The gut is home to trillions of probiotics (bacteria and yeasts) that help digest food, maintain the gut lining, regulate the immune system and perform many other vital services. If disease or antibiotics cause a large die-off of these beneficial organisms, opportunistic or pathogenic microorganisms can take their place and cause havoc. Regular frequent consumption of raw fermented foods can help.

 

Raw ferments (sauerkraut, yogurt, kombucha, etc.) contain billions of important probiotics in each bite. Also, each type of ferment contains different species of beneficial microorganisms.  The more frequently we consume a variety of raw ferments, the more we are replenishing the gut with the robust variety of microorganisms needed to be healthy.

 

A ferment that is cooked or sterilized may retain its delicious flavor and nutrients, but the essential probiotics die. Raw ferments not only have living, beneficial microorganisms, but they contain the food material that shelters those organism as they pass through the acidic stomach, as well as nourishing them as they establish desirable residency in the gut.

 

The beneficial microorganisms of ferments fight to outcompete the non-desirables. Those with a sensitive gut may feel the initial microbial competition as gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation or brain fog. If so, introduce only one ferment at a time, in small amounts (even the size of a pea), until slowly over days and weeks the microbiome acclimatizes and we can move up to larger amounts.

 

Many people with gastrointestinal conditions have improved their health by incorporating ferments into their diets. Anyone can benefit from maintaining the diverse and vigorous microbiome that raw fermented foods and drinks can provide.

 

Rachel Benbow is a certified CranioSacral therapist and owner of The Roots of Health, located at 3540 N. Progress Ave., Ste. 106, in Harrisburg. For appointments and more information, call 717-831-6936 or visit TheRootsOfHealth.com.