You’ve maybe heard about how many functional medicine experts and health researchers are now emphasizing the importance of fermented foods. While fermented foods are nothing new, they were sort of forgotten about for a little bit there. This is a real shame because fermented foods are excellent for your health. The following will explore some of the benefits of eating fermented foods.
We Evolved To Eat Fermented Foods
If you think about it, refrigeration hasn’t been around all that long in the span of human history. Back in the day, humans got all the probiotics they needed because they were eating fresh food that came from healthy soil and were also eating tonnes of probiotics and fermented foods as this was an excellent way to keep things from spoiling. Refrigeration and other modern “trends” like soaking food in chlorine or sanitizing it results in probiotics being killed.
What Are Probiotics
Probiotics are a kind of organism that can bolster the number of good bacteria in your gut microbiome. It might seem a bit odd to think about, but probiotics are living bacteria that line your body’s digestive tract and offer support to your organs. The results of having a decent amount of probiotics are a boosted immune system and increased ability to absorb nutrients. Gut bacteria also create the enzymes your body needs to destroy harmful bacteria, produce vitamin B12, K2, and butyrate, and crown out bad microbes.
Improved Digestion
Poor digestion is not only a source of pain and discomfort, it can also be a social burden. You can address Gastrointestinal diseases by using probiotics. Eating probiotic-rich foods while healthy can also prevent the development of digestive issues like inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease. Probiotics also help combat all sorts of forms of diarrhea and diarrhea symptoms as well as reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Challenge Antibiotic Resistance
The World Health Organization has listed antibiotic resistance as one of the biggest threats to global health today. Due to the overuse of antibiotics (particularly in food production), bacteria slowly become resistant to antibiotics. When antibiotics are used for medical purposes or because you eat conventional meat and dairy products (they are chocked full of antibiotics), you run the risk of several antibiotic-associated gut issues. Probiotics also help improve the effectiveness of antibiotics in your system by preventing the bacteria in your body from developing resistance.
Combat Mental Illness
For a while now, doctors have been referring to the gut as the second brain. Studies are finding that mood disorders, autism spectrum disorders, multiple sclerosis, obesity, and attention-deficit hypersensitivity disorders are all connected to gut health. Animal studies have also found that probiotic supplementation reduces symptoms of anxiety by reducing inflammation in the gut-brain connection.
The above examples of the benefits of fermented foods are just the beginning. There are countless more studies on the wonders a balanced microbiome can have on your health, wellness, and happiness. It is worth noting that the body takes time to get use to changes in gut bacteria. It would be wise to introduce fermented foods slowly. This will give the bacteria in your body time to adjust.
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