Fermented Foods

Fermented foods help improve gut flora. Without a healthy gut flora it is difficult for your body to digest food and absorb the nutrients and minerals you get from foods you eat.

Years ago almost all condiments were fermented foods and were regularly eaten with meals. The process of fermenting food takes time so the food industry replaced the process with sugar. Now condiments are usually loaded with sugar and not fermented at all - having a negative effect on gut flora.

There are still some great fermented foods out there! Organic miso, A Bread Affair sourdough and grass fed yogurt are some of my favourites. Some additional ones are kefir, kimchi and kombucha (sugar is used to make kombucha however the yeast eats most of the sugar and the longer it is fermented the less sugar it has in it...there may also be traces of alcohol in it). It is important to ensure you are getting the right kind of fermented food so read the ingredients and make sure sugar (aside from kombucha) has not replaced the fermentation process. You can also make your own sauerkraut and fermented veggies:)