Fermenting foods and superfoods makes them even more potent …

So, adding a fermented food component to your future dietary plans would be a great idea …

OK, what actually is fermentation?

‘Fermentation’ refers to foods that have been through a process of ‘lacto fermentation’ in which natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the fermented food creating lactic acid.

This process preserves the food and creates beneficial enzymes, b-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics. Probiotics are micro-organisms that help maintain the natural balance of bacteria in the intestines.

The amount of probiotics and enzymes available in the average western diet has declined sharply over the last few decades …

This has produced an unfortunate impact on our over-all health, because probiotics have been shown to help slow or reverse some diseases, improve bowel health, aid digestion, and improve immunity!

Potential health benefits of probiotic fermented foods (and superfoods):

Improved overall food digestion
Reduced flatulence
Inhibition of undesirable bacteria
Stimulation of the immune system
Prevention of infections
Improved vitamin absorption
Lowering of bad cholesterol
Better sleep
Improved respiration (breathing)
Increased absorption of calcium rich foods
Better urinary tract health
Improved metabolising of lactose
Faster recovery after antibiotic treatments
Inhibition of yeasts, such as candida, and mould spores
Slowing of the ageing process

What does the latest scientific research into fermentation tell us?

While scientists admit there is still a long way to go in unlocking the secrets of fermentation and probiotics; the latest scientific research increasingly backs up the claims of the benefits of diets that incorporate fermented foods, such as kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, natto, yoghurt, coconut kefir, kvass, and raw cheese.

Our western diet has been relatively void of these foods in their true fermented form, until recent media attention triggered a renewed interest in foods like kombucha, sauerkraut, and kefir …

Links have long been made between healthy, long-living populations – such as Bulgarians, Japanese, Koreans and Russians – with their diets rich in fermented foods and foods known to support the growth of probiotic bacteria in the gut. The latest scientific research has shown similar significant improvements in studies conducted with animals and, while documented research with human beings is currently sparse, scientists are cautiously optimistic that the wealth of anecdotal evidence will eventually be backed up by clinical human trials and studies.

Eating fermented food helps us to absorb the nutrients we’re consuming …
You can ingest huge amounts of nutrients but unless you actually absorb them they’re useless to you. When you improve digestion you improve absorption.
Fermenting food actually increases the vitamin content…
Not only are fermented foods more easily digested and assimilated but the bacteria produce and, therefore, significantly increase your levels of B vitamins.
Fermented foods are rich in enzymes …
Your body needs enzymes to adequately digest, absorb, and utilize the nutrients in your food. As you age your body’s natural supply of enzymes goes down. Probiotic foods and superfoods contain an abundance of naturally occurring enzymes produced by the fermentation process.

Promoting probiotic health may slow the ageing process …

That is good news for those of us who feel we are ageing faster than we would like!

Current research shows us that rebalancing and re-promoting the levels of good bacteria may be a significant factor in slowing the ageing process and decreasing the rate of some degenerative processes. Toxin overload and poor waste removal certainly promote stresses on the ageing human body. Constant overload along with the normal progression of degeneration will only speed the process further.

Ageing is a phenomena we all experience, but the rate at which the ageing process develops is dependent on how we treat our bodies. Restoration of healthy bacterial colonies within our intestine is an important step people can take as they are ageing too, at least, make sure that they are not ageing faster than they should be.

Is fermented better?

We ALL need to maintain good gut health if we want to enjoy long-term health, but it is the very young, the old, and those not currently enjoying robust health who, by boosting the gut’s probiotic bacteria with fermented foods, are likely to see the most outwardly obvious health improvements.

Are you open to trying fermented foods/superfoods with probiotics in your own diet?

If this post has piqued your interest in probiotics, but you’d like to dig a little deeper, here are some articles and links to scientific research papers which support the arguments I’ve made above:

Ageing – The Role of Bacterial Composition Within The Human Intestine
Health Benefits of Lactobacillus and Fermented Foods
Fermented foods increase Nutrient Bio availability
Fermented Foods – and the Future of Probiotics
Why good Digestion is important
Fermented Foods History
Whole Foods from Nature

At the end of the day, the real proof is … when you test it for yourself …

A few years ago, I successfully lowered my own dangerously high (bad) cholesterol levels by drinking a green smoothie every morning for three months. I was ecstatic with that outcome … but something even more dramatic happened that really changed my life!

As I continued on with my green smoothie regime (because I was loving how good I was feeling) I realised that my ‘Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome’ also disappeared – after enduring it for 10 horrible years. Specialists describe CVS as being like “migraine in the stomach”. For 24 to 48 hrs every month I would throw up until I nearly turned myself ‘inside out’. It was horrendous. There is no known cure for CVS; you just manage it by administering your own injections to stop the vomiting. But, miraculously, I was finally free from this debilitating routine. I can’t describe how it felt.

Although I didn’t fully understand ‘why’ back then, I did realise that my green smoothie had somehow changed the environment in my gut. As a result of that experience, I learnt the power of fermentation for gut health. I decided to find a convenient form of natural probiotics that people could easily use on a daily basis.

The only way to know if probiotics work for you is by trying them for a reasonable period and see what results you get. I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

My green smoothie powder was specially formulated to make probiotic health convenient …

Busy people often don’t have the time to prepare and eat actual fermented foods, but taking my formula in half a small glass of water first thing in the morning (or slipping it into your morning smoothie) means the job is done … easy.

If you need any help or advice, please email me or get in touch with me on Facebook.

COMING SOON: In my next blog, I’ll talk about antioxidants and ‘brain foods’ that can help you retain your memory and mental acuity as you age.

Eat better, think better, feel better

..Donna Davidson,
..SuperFoodies.co.n z