Eating Soured or Fermented Foods Is a Key to Good Nutrition and a Tip to Eating Healthy

Today I'd like to share with you another key to good nutrition and to eating healthy - fermented foods.

QUESTION:

Europeans eat lots of fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, sour pickles, sour milk, sour bread, etc.
What nutritional advantage does sour foods have?

ANSWER:

All people groups known for their long life and exceptionally good health consume a lot of fermented foods in their diet - the Hunzas, Bulgarians, Russians, and Germans. Sauerkraut is an essential part of the German diet. Sour bread, sour vegetables, and sour milk are important parts of the Bulgarian diet. One of the main staples of the Russian diet is black sour bread. In fact, the average Russian eats two pounds of it a day.

For thousands of years, fermented foods have been used not only as food, but also for their curative properties. People with arthritis, scurvy, ulcers, digestive disorders, and colds have experienced amazing results from consuming fermented foods on a regular basis. People have eaten these foods for centuries without knowing why they had such a powerful effect on their health.

Now, Dr. Johannes Kuhl, a German cancer researcher, has shed some light on this question. He explains the powerful curative properties of fermented food. "Natural lactic acid and fermentive enzymes, which are produced during the fermentation process, have a beneficial effect on metabolism and a curative effect on illness."

Lactic acid destroys harmful intestinal bacteria and helps to improve digestion and assimilation of nutrients. Fermented foods can be considered "pre-digested foods." They are very easily digested and assimilated, even by people with weak digestive organs. Fermented foods improve intestinal hygiene and provide a healthy environment for the body's own vitamin production within the intestines. In addition, fermented foods are excellent at preventing constipation.

WARNING: I advise you NOT to use commercially produced sour pickles and sauerkraut from your supermarket. They are made with unhealthy vinegars and can not be considered natural lactic acid foods. Most commercial products have been pasteurized and do not contain live cultures because pasteurization can kill many of the beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and nutrients.

Instead, I strongly encourage you to either buy natural lactic acid fermented foods from your health food store or to make your own. If you do a little research on the internet, I'm sure you can find out how to make them yourself. Some of the best fermented foods to consider adding to your diet include: yogurt & kefir made from raw milk, sauerkraut, miso soup, natto, organic apple cider vinegar, traditional Greek olives, kimchi, aged raw cheese, kombucha, organic raw apple cider, umeboshi plums, sourdough breads, etc.

To your health, the Naked Nutrition Knight

References: "Are You Confused?" by Paavo Airola