23rd January – Eat fermented foods

Fermented foods have high levels of probiotics – these are the friendly bacteria that live in our gut.
🦠They are good for helping establish and maintain a healthy gut microbiome. 🦠Having a healthy gut microbiome helps improve digestion and can help relieve lots of gastrointestinal symptoms. 🦠There is lots of increasing evidence that our gut microbiome plays an important role in immunity and keeping mental health well as well.

What are fermented foods? Fermented food are foods or drinks which are produced with controlled microbial growth, the action of the microbes ( bacteria, yeasts or fungi ) changes the components of the food by enzymatic action, and often gives it that slightly tangy flavour. For example, in yogurts, lactobacillus bacteria convert the lactose sugars in milk into glucose and galactose and also produce lactic acid, which is what gives yogurt its flavour.

Examples of fermented foods are: kefir, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kimchi, lassi, kombucha. Ones that most people might be more familiar with are natural yoghurt and sourdough bread.

Aim to have some fermented food every day. My breakfast this afternoon (I also do intermittent fasting – more on that coming soon!) was kefir, sprinkled with rolled oats, some nuts and seeds and dried fruit – yum!