There is a reason that you should eat foods such as pickles. sourdough bread, yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, or kimchi, and that is because those foods are fermented. When you think about fermentation, the thought of alcohol likely comes to your mind. However, those foods listed are also fermented, in addition to miso or natto which comes from fermented soybeans which are added to soups and into other dishes. Buttermilk also is also fermented, as well as poi which comes from fermented taro root. Another dish made of fermented soybeans is tempeh. These foods are excellent for your gut health because they contain probiotics that your gut needs.
How Are Fermented Foods Different From Other Nutritious Foods?
There are microorganisms used in the fermenting process to turn sugars into lactic acid which is why fermented foods are sour. Don’t think that fermented foods are expired because they are not. In fact, the microorganisms used in the fermentation process will also prevent harmful bacteria and mold from getting into those foods. Therefore, they are extremely safe. When it comes to foods that are not fermented when they do expire, harmful bacteria begin to grow including mold, which means they are dangerous to eat. And you will want to include fermented foods in your diet and eat them a few times a week because they are beneficial to your health. Those foods are also labeled as cultured. Let’s go into that now.
How Are Fermented Foods Good For Your Gut Health?
The thing with fermentation, you can think of it in the same way as the early part of digestion. The microorganisms are eating the sugars and replacing them with lactic acid, and providing it with the good bacteria that your gut needs. Therefore, when you eat fermented foods, you will be taking in the good bacteria that your intestines need for proper digestion. Not only does it help to balance your colon, but it helps you absorb the nutrients of other foods better which is excellent for your overall health.
It is ideal to eat fermented foods when you are on antibiotics. That is because antibiotics will kill off all bacteria in your body, the good and the bad. Unfortunately, it does not differentiate. That is why when you are on antibiotics, you will likely have frequent cases of diarrhea and will struggle to digest food properly. That is because the flora in your gut is out of whack, and you need the flora replenished. There is no better way to do that than eating fermented foods.
Therefore, you should eat plenty of pickles or yogurt, or anything else that is fermented when you are taking antibiotics. However, even though many people realize that there are significant health benefits to cultured foods, the taste is something that many people cannot get used to or like.
What Happens If You Don’t Like The Sour Taste Of Fermented Foods?
There is the truth that the taste of cultured foods is an acquired one as it is quite sour. The best thing to do is to start eating cultured foods slowly. Yogurt is the one type of fermented food that the majority of people like, and that is quite okay to stick to if that is the only food that they will eat. However, there are also supplements with probiotics that can provide the same type of benefits. There are different types of those probiotic supplements that those who refuse to eat fermented foods can inquire about to find out if they are the best type for them. In other words, there are options to utilize if you don’t like fermented foods.
