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In modern life and industrialized, convenience-based living, one of the things we don’t do much of is consume real cultured and fermented foods. We tend to purchase packaged, processed foods and eat those, primarily, in our everyday diets. So, why would we want to buy and eat these foods, anyway? 

The history of fermented foods

For thousands of years, these foods have been staples of the human diet.  Since the Industrial Revolution when the advent of packaging, processing, and convenience foods began to occur, we seen the disappearance of these highly beneficial, nutrient-dense foods which were consumed by our ancestors, all over the planet for thousands upon thousands of years.

Throughout time, people have cultivated these beautiful, cultured foods and beverages out of necessity. When a dairy cow produced a surplus of milk and all of it could not be consumed at once before spoilage, fermentation was born. Fermentation allowed the food to be preserved so it could be consumed later, and it was done simply by using the naturally-occurring healthy bacteria in the food.

Read more in Fermented Foods: Past, Present, and Future. 

Because the process of fermentation improves nutrient content and increases the beneficial bacteria of the food, it is nade easier to digest, which makes the food healthier. Other foods were produced in a similar manner such as kombucha (a fermented tea generated from a SCOBY mushroom (symbiotic culture of yeast and bacteria) or kvass using vegetables, water, and salt. Kvass is a beverage created using vegetables such as beets, cabbage, carrots, and others.  It was also customary in various regions to culture and ferment many of the vegetables people ate through lacto-fermentation which uses whey protein from dairy products and/or salt.

Today on the modern consumer market, you will find products with labels which claim that the food you hold in your hand is health-providing and full of nutrients. It is important to be aware of these marketing strategies because the bottom line in the consumer market is profit. Due to environmental toxins, industrial farming methods, processing, and the presence of so many convenience products rather than real foods with nutritional integrity, the nutritional value and density of the majority of the world’s food supply, once consumed by our population all over the world, has been compromised or completely lost.

Although product labels may read otherwise, you will most likely not find dense or diverse probiotic activity in a cup of commercial yogurt or non-dairy cultured foods such as sauerkraut because of two reasons:

  1. Commercial dairy and other products including vegetables contained in jars are subject to pasteurization and other processing. Pasteurization destroys and denatures probiotics, fats, proteins, enzymes, and other elements critical to creating real probiotic foods.
  2. Although commercial companies add back in cultures to food after pasteurization, the culturing process simply isn’t long enough to generate the diversity and numbers of beneficial bacteria which our bodies need.

By the time you open a bottle, package, or container from the store, you are consuming a product that is lacking in the type and numbers of live nutrients, enzymes, and probiotics or beneficial enzymes needed for optimal health.

Sports and energy drinks such as Red Bull, Gatorade, Vitamin Water, and Rockstar contain caffeine, sugar, chemicals, artificial colors and flavorings which make their products addictive and customers continue to buy them because they “taste” appealing. Even higher-priced “professional” grade products such as Accelerade or Heed also contain synthetic vitamins and minerals or “herbal” ingredients are inferior because they aren’t comprised of real nutrition found in real raw, long-fermented foods and beverages.

Many probiotic supplements – except for those produced by mindful companies – do not contain the bacterial count listed on the label. Many probiotic products also contain other undesirable ingredients which can be a risk to your health.

Fermentation of real food typically uses one of the following:

Some of the many benefits of creating and consuming your own cultured and fermented foods and beverages:

Read more scientific research showing how friendly bacteria promote weight loss and optimal health in this book by Dr. Raphael Kellman, M.D., The Microbiome Diet: The Scientifically Proven Way to Restore Your Gut Health and Achieve Permanent Weight Loss 
Raphael Kellman MD

Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride who developed the GAPS diet, talks about the benefits of fermented foods in her book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome, recommended via Amazon affiliation. I embarked on GAPS in early May of 2011 and spent two years on the diet. I found marked improvement in my health, as well as disappearance of chronic anxiety and panic-symptoms.

Read my article about how I eliminated panic, anxiety, and sleep disorder symptoms I experienced for over 20 years with GAPS.

A word on cultured dairy foods:

3 reasons why homemade versions of cultured dairy foods bear little resemblance to store-bought products: 

Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Low Fat Milk, Sugar, Strawberries, Modified Corn Starch, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nonfat Milk, Kosher Gelatin, Citric Acid, Tricalcium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Pectin, Colored with Carmine, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3.

Read more about the dangers of this product from Fooducate.

Cultured dairy foods you make at home from raw milk that comes from healthy cows or goats on pasture are superior in every way in terms of quality and amount of diverse bacteria produced which our bodies need to support digestive, immune, and overall health.

If you have sensitivities to dairy which can be caused by digestive compromise from poor lifestyle and diet, there are a variety of cultured and fermented foods which are highly beneficial in the process of healing the digestive tract.  See the section below on cultured, dairy-free foods and beverages. Consuming these foods can be useful in helping you to heal gut lining, and once again be able to digest real, raw dairy foods.

Casein, a protein found in dairy, can irritate the digestive tract lining which has been compromised from poor diet and lifestyle, and which then penetrates the walls of the intestinal lining and enter the bloodstream to cause super-immune response.  This response can manifest in a variety of symptoms including asthma, respiratory issues including colds and sinus infections, skin disorders such as eczema, chronic fatigue, and many other health issues. This is why some individuals have “dairy allergies” or sensitivities when consuming dairy products.

Another consideration for those with dairy sensitivities is the source of the dairy food.  For the last hundred or so years, cattle breeds have been altered due to intensified hybridization of breeding. According to Mother Earth News, the type of milk produced by the majority of milk cows on the consumer market comes from A1 stock which is often, although not always,  from Holstein cattle. This beta casein is challenging to digest for many:

“An emerging body of research suggests that many of the 1 in 4 Americans who exhibit symptoms of lactose intolerance could instead be unable to digest A1, a protein most often found in milk from the high-producing Holstein cows favored by American and some European industrial dairies. The A1 protein is much less prevalent in milk from Jersey, Guernsey, and most Asian and African cow breeds, where, instead, the A2 protein predominates.”

For more information, recommended reading: The Devil in The Milk by Keith Woodford.

A word on cultured, dairy-free foods and beverages:

Like commercial dairy products, most commercially produced sauerkraut, pickles, carrots, radishes and other non-dairy foods purchased in stores have been produced with vinegar as a base, are subjected to high-heat temperatures, and often contain undesirable, toxic ingredients. 

Adding vinegar to the food does not create a culturing but instead, an acidic effect. High heat and other ingredients used in producing these products destroys rather than keeps the integrity of beneficial enzymes, nutrients, and bacteria.

Recommendations for culture starter to create your own vegetables as well as quality dairy cultures:

Caldwell Biofermentation

Cultures for Health

It is optimal to prepare your own fermented vegetables and cultured dairy foods at home. If you find that you don’t have time for these preparations, here are a few good store brands which contain live probiotic bacteria:

Zukay cultured vegetable juices, fruit juices, and dressings: recommended via Amazon affiliation are beet kvass and carrot kvass

Bubbies, recommended via Amazon affiliation are dill pickles and sauerkraut

Farmhouse Culture BrandsSpicy Wakame Ginger Kimchi, Organic Garlic Dill Pickle Kraut, and Ginger Beet Kraut

Probiotic supplements

There are a variety of health practitioners who recommend taking probiotic supplements in addition to eating fermented foods and beverages daily. The reason for this is due to the widespread nature of digestive disorders from a population which relies upon processed and toxic foods in its daily diet, as well as a toxic environment. Over years of time, poor lifestyle habits can cause marked degeneration in health and the digestive tract. Taking a quality probiotic supplement can aid in healing of the digestive tract and restoration of friendly bacterial balance to the immune and digestive environments, which have a positive effect on overall well-being.

The following probiotic brands are recommended:

Complete Probiotics

MegaSporeBiotic

GutPro

BioKult

Pharmax, High Potency HLC capsules

Pharmax, High Potency HLC powder

Book recommendations for preparing fermented foods:

The Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Food, by Wardee Harmon

Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon Morell

Cultured Food For Life: How to Make and Serve Delicious Probiotic Foods for Better Health and Wellness, by Donna Schwenk

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