WHY FERMENTED FOODS COULD BE THE KEY TO A HEALTHY GUT THIS WINTER
Winter. It’s become a season of dread in our house. Oh the viruses, the bugs, the sickness, the illness. I never fully understood what parents went through until having kids of my own that bring back every type of illness possible. Since they started kindy, we get knocked out of weeks during the winter months and now I’m fighting back.
I’m hitting the research button and looking into ways that we can strengthen our immunity and back into outrageous health! It’s time to winter well! So, I am going to delve into the wellness world (potentially use the family as my guinea pigs) and find out what boosts us into a healthy, sick free zone. Now, I know already that the quick fix just isn’t there - if it was, I’d have found it. I’ve tried the vitamins, the health shops have been hit repeatedly - all the shiny promises have been absorbed. At the end of the day, I know that it’s lifestyle stuff that will really make a difference, no fads here. So I’m going to be looking at things that I can incorporate into my daily routine and rituals. Some I’ve already tried, ones that I know that work I will share with you too. The first that I’m going to look at is fermented foods. They’ve been around for hundreds of years, you’ll find them across almost every culture and they’re going through a bit of a revival. They are a relatively simple thing to introduce, they don’t need to be pricey (and you can even make them relatively simply at home). But can they really boost our health?
THE SCIENCE
Well, it’s all in the guts. Our gut microbiome to be exact. I want to touch on the might gut microbiome, just for a moment because it is quite the ecosystem. So, what is it? It’s a VAST community of trillions (yes you read that right) of fungi and bacteria that live in each and every nook and cranny of your gastrointestinal tract. It’s important because we are learning more and more that the microbes have a major influence on everything from our immune system, appetite, mood, metabolism … they are a pretty big deal. The live, mostly in your lower intestine and outnumber all of the other cells in your body! Interestingly, science is starting to show us that these microbiomes are completely unique to each of us and we couldn’t survive for very long without them.
WHERE DO FERMENTED FOODS COME IN?
Glad that you asked! One way that we can help keep all of those lovely microbes happy and healthy is to eat fermented foods. You see fermented foods are loaded with prebiotics and probiotics, which are fibre and nutrients that the microbes LOVE and bolster those teeny, tiny but might legions of ‘good’ bacteria in your tummy. Now, there’s not only ‘good’ bacteria in there, which can cause us to feel, well, yuck. Contributing to obesity, IBS, poor immunity and can open us up to other diseases. We bolster these not so great bacteria by eating ultra-processed, deep fried food, too much alcohol amongst others. By increasing our intake of fermented foods can ensure that we get the balance right and in turn we can get some pretty great results:
Improved digestion and reduced bloating
Clearer skin
Regulated inflammatory response
Improved immunity
More energy
Clearer mind
SOME EXAMPLES OF FERMENTED FOODS
Saurkraut
Kimchi
Tempeh
Kefir
Miso
Cultured milk and yoghurt
Kombucha
So, I’ll be increasing my intake of fermented foods this winter, in fact I’ve just stocked up. You’ll see some of my finds over on the ‘gram! Will you be trying out fermented foods?