2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Imagine the old days - without refrigerators, year-round production of fruits and vegetables and trade with distant lands. To preserve food, man had to use beneficial microorganisms. It is they who turn milk into cheese, grapes into wine, and vegetables into pickles.
Such fermented food can be stored without a refrigerator: the acid and beneficial bacteria in it are natural preservatives that give fermented vegetables special taste.
Our digestive tract is inhabited by 100 trillion bacteria and microorganisms that enter our body through food and multiply on their own. Just imagine - the total number of microbial cells in the body exceeds the number of human cells. The variety of bacteria directly affects the breakdown and absorption of food, as well as the health of all bodily systems.
Over the last 100 years, the number of beneficial microorganisms in the human gut has decreased significantly. This is due to the predominance in the diet of foods that have undergone chemical treatment and are rich in preservatives. The industrial revolution only worsened the quality of food and the need arose to further saturate food with prebiotics and probioticsto stimulate the activity of beneficial microorganisms in the intestine.
To improve the beneficial microflora, you should use products that contain these beneficial microorganisms. And to get natural probiotics, you need to turn to fermentation. Fermented foods can help fill this gap.
Fermentation of vegetables can be called a natural process under human control: starch and sugar are converted into lactic acid. As a result of lactic acid fermentation you get a final product that is much more nutritious than the original. Thanks to the hard work of friendly bacteria fermented food is enriched with new nutrients - a variety of amino acids, proteins, enzymes, countless B vitamins and vitamins C and K2 and probiotics.
What are the benefits of fermented vegetables?
Photo: Zoritsa
Lactic acid bacteria from fermented foods are good for the overall health of the body. In addition, plant enzymes from vegetables perform much better than those contained in yogurts and kefir.
Beneficial microorganisms inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria, remove toxins and heavy metals, suppress viruses and fungi, preventing them from damaging the walls of the digestive tract. By restoring the body's natural balance, they solve digestive problems such as bloating, heartburn, intestinal disorders and heaviness.
Thus, they ensure a stable metabolism, good digestion and absorption of food and a regular supply of the body with useful nutrients. Bacteria in the gut also affect the functioning of the nervous and endocrine systems and prevent cardiovascular and hormonal diseases.
In addition to beneficial bacteria, fermented food provides the body with vitamin C and zinc, which is the basis of a healthy immune system. In addition to protecting you from disease, fermented vegetables will help you quickly recover from illness. There are studies that show that probiotics from fermented vegetables can reduce anxiety, keep blood pressure and cholesterol normal. All this reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
As a result of lactic acid fermentation you get a final product that is much more nutritious than the original and rich in vitamin K2. Rediscovered in the last few years, vitamin K2 is a switch of calcium in the body. Without it, calcium is deposited in the soft tissues (cause of atherosclerosis) and washed away by the hard tissues (cause of caries and osteoporosis). This vitamin is found in animal products. Fermented vegetables and soy are its only plant sources.
Digestive enzymes of the human body do not have a high capacity to digest fiber (cellulose). And here again, friendly bacteria come to the rescue. In the process of fermentation, partial digestion of plant fibers occurs. Subsequently, when you eat them, less energy is expended on digestion. Anyone who has started eating fermented foods experiences a surge of energy.
Are there any contraindications to the use of fermented vegetables?
Photo: Gergana Georgieva
If you have diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the acute form, it is better to leave fermented vegetables aside. Bacterial overgrowth syndrome, enzyme disorders and abdominal diseases are also contraindications.
The only side effect is the so-called "dying effect". Excessive consumption of fermented vegetables can cause severe flatulence and bloating. When the friendly microflora begins to kill the enemy in the gut, the breakdown products of the latter can cause discomfort. Therefore, you should start eating fermented vegetables in minimal amounts, gradually increasing it.
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The Amazing Benefits Of Fermented Foods
Over the centuries, hundreds of cultures and civilizations have perfected fermentation as a good way to preserve perishable foods that spoil easily in warm climates. In general, fermentation preserves food because cultured microorganisms develop in the products, which do not allow the growth of bacteria that spoil the products.
About The Benefits Of Green Leafy Vegetables
To green leafy vegetables include those of the Brasica family. These include kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, horseradish and normal cabbage. The health benefits of eating leafy vegetables are great, and they are preserved most when steamed.
What Are The Benefits Of Fermented Foods?
Many fermented foods, pickles and vegetable pickles are used not only as food but also as medicine. People have been using these foods for centuries without knowing why they have such a healing effect. Natural lactic acid and fermentation enzymes, which are produced during the fermentation process, have a beneficial effect on metabolism and healing properties in some diseases.
About The Benefits Of Leafy Vegetables
The most popular representatives of leafy vegetables are spinach, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, sorrel, nettle, dock. Green plants are a valuable source of calcium. This is especially true for the outer leaves of white cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce.
The Benefits Of Different Colors Of Fruits And Vegetables
Blue, red, green, purple, orange and white - life would be incredibly boring without the colors that make up the world. When we talk about food, bright colors correspond to the set of nutrients contained in them. However, this only applies to healthy foods, which means that sweets and cakes do not count.
