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Health & Fitness

Fermentation for Better Digestion?

Fermentation for Great Gut Health
Fermentation has been around since ancient times, and has been studied extensively since the 1500s with the invention of the compound microscope. Fermentation is the process of adding microorganisms such as mold, yeast, or bacteria to foods and beverages to break down or digest compounds and nutrients. Your body does this naturally when you eat food; your stomach naturally produces chemicals to break down your food. Yet, often we do not have enough natural bacteria (flora) in our stomach or some foods (grains and proteins) need more assistance than others to break down and digest. Fermented foods and beverages are an integral part of proper digestion.

Examples of fermented foods and beverages include:

  • Cider and vinegar
  • Yogurt, kefir, and some cultured cheese
  • Certain breads like sourdough and ciabatta
  • Pickled vegetables (Examples: Sauerkraut, pickles, beets, et cetera)
  • Wine, beer, and other alcoholic beverages

Benefits of Pre-Digested Foods and Beverages (Fermentation)
Fermented foods help your body break down and absorb nutrients, boost your immune system, and keep your bowels regular. Fermented foods also support necessary bacteria in our digestive tract. Your body’s natural supply of flora gets crushed from certain medications, chlorinated water, and antibiotics in our foods; we need good bacteria on a daily basis to keep the balance of flora in our bodies.

Think of your metabolism like a flow of traffic and imagine if the cars traveling through the streets and intersections were the food in our bodies, the necessary bacteria are the stoplights. If you do not have any stoplights (lack of bacteria from consuming too much chlorine in tap water or antibiotics in meat and dairy), the streets would get congested and backed up with cars (constipation). When there are too many cars in one place for too long, chemicals like carbon dioxide start to build up (bad bacteria in our stomachs). Car jams and congested roads lead to polluted cities and frustrated people. When we cannot digest our food, the same toxicity and constipation occurs in our bodies.

For example, imagine eating a few slices of pizza knowing they will sit and rot in your gut for a couple of days if they do not digest properly. They become like magnets for disease-causing bacteria. Where are the stoplights to keep that pizza flowing through your body in a timely manner? A healthy portion of fiber will help move the pizza along, but not until the pizza is broken down will it travel all the way through the digestive tract. Healthy bacteria and fermented foods and beverages will help to digest the pizza so that the fiber you ate can take the garbage out to the trash.

If you have ever heard that a six-ounce glass of wine per day is good for you, the benefits of fermentation support that statement. But, as in all good things, more than what is beneficial means harmful. Limit your consumption of alcoholic beverages and instead focus on consuming a variety of fermented foods and beverages. If you do not drink alcohol, there is no need to start. Too much alcohol adds calories and a host of other negative side effects including nerve damage, liver damage, heart damage, brain damage, withdrawal, damage to unborn children, and sexual disorders.

There are many other ways to incorporate fermented foods into your nutrition plan:
  • Add organic vinegar to your salad or steamed veggies
  • Occasionally replace your regular bread with a fresh sourdough variety
  • Add kefir or yogurt to your smoothies
  • Try drinking Kombucha—a fermented beverage found in grocery and whole food stores
  • Add fermented vegetables like pickled cucumbers, beets, kimchi, onions, salsa, and sauerkraut to meals and snacks
  • Add a tablespoon of fermented chutney to cooked poultry or beef
  • Try fermenting your own foods! Have the courage to discover what you like and what you do not like!


Ashley Darkenwald, CPT|Owner
inFIT & Anytime Fitness of Albertville
6589 Laketowne Pl. NE | PO Box 58 | Albertville, MN 55301

Studio: 763-424-4435 | Direct: 612.501.8489 | Email:  Ashley@inFITbody.com
www.Anytimefitness.com * www.inFITbody.com  * www.inFITkids.com



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