The health benefits of fermented foods are many and varied. What is fermentation? Fermentation is a process that converts carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination of the three, under anaerobic conditions. It is a process that breaks down certain foods rendering them in a simplified state that is generally quite useful to the body. Once foods become fermented, they undergo a significant biochemical state, so much so that fermented foods almost always have quite different properties from foods in their original state. The sugars and carbohydrates in the foods are converted to helpful acids that the body can utilize.
In many cases however, the fermentation process yields alcohol, which is an undesirable byproduct in most cases. Not long ago, the fermented tea Kombucha, which had become very popular as a natural health tea, was taken off the shelves of many grocery stores because testing showed that some of the bottles had more than trace amounts of alcohol in them. This is common in modern nutritional science. Fermentation is not always an exact process, sometimes yielding results like the above example. Because of that, most food producers and sellers like to stay away from most fermented foods and instead sell health foods that can be more standardized.
1. Increased Digestion Enhancing Enzymes. As the body ages, the amount of enzymes we produce decreases as well. Some scientists think that if enzyme production didn't decrease in this way, human beings would actually live longer. So you can see the benefit of fermented foods. They promote the production of digestion enhancing enzymes, thereby curbing the natural age reduction of those same enzymes, allowing the body to fully utilize the food it takes in.
2. Increased Beneficial Bacteria, or Probiotics. Everyone has heard of and probably used antibiotics. Probiotics are similar. Probiotics are foods that help replenish and recover the beneficial bacteria that help the stomach and digestive tract break down and absorb our food. Without a proper level of beneficial bacteria in the digestive system, food cannot be properly broken down and utilized.
The two major nutritional benefits to fermented foods have to do mostly with supporting the digestive system. This really is an important benefit because fully absorbing what food we already eat will allow the body to become a more efficient machine that gets the most bang out of its buck, so to speak. In a few other hubs, I wrote about the importance of detoxification and helping the body to reach a state of efficiency. It's the same here. Giving your body the maximum ability to utilize and absorb the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in the food that you eat should very much increase your health and wellness. Unrelated studies have noticed a correlation that people who eat less food live longer than people who eat more.
It makes sense though. In our Standard American Diet (SAD) there are many hazards. Things like preservatives, nitrates, and sulfates are everywhere. Your liver and kidneys are very hard pressed to filter out all the non-foods and toxins we consistently eat. It only stands to reason that if you're able to get the same amount of nutrition, vitamins, and minerals out of less food, you'll be saving your body a lot of work, not taxing it in an already hostile environment. That is the major nutritional benefit to fermented food.
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