4 Fermented Foods You Can Include in Your Diet

fermented foods They have many health benefits, however, they should not be consumed as a means to improve digestion or gut health, but they can be included in the diet.

These types of products undergo a fermentation process, during which “Natural bacteria present in food convert carbohydrates into organic acids and carbon dioxide. explains functional medicine specialist Carlos Jaramillo.

“Fermentation helps preserve food, improve its taste, increase its nutritional value and feed the microbiota.”because the beneficial bacteria present in fermented foods help balance the gut flora.”

Health Benefits of Fermented Foods

Jaramillo points out that among the benefits of fermented foods is that they can improve immunity, be more effective in helping with weight control and aid in digestion.

This is because the bacteria present in fermented foods “also help regulate the pH of the gastrointestinal tract, prevent pathogens from appearing, and feed our body’s microbiota, causing them to multiply.”

Among the fermented foods that are easily accessible, as they can be prepared at home or bought in the market, stand out kumiss, kefir, vinegars such as apple cider vinegar, tempeh and kombucha.

1) Kefir: This food can be cooked in water or milk and ultimately it is a biomass of microorganisms beneficial to the body.

“Consumption of this beverage is associated with a wide range of nutraceutical benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and antihypercholesterolemic effects,” according to a study by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.

2) Miso: produced by extraction from soybeans, It is a well-known traditional fermented food with a distinctive taste and aroma, most often used as a soup seasoning.

Scientific research shows that miso contains a wide range of nutritious fermentation products derived from soybeans and grains.

In addition, it has anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as the ability to eliminate gastrointestinal diseases.

3) Kombucha It’s gotten a lot of growth and a lot of recognition, especially in recent years, because they take the mushroom, they make it grow, they add a little bit of sugar so the mushroom eats it and makes the bacteria grow,” Jaramillo explains, but warns not to mix it with fruit juice.

Studies show that kombucha’s strengths include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, and anti-hyperlipidemic effects after in vitro studies..

4) Yogurt: Yogurt is made from a culture containing strains of S. thermophilus and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, but many commercial products are supplemented with probiotic bacteria.

“The effects of yoghurt consumption on markers of chronic disease risk have been studied. However, fewer studies have looked at yoghurt and other fermented milk products containing only fermentation-associated microbes as controls,” according to the Oxford academy’s study.

Jaramillo cautions that fermented foods are not probiotics, even though they perform a similar function of feeding gastrointestinal bacteria.

“Probiotics are specific, controlled strains of beneficial bacteria that have been studied and shown to have positive health effects. Fermented foods, on the other hand, contain a variety of bacteria, and the number of colonies that form from them is unknown,” explains the Harvard-trained specialist.

He stresses that they are not a treatment in themselves, but rather can help in treatment, but “they should never replace probiotics and standardized drugs.”Before including fermented foods in your diet, please follow your doctor’s recommendations.

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