Fermented Foods
Fermentation is an age-old preservation method that is seeing a resurgence of interest, especially among those looking for health-enhancing food options. Fermented foods help to increase energy, decrease inflammatory markers, provide beneficial bacteria, and increase the bio-availability of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals found in fruits and vegetables.
What is fermentation?
Lactic acid bacteria is naturally occurring, covering the surface of all plant foods, and also found within plant cells. In the presence of a brine solution and an anaerobic environment, lactic-acid bacteria digests starches, sugars, fats, and minerals of a plant, converting them into forms of energy.
This metabolic process, aided by microbial bacteria, changes a raw food to a fermented food, which is more easily digestible for humans. The fermented foods are rich in probiotics, which feed beneficial bacteria in the human body. Lactic acid bacteria have been recognized for more than 100 years for the ability to restore, and replenish the microbiome in the digestive tract.
During the process of fermentation, carbon dioxide is created, a by-product of the lactic acid bacteria. This carbon dioxide is visible as fermentation occurs with the appearance of bubbles. Oxygen works against lactic acid bacteria, so the less oxygen there is, the better the fermentation results.
What are phytoactives?
Phytochemicals are compounds that naturally occur in plants. They are found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and teas and are widely recognized as health-promoting. Phytochemicals, sometimes interchangeably referred to as phytoactives, are “bioactive” compounds, meaning that they are biologically active, absorbed or transformed by the chemical processes that are constantly occurring in the human body.
While phytochemicals are not essential to the body, like vitamins and minerals are, they may help prevent disease and keep the body working properly. More than 25,000 phytonutrients have been identified in plants, but here are a few that you may have heard of: carotenoids, flavonoids, resveratrol, and glucosinolates. If those names seems foreign, then take note, because chances are good that as the research becomes more clear, those phytochemicals (and others) will become part of a healthy vocabulary.
Fermentation + Phytoactives
The process of fermentation increases the bioavailability of the phytonutrients found naturally in fruits and vegetables, making fermented foods and beverages incredibly healthful. Not only are they packed full of beneficial probiotics, they help with digestion, energy, and nutrient utilization.
- Preparing and Canning Fermented Foods and Pickled Vegetables, USDA
- MicrobialFoods.org: Digesting the science of fermented foods
- Fermentation and Pickling, NC State Extension
Fermentation Recipes
Fermented foods are those that have been chemically broken down, typically by bacteria or yeast, in a controlled way. These foods, such as kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, yogurt, (fermented) pickles and miso, are good sources of naturally occurring probiotics. Probiotics are live microorganisms that aid in restoring bacterial colonies in the body.