Fermented foods have quite unarguably vanished from our plates and our diets. They have been replaced by pickles etc which are made using vinegar and even the modern day bread and pasta are being made by using yeast rather than the natural leavened wild yeast. The traditional method of lacto fermentation by making use of salt has practically disappeared from the scene.
Infact even cheese, wine and beer are pasteurized during production and this method kills off all the bacteria that our bodies require in order to remain healthy. In the midst of all of this, people have forgotten the benefits of eating fermented foods. Here’s a little more on that:
Fermented foods improve digestion
The first and foremost benefit of eating fermented foods is that they improve our digestion. Having fermented foods means that half of the work for digestion is already done.
Fermented, raw foods are high on the enzymes content
Our body requires the help of enzymes to digest absorb and use the eaten food fully for metabolic purposes. The presence of large number of enzymes in fermented food thus helps us to digest and absorb our food properly and derive the right amount of energy from it. Infact as we age, our body’s capability of producing natural enzymes decreases and in that case, need for fermented foods increases.
Fermented foods help to restore the balance of bacteria in the gut
There are many problems such as lactose intolerance, constipation, gluten intolerance, and yeast infections etc which are caused in our bodies due to the lack of the good bacteria in the gut. Fermented foods help our bodies to restore the balance of the good and the bad bacteria and thus overcome these problems.
Fermented foods increase the level of vitamins
What fermented dairy products do is that they consistently cause an increase in the level of folic acid which helps in the production of vitamins, biotin and riboflavin.
Fermented foods help us to absorb the nutrients which we are consuming every day
We consume a large amount of nutrients every day through the food we eat but the positive effects of these nutrients are incurred only if they are properly absorbed by our bodies. This is where the role of fermented foods comes into play. They help us to absorb these nutrients and improve the digestion.
Fermented foods increase the flavor
Fermented food items are definitely more tasty and full of flavor than the food which is unfermented.
