Fermented Food

A fantastic practice to get more nutrition out of your produce, including vitamin K2 which is only found in fermented food. By consuming these fermented foods, along with healthy meal choices, we can supplement less (if at all) with man made vitamins and enhance our bodies absorption of the essential nutrients from our natural food.

Before reading on please make sure to read about "Candida & H Pilory" under the Healthy Tips tab to understand more fully the necessity for fermented food.

Also, some people suffer from severe headaches, rashes & stomach pain after consuming their current diet. If you are one of these people and you change to a healthy diet as we discuss here, including fermented foods. . .but still suffer these symptoms. . . you may want to get tested, not only for "leaky gut" but also for "histamine intolerance".

Histamine is created by Mast Cells in the body in response to allergens and pathogens, but it's also found in food! The list of foods is long and includes fermented foods. It is important to be sure you truly have Histamine Intolerance, because Leaky Gut can also create the same symptoms & increased histamine. So, if after you've tried all other options, you can read these links to learn more about Histamine Intolerance, get proper testing and begin a food journal to begin the process of elimination. Fermented foods really are wonderful, but sadly there are exceptions in this case.
http://thepaleodiet.com/histamine-intolerance-paleo-diet/
http://www.allergyuk.org/common-food-intolerances/histamine-intolerance

What is Fermented or Cultured Food?
It is fermented Vegetables loaded with good bacteria (probiotics). These probiotics are naturally within and on our organic produce. . .in the dirt from the soil, and inside the produce as well.

A rule of thumb is: The produce that lasts the longest has the most probiotics. Celery & cabbage are good examples. They last in the fridge for a long time because they are teaming with good living bacteria. These are excellent for making very strong fermented food.

The process of fermentation breaks down cellular walls and "opens the gate" to the foods nutrients, minerals & proteins, allowing your body to absorb more than it would have in it's plain raw state. Consuming fermented foods should not replace eating plain raw produce which has it's own wonderful living organisms. Not should you eat only raw produce since some lightly cooked produce become even more digestible, like steamed carrots. So change up how you consume your produce but eat mainly raw. . .and always add fermented foods to all meals. You can find ferments in Korean, Japanese food, in German sauerkraut.

There is a difference between Fermenting & Culturing.

Fermenting is when you chop veggies and age them in a jar of brine.
Culturing is when you "add" particular bacteria (or culture starter) into the veggies to speed up the fermenting process and to make it more potent. And to insure you get a particular strand, like plantarum, as opposed to a wild fermentation that has a 100's of varieties.
All of these are very good for you, but if you're on a tight budget you do not need to buy culture starter for your ferments. The vegetables fermented without a starter, will naturally provide more probiotics than pills.

Why not just take a probiotic pill?
Pills are NOT the same as living fermented food. There have been health issues associated with taking certain brands due to problems ranging from. . .the ingredients used in the gelatin capsules, to the inferior selection of bacteria used, or issues with the freeze-dried process. The "probiotic pill" is an expensive bandwagon even though most of each dose won't survive into the lower digestive tract .
Bottom line: It's cheaper & more effective to make at home.

Why Do IT?
Most of our immune system resides in our gut, our intestinal tract.
This is not "theory" this is FACT. Due to western diet we are all suffering from loss of beneficial flora that fights Candida overgrowth in our gut. Candida is a yeast that blocks nutrients, Omegas, Essential fatty acids, minerals & more from being absorbed in our bodies.

Why not try it? That's my question. Especially if you suffer from health problems & weight issues. Start with the core of your immune system!

Must read!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130916122214.htm

Gut / immune system connection:
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20130917/Understanding-essential-role-of-gut-microbes-in-immune-system.aspx

Gut / bad bacteria, Cancer connection:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265578.php

Probiotics Keep Candida in Check:

Before we go over the instructions for making fermented food, let's re-iterate what probiotics can do:

Candida overgrowth causes & enhances many chronic illnesses and spectrum disorders like Autism (see Candida tab above if you did not read that article first).

There are parents who have video documented the incredible difference in their Autistic children after eating a strict Body Ecology diet including fermented foods. Depending on the severity, some have even reversed Autism, with severe cases reporting major improvement in social skills.

The reason they see benefits is because severe candida is very common in Autistic children. Certain forms of Autism are now understood to be a side effect of infant/toddler Candida which is perhaps caused by too many vaccines given at once, antibiotics given too soon at infancy or most commonly, the baby ingesting bad bacteria from mom's candida in her birth canal. . .Or all those things bombarding the baby all within a one weeks time! To add to the injury, babies are then given rice cereals as their first food, which continues to feed the very bacteria already assaulting their immune system.
(See Body Ecology for more on how mom's can protect their babies beginning with pregnancy)

The founder of Body Ecology is a leader in helping pregnant woman avoid passing candida to their babies during delivery and she is world renowned for treating Autistic children through fermented foods & diet.

I personally applied her techniques and I was the only woman in my birthing class who did not need antibiotics to treat Group B Strep bacteria common in woman. My probiotics kept that bacteria from residing in the very canal my baby would pass through. Those fluids get into their eyes, nose, ears and mouth. These are the very first bacteria fluids to be ingested by baby which establishes THEIR brand new gut flora (baby does not establish gut flora until after it's first few days of life). It would've been bad enough for me to have had candida but to also have had the antibiotic would have made us both vulnerable to yeast infection, since it would have killed off any good bacteria I had along with the bad!

Eating probiotics regularly helped me prepare for birth and continues to benefit my family. It helps fight viruses & food born illnesses. For instance if you ate produce that had E-coli, the probiotics could help kill the E-coli off before it could harm you. This is not the same as eating yogurt which is pasteurized and loaded with sugar (which feeds candida). Fermented veggies are also stronger than any oral probiotic supplement, even if the bottle is labeled 60bill strands. This is just a numbers game, because most oral supplements do not survive into the lower intestine and aren't as potent as homemade cultured veggies.

Fermented veggies also increase B Vitamins, omega and K2 in your food.
Vitamin K2 is more beneficial than Calcium but very difficult to get into the diet.

Finally, if you have digestion issues, consuming cultured veggies aids in digestion and the flora will help you absorb more nutrients from your food, making everything more bio-available.

About Fermenting

It is a labor of love so gather up your friends for a culturing party or set aside a half day to make 6mos worth.

You can ferment almost anything! Fruit will taste alcoholic if aged too long, so a shorter 1-2 day ferment, at most, is best. It doesn't make for the strongest probiotic but it's a fun way to get ferments into your diet. For less hassle stick to mostly veggies. Organic cabbage is the very best main ingredient as it is full of natural good bacteria. This is why cabbage keeps for so long in the fridge.
There are several recipes on the Body Ecology website but I will put two of my favorites below. (see recipe & video below)

The process of fermenting or culturing, happens when veggies & liquid are put in a sterile closed (flip-top lid) jar and left out at room temp for 1-2 weeks. That's it!
But there are important tips to get the biggest bang for your buck by creating the strongest flora. The natural bacteria that is within your raw fresh veggies will create more strands of bacteria that will end up in your jar OR you can introduce a specific strand to your chopped raw veggies. You can do this by buying culture starter. . .This will insure potency which I explain below. I like to use a culture starter in Winter months to insure potency during a time when veggies are not in season and ship from further away, as opposed to fresh local farmers market produce in good season.

Plantarum
There are several places to buy high quality dried packets of bacteria cultures. There is one strand in particular called Plantarum (lactobacillus plantarum). . . The KING of probiotics, being anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and a high survival rate into the lower intestine. It is the best thing to consume for yeast infections like thrush, during flu seasons and travels... Or just anytime!
Body Ecology has Planterum in their Culture Starter and I choose to insure it is in our winter cultured veggies. If you check into it, make sure you don't confuse it with their "kefir" starter which is also good but designed for use in dairy.

Plantarum Facts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactobacillus_plantarum

Fermented Dairy
I do like home made kefir milk, yogurt & cheese. This is made by pouring raw milk over Kefir milk grains into a jar and fermenting it in the pantry for 20-24hrs. It's most beneficial to use natural probiotics in unpasteurized dairy but you can use pasteurized (not ultra pasteurized) whole milk too. You can use the kefir milk in smoothies or strain the kefir milk to make cheese then capture the liquid whey that drips off to also use in smoothies or to make quick lacto-fermented snacks like guacamole and salsa. Lacto-fermented snacks only need to sit out for 6-8hrs so it's a great quick way to boost your food.

If you get to try any of these fermenting techniques (Kefir, Fermented or Cultured) keep in mind that pesticides and GMO's are killing these natural beneficial bacteria in crops,soil and in animals digestive tracts. This is why Organic is best when you are making fermented food, because the natural bacteria is what starts the process of good healthy fermentation. When there are chemicals in your food, your subjecting the good bacteria to an immediate battle for life before the good bacteria has a chance to even begin multiplying itself….thus, a weaker probiotic.
If you choose non organic, there isn't good bacteria surviving on it's surface anymore, so you should wash & soak it very well to clean some pesticide, then use starter culture to ensure any bad bacteria is killed and that the good ones thrive.

Also, if you choose to buy local farm fresh organic, you really do not require a starter at all because the natural bacteria will be so strong and ready to thrive!

If you're forced to buy store-bought or out-of-season produce, and you also cannot afford the starter. . . that is totally fine to ferment them anyway. You'll still have a wonderful probiotic. Just be prepared to use salt and a longer fermentation time if you don't have starter. It will be a bit less potent but you WILL have a stronger probiotic than oral pills guaranteed.

Regardless of the technique you decide to use, fermented food is extremely beneficial either way and need to be consumed very regularly!

For menu tips on how to get cultured food into your daily diet click this link:
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/five-ways-to-eat-more-cultured-foods

Fermenting Instructions:

These quantities are rough estimate. Keep small jars on hand for any smaller left-overs. Eliminate any ingredients you do not like and increase one of the other items. You can do all cabbage and carrot if you so choose, so don't be overwhelmed by this particular strong K2 recipe.

You will need:

6-8 (100oz) mason jars (with rubber sealed "latch-down" lids, not twist-ons)
A huge tupperware basin/tub/cooler or several huge mixing bowls
Blender
Juicer (optional)
Food Processor (optional)
1 pkt Culture Starter (optional)
1 tbsp Sea Salt (optional, but use it if you don't use a starter)
1 tbsp Plain Sugar (this is food for the bacteria, not for you)
8-12 large green cabbage
2 bundles parsley
2 celery bundles (optional)
10-12 Lg carrots or gold beets (the culture turns the sugar into lactic acid)
6 Lg sweet potato
6 red bell pepper
6 green apples (the flora will feed on it's sugars for months)
5" one finger of ginger root, cut minced
1 Hot pepper (jalapeños are not that effective for a good spiciness)
Fresh filtered water
A room temp area to store for 2-3wks over cleaning towels
Refrigerator space for all jars. (refrigeration not needed in winter months)

Steps:

In a small pot, get 4 cups water slightly "body temp" warm (not too warm!) then add the sugar and culture packet. Remove from heat and let sit until last step. The sugar will activate the cultures and get them ready for action. If you choose not to use a starter just get luke-warm water ready and understand that the fermentation time will take longer, which is fine.
Set aside one whole cabbage, wash and pull whole leaves off then set aside for last step.
Food process the cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, apples. Finely mince the ginger then mix all together in a huge basin or tub. I use a sterilized large tupperware storage bin I use just for culturing. (Change things up and add kale or broccoli. If you like garlic just note that fermentation will take longer as garlic is naturally antibacterial)
In blender (you may need to split this up into batches) add all parsley and 2-3 cups of the chopped mixed veggies from the basin. Add filtered water to cover and Sea Salt (optional) then puree into a brine. Combine batches into a large pitcher, or two, then hand mix the warm cultured sugar water into the brine.
Optional.... juice celery and add to the brine. This is ideal for the nutrients but not required.
Pour brine over veggies and toss with sterile hands. Continue to toss the veggies after packing each jar, to keep all veggies evenly coated.
You're now ready to fill your jars with veggie mix. Using clean hands is easiest. Pack down each handful of veggie mix nice and hard to insure the veggies are compact. Stop filling jar at 2" from the top to leave space for next step.
Fill jars equally with the left over brine. Pour into jars little by little to ensure they all get equal amount. You want to only just cover your veggies (not to the jar brim) So if you run out of brine before after filling all jars equally, and the veggies are not covered enough, add a little filtered water. The veggies will also make more juice as it ferments, so don't go overboard.
Roll cabbage leaves like logs and fill in the 2" gaps. This allows for expansion and keeps the veggies submerged under the liquid that will begin to build as the veggies ferment. Close jar lids.
Place jars in a nice warm area, like on top of kitchen cabinets near ceiling or pantry. Set them on a tray with a brim, covered in towels to catch the liquid that purges during fermentation. In winter season fermentation takes longer but normal 70* temp will allow for 10 days of culturing. Test one batch after 7 days to decide if you want to ferment longer. The longer you wait, the more vinegar-like it will become in a good way! If a mold forms on the top of the veggies, don't panic. This is common and harmless. Just skim it off and throw it away but still eat your veggies. You will know if the rare instance occures where veggies aren't edible. Your taste-buds will know the difference between fermentation and rotten.
During fermentation the good bacteria have a field day feeding off the apple sugar and become powerful in numbers. In places where refrigeration was not available, families kept them stored for months in a cool cellar. But if you have the space in an extra fridge, you will preserve the probiotic at it's highest, strongest numbers if you cool them down after 10-14 days. This way they do not eat all of the natural sugar then begin to weaken. Once you refrigerate, you cannot change your mind then remove them to store in cellar.
After 10 days test one jar. If it is to your liking, refrigerate them all or store them in garage if it is a cool winter. You can ferment them up to 2-3 weeks if you like it to be more "vinegar/tart".
Un-opened they will last six months or more. Each one you do open will last two months in fridge.
Consume a couple heaping teaspoons with each meal during winter months to keep the gut flora strong, or 1/4cup with breakfast and another with dinner during sunny months when your outdoors and eating lot's of fresh produce.
Reserve the liquid from each jar after you eat the veggies. You can put it in V8 juice, salad dressing or use the liquid from your last consumed jar as a culture starter for your next batch of veggies. This speeds up fermentation but is not necessary each time.

That's it. It sounds laborious but once you get a system down, you will become efficient! You should only need to do this 2-3 a year. It is so worth it and the most economical way to get the best probiotics available! Below are some fermenting recipies and tutorials......then continue further below for the topic of SPROUTING.

Tutorials:

Dr. Mercola has a recipe high in K2 and great for those who have a juicer!

Cultured Veggie Video -Dr. Mercola:

Cultured Veggie Video -Body Ecology (3 parts):

Fermenting Pickles

Fermenting pickles in a salt brine is very easy, but there are some tips to know for crispier results. . . and reassurance is nice for newbies who wonder "is it supposed to look this way?"

I'll be posting a tutorial soon but in the meantime, I highly recommend this book pictured here. It should be in everyones pantry!

NOTE: Before moving on....
After you have done a cleanse, if you've been battling with Candida, you should wait to consume dairy after you see your symptoms almost disappear. Fermented dairy is very healthy and the more you get of the hundreds of thousand different helpful bacterias in your body, the better. Try learning the different names of good bacterias and you'll see how much you should try to consume. As you read earlier. Planterum is the KING of all bacteria, but the more the merrier. So change it up but wait awhile to add dairy.

Making Kefir Milk video:

Quick Lacto-ferment Snack Video:

Making Kefir Cheese video:
Notice she catches the liquid whey drippings in a pot. This whey can be used to lacto-ferment. Do not use store bought yogurt to make whey as it has been pasteurized.

Making Kefir Water video:

Since kefir water is made by using sugar (which feeds Candida) I do not recommend drinking it unless you're lactose intolerant to kefir milk, or unless you've done a Candida Cleanse and continue a diet of little to no sugar, and a diet of no empty carbs/white starches. Most of the sugar will be eaten by the grains, but some will be left behind. If you feel confident to consume sugar, then at least use Rapadura or Coconut Palm sugar for a low glycemic reaction.

If you are ready for kefir water, Don't drink large glasses. Just a little is all you need!

Flavoring Kefir Water video:

I don't recommend using pasteurized juices to flavor your fermented water kefir, as it is just sugar with nutrients added. Try to using fresh fruit like slices of ginger and lemon instead.

Kombucha

I do not include kombucha in my tutorials because it is a yeast that should not be drank by just anyone, in any size glass they want. If you have Candida then komucha will exacerbate the problem. Since most people do have candida, then I just don;t find it worth drinking. It's hard watching people buy it commercially in big bottles!

Now that you've learned to affordably consume probiotics daily. Let's look at the next technique to remove toxins from your healthy seeds/grains. Move on to "Sprouting".