A Few Health Benefits of Fermented Foods

A Few Health Benefits of Fermented Foods
by Ben Mester

properties than the foods did in their original state. The sugar and carbohydrate
content of the newly fermented food is usually converted into some kind of helpful
acid that the body can use.

In many cases however, the fermentation process yields alcohol, which is an
undesirable byproduct in most cases. Not long ago, the fermented tea Kombucha,
which had become very popular as a natural health tea, was taken off the shelves of
many grocery stores because testing showed that some of the bottles had more
than trace amounts of alcohol in them. In modern nutrition, this is common.
Fermentation is not always an exact process, sometimes yielding results like the
above example. Because of that, most food producers and sellers like to stay away
from most fermented foods and instead sell health foods that can be more
standardized.

1. Increased Digestion Enhancing Enzymes. As the body continues to grow old, the
amount of enzymes it produces begins to decline also. Some scientists think that if
enzyme production didn't decrease in this way, human beings would actually live
longer. So you can see the benefit of fermented foods. They promote the production
of digestion enhancing enzymes, thereby curbing the natural age reduction of those
same enzymes, allowing the body to fully utilize the food it takes in.

2. Increased Beneficial Bacteria, or Probiotics. Everyone has heard of and probably
used antibiotics. Probiotics are similar. Probiotics are foods that help replenish and
recover the beneficial bacteria that help the stomach and digestive tract break down
and absorb our food. Without the right amount of helpful bacteria in the digestive
tract, the food we eat can't be fully absorbed.

The two major nutritional benefits to fermented foods have to do mostly with
supporting the digestive system. This really is an important benefit because fully
absorbing what food we already eat will allow the body to become a more efficient
machine that gets the most bang out of its buck, so to speak. In a few other hubs, I
wrote about the importance of detoxification and helping the body to reach a state
of efficiency. It's the same here. Giving your body the maximum ability to utilize and
absorb the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in the food that you eat should very
much increase your health and wellness. Unrelated studies have noticed a correlation
that people who eat less food live longer than people who eat more.

It makes sense though. There are many hazards to the Standard American Diet, or
SAD, that most people are unaware of. Things like preservatives, nitrates, and
sulfates are everywhere. The liver and kidneys already have a tough job of filtering
and detoxifying all of the nutritionless foods we regularly eat. It only stands to reason
that if you're able to get the same amount of nutrition, vitamins, and minerals out of
less food, you'll be saving your body a lot of work, not taxing it in an already hostile
environment. That is the major nutritional benefit to fermented food.

About The Author

Ben Mester

Thanks for checking out the different health benefits of fermented foods. For more
on the subject, check out my article on , and .

There are many different health
benefits that are now being
associated with fermented foods. But
what exactly is fermentation?
Fermentation is an old process that
everyone's heard of, which takes
sugars and converts them to alcohol
and carbon dioxide using a variety of
yeasts, bacteria, or both. The
process breaks down foods and
brings them to simplified states
nutritionally speaking, which the body
often finds very useful. After foods
undergo fermentation, they go
through a biochemical change, which
usually has very different nutritional

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The content on
this website is for educational purposes only. Please consult with your physician before using natural
remedies and before making any drastic changes to your diet or exercise program.