Fermented Foods: Top 8 Reasons to Eat Them

Photo Credit: Cheeseslave

'It’s very recent that fermented foods have begun to disappear from our plate. Modern pickles and sauerkraut are made with vinegar instead of the traditional method of lacto-fermentation using salt. 

Bread and pasta are made with commercial yeast instead of being naturally leavened with wild yeast (sourdough). Wine, beer and cheeses are being pasteurized — killing off all the good bacteria we so desperately need to maintain health.

But there are many advantages to going back to the traditional ways of our ancestors, and eating more fermented foods.'

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Cheese—A Nutritional Powerhouse that Can Help Protect Your Heart, Brain and Bones

 

Photo Credit:indianapublicmedia.org

By Dr. Mercola

'If you’re a cheese lover struggling to resist cheese because you’ve heard it’s not good for you, then brace yourself for some really good news. Cheese can be an excellent source of nutrition, a food you may want to include more of in your diet rather than less. 

Cheese, especially that made from the milk of grass-pastured animals, is an excellent source of several important nutrients. 

One of the most valuable nutrients in cheese is vitamin K2, which the latest scientific studies indicate is even more important to your heart, brain and bones than previously thought. Cheese also provides a cornucopia of vitamins, minerals (including calcium), protein, and fat.

Even if you’re lactose intolerant, there are many cheeses you will likely tolerate just fine.' 

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How To Turn Any Juice Into Lacto-Fermented Soda

'At Nik's suggestion, we lacto-fermented this standard, store bought grape juice that we had in our pantry from our grocery-shopping days (read about how we quit the grocery store here.) The grape soda that resulted was exceptionally delicious, perfectly sweet and bubbly without being cloying like a canned soda. Plus, fermentation greatly reduces the sugar content in juices and increases the beneficial enzymes and lactic acid.


I like that we took pasteurized juice off the shelf, a basically dead, sugar loaded food (it has no added sugar, but still) and brought it to life through natural fermentation. You really can ferment anything, any sweet liquid can be vitalized this way. Why drink plain old juice when you can make it bubbly, and much better for you?'




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