LGR Holistic Wellness

Take care of your health and it will take care of you in return. The body goes through immense wear and tear carrying on with multiple complex processes to sustain life. In return, we must take care of it and restore it to health with a few basic non-negotiables. They are a healthy diet, enough sleep, and regular physical activity.

In the arena of healthy eating, the reason why we need to watch our diet is not only to maintain a healthy weight. We need to eat the right foods for our body to do what it does best, and that is to keep us alive and able to support us in all we do.

One of the ways that food sustains us is by providing essential nutrients to our gut microbiome. The gut microbiome, which is the biggest community of live microorganisms that lives within us, drives our health.

This ecosystem thrives in a delicate ratio of microorganisms. A balanced ecosystem will benefit us, but when less beneficial strains become overly populous they make our bodies more vulnerable to disease.

A diet rich in fermented foods is known to support good gut health. It’s been found that simply changing your diet over 10 weeks by including more fermented foods can dramatically alter the diversity of the gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome plays a key role in digestion, metabolism, keeping harmful pathogens at bay, as well as other important bodily functions. If we aim to reclaim our health, we can do this more effectively by reconstructing our gut microbiome. If we do, we are ensuring more beneficial bacteria grow and thrive and a healthy state of balance is maintained. We can begin immediately by improving our diets.

Fermented Foods That Boost Gut Health

Here are five highly fermented foods to begin adding to your diet to help boost your gut health.

Kimchi

Kimchi is a sour, spicy Korean dish typically made from fermented cabbage and other vegetables. Not all kimchi are created equally. You can expect the flavor of kimchi to vary depending on which kinds of vegetables you choose.

Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented, sweetened black tea or green tea drink with a tangy, lightly effervescent taste. It is usually fermented with yeast and bacteria, and seasoned with some herbs and fruit to add flavor. Sometimes, a tiny amount of alcohol is produced as a result of the fermentation process. Kombucha is typically consumed for its known health benefits, especially in improving gut health.

Kefir

Kefir is another fermented food. Bacteria and grain-based yeast cultures are added to milk, and as a result, kefir tastes and presents like a thin yogurt. The probiotics in kefir can break down lactose, which makes kefir a lot easier to digest and a better preference for people with lactose intolerance. You can add kefir to smoothies or drink it on its own.

Yogurt

Yogurt is made from fermenting milk with a culture of bacteria, often called ‘yogurt cultures.’ These cultures ferment the lactose or the natural sugars in the milk.
It too is easier to digest than milk and helpful for people with lactose intolerance. Yogurt is nutritious and may be made from any type of milk such as skim milk or whole milk.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is a fermented food made from raw cabbage and lactic acid bacteria. It is known to have originated more than 2,000 years ago in China, a time when the fermentation process was mainly used to keep foods from going rotten or spoiled.

Today, it is a popular side dish or used as a condiment in various cultures. The name sauerkraut originated in Germany, where this fermented dish is highly appreciated. Due to the fermentation process, sauerkraut comes with improved health benefits and is essentially more nutritious than raw or fresh cabbage.

In Summary

‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.’ – Hippocrates.

Although we may think of that quote as an old saying, eating healthy will never go out of style. Neither will wanting to live a long and healthy life.