Nowadays, fermented food products such as kombucha prepared from fermented mushrooms, kefir a fermented milk drink, sauerkraut, kimchi and yogurt are growing in popularity because of the immense health benefits they offer. Eating a more traditional diet that includes more fermented food has an abundance of health benefits. A few of these benefits are:

1. Rich Source of Probiotics: Fermented foods are potent chelators or detoxifiers because they contain high levels of probiotics as compared to probiotic supplements. Probiotics are ‘good bacteria,’ which help to prevent the growth of disease-causing bacteria. Moreover, probiotics boost the body’s immunity and fights disease-causing bacteria effectively. You may not be aware, but seventy percent of the body’s immunity system lies in your digestive tract. When your digestion is functioning properly and you are absorbing and assimilating all the nutrients your body needs, your immunity increases. Thus, cultivating your gut with ‘good bacteria’ keeps your intestinal tract healthy and enhances your immune system as well.

2. Food Preservation through Lacto-Fermentation: Today, most dill pickles and sauerkraut are prepared with vinegar instead of the traditional method of lacto-fermentation using salt.Whenfoods are preserved using lacto-fermentation, they last for months. The lactic acid helps to make the food sour, increase the content of vitamins and minerals, and provides a rich source of valuable digestive enzymes. Lacto-fermented foods also work to breakdown our food and help in the absorption of essential nutrients that ensure to keep us healthy.

3. Absorbs Nutrients Effectively: The right balance of good bacteria and digestive enzymes in your gut helps in the maximum absorption of nutrients from the foods you eat. Fermented foods increase the absorption power of these nutrients by inactivating the anti-nutrients that hinder the necessary absorption. For instance, soy contains phytates, which reduce the absorption of minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc by your gut. However, phytates become inactive in fermented soy, thus making it healthier and allowing more nutrients to be absorbed. The consumption of fermented foods along with a wholesome diet ensures that you absorb even more live nutrients from your food, which in turns also minimizes the need for vitamins and supplements.

4. Other Benefits: Probiotics obtained from fermented foods aid to breakdown and eradicate toxins and heavy metals from your body. They producevitamins K2 and B, thereby minimizing your risk for stroke and coronary artery disease. People who start consuming fermented foods slow or reverse the course of some diseases such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, and acne. Fermented foods also treat irritable bowel syndrome, improve digestion, cure urinary problems, and regulate bowel movement. Individuals dealing with gas and abdominal bloating are effectively benefited by consuming kefir, yogurt, and kombucha because fermented foods are a natural source of intestinal-friendly bacteria.

The environment in which we live and breathe today is highly contaminated ranging from antibiotics in meat, chlorine in water, and the presence of toxins in most food products – it is no wonder these contaminated substances are inside our bodies. With the availability of fermented foods, we can enrich our gut flora with beneficial bacteria in order to kick out the harmful contaminates that are making us sick.

If you have still not added fermented foods in your diet, start now and enjoy the health benefits that fermented foods and beverages have to offer. You will undoubtedly love the taste as much as you do the health benefits.