbage every week or two, make a big jar of kraut & serve a little bit as a garnish for almost every meal.
Ingredients:
1 medium cabbage, cored & shredded
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
(you can experiment with other herbs & spices. I like to use juniper berries, rosemary, bay leaves, or toasted mustard seeds.)
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 tablespoons whey*
*If you don't have whey, don't worry. Just use an additional 1 tablespoon of salt.
(Whey is the fluid part that results when dairy products like milk or yogurt separate. It's obviously a great source of lactobacilli, and can be used in pickle recipes to enhance the fermentation process. In the absence of whey, the lactobacilli occurring naturally on the cabbage leaves is sufficient. Here's a link to information on how to make/where to obtain whey.)
(Whey is the fluid part that results when dairy products like milk or yogurt separate. It's obviously a great source of lactobacilli, and can be used in pickle recipes to enhance the fermentation process. In the absence of whey, the lactobacilli occurring naturally on the cabbage leaves is sufficient. Here's a link to information on how to make/where to obtain whey.)
Sally Fallon Morrell with Mary G. Enig, PhD. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.
