Heal Your Gut with Fabulous Fermented Foods

The flu has been going around in Bali and we’ve seen many friends and clients taking long rests and recovery to re strengthen their immune system. Especially when our immune system is under “attack” it is important to nourish and replenish with lots of hydration (our favourites are bone broth and coconut water), sleep and fruits.

What is also essential in Gut Health is to make sure we give our gut bacteria warriors lots of tools to be able and fight off the bad pathogens.

One way to do so is to include fermented foods in your diet.

If not, you’re missing out on one of Mother Nature’s easiest gut health hacks! A diet rich in fermented foods does wonders from head to toe, promoting a healthy microbiome, strengthening immunity, taming inflammation, supporting better digestion, elimination and even brain health.

What’s also cool about fermented foods is that a little goes a long way. Just a tablespoon or two added to your plate a few times a week will do the trick, adding millions of pro-health probiotic bacteria to your gut with every serving, so no massive dietary overhaul required.

Not sure where to start? Here’s a topline on our fermented foods:

1. Yogurt Is fermented milk the same as yogurt? Essentially, yes. Yogurt and kefir are unique dairy products because they are highly available and some of the top probiotic foods that many people eat regularly.

Probiotic yogurt is the most consumed fermented dairy. It’s recommend when buying yogurt to look for three things:

1.It comes from goat or sheep milk if you have trouble digesting cow’s milk.

2.It’s made from the milk of animals that have been grass-fed.

3.It’s organic.

2. Coconut Kefir For those who can’t tolerate dairy, coconut kefir is a great alternative. This probiotic-rich drink is made with creamy coconut milk and kefir grains, but unlike regular kefir or yogurt it’s dairy-free and vegan-friendly. Try it in smoothies, in baked goods, with fruit, on its own, etc.

3.Miso Miso is created by fermenting soybeans, barley or brown rice with koji, a type of fungus. It’s a traditional Japanese ingredient in recipes including miso soup. Miso is a dish that I recommend to my clients once we renourish our gut microbiome after a detox. It is a lighter version of a heavier soup and the flavors are so palpable after a fast. I make sure I include miso not just in soups but also in salad and dressings.

4. Sauerkraut Sauerkraut is one of the oldest traditional foods, with very long roots in German, Russian and Chinese cuisine, dating back 2,000 years or more. Made from fermented green or red cabbage, sauerkraut is high in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K and B vitamins. It’s also a great source of iron, copper, calcium, sodium, manganese and magnesium. Is store-bought sauerkraut fermented? Not always, especially the canned/processed kind. I usually tell my clients to stay away from store bought sauerkrauts and invite them to ferment their own foods.

Did we interest you in making your own sauerkraut ?