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Fermentation is back: how will living organisms reshape your plate?

Despite our scientific know-how, modern life makes fermentation unintuitive and difficult. But it’s precisely this practice that can help us come to a different way of thinking and approaching the world. A world where fermentation is integrated into our daily life might be a bit messier, but it would also be more caring to the many life forms with whom we co-exist. Perhaps it would be a world that lends itself to contemplation, letting us ponder the transition of life to death, rather than fearing it, hiding it away.

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 Why You Should Eat Fermented Foods Every Day

You’ve probably heard about the health benefits of fermented foods like kimchi and yogurt. But many of us eat other fermented foods every day without realizing they are fermented. For example, coffee, soy sauce, chocolate, and red wine are all fermented foods. But lest you think that means you have an excuse to guzzle all the coffee and red wine you can, think again. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. There are actually two types of fermented foods: one that is fermented to improve flavor, and another that contains active probiotic cultures. And only one of them is said to have the probiotics that have a positive effect on health.

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A Pickle a Day May Keep Your Anxiety at Bay

Fermented food appears to calm the nerves of the socially challenged.

A potted history of fermented foods – from pickles to kimchi

For the uninitiated, fermented foods include anything that uses bacteria to break down organic matter into a new product. Look around an ordinary kitchen and you’ll almost certainly find something fermented: yoghurt (milk), beer and wine (grain/fruit) or vinegar (alcohol). Not all of these will give you the promised health boost, however, which comes from “live” ferments containing probiotic microbes, usually lactic acid bacteria. In alcohol and vinegar the fermenting bacteria die during the process.

Fermented foods can add depth to your diet

Fermented foods are preserved using an age-old process that not only boosts the food's shelf life and nutritional value but can give your body a dose of healthful probiotics — live micro­organisms crucial to good digestion.

Fermented foods sustain both microbiomes and cultural heritage

Many people around the world make and eat fermented foods. Millions in Korea alone make kimchi. The cultural heritage of these picklers shape not only what they eat every time they crack open a jar but also something much, much smaller: their microbiomes. On the microbial scale, we are what we eat in very real ways. Your body is teeming with trillions of microbes. These complex ecosystems exist on your skin, inside your mouth and in your gut. They are particularly influenced by your surrounding environment, especially the food you eat. Just like any other ecosystem, your gut microbiome requires diversity to be healthy.

Fermented foods to boost your gut health

From kefir to kimchi, these probiotic-packed foods can help your digestion and support your internal microbiome

Fermented Foods, Health and the Gut Microbiome

Fermented foods have been a part of human diet for almost 10,000 years, and their level of diversity in the 21st century is substantial. The health benefits of fermented foods have been intensively investigated; identification of bioactive peptides and microbial metabolites in fermented foods that can positively affect human health has consolidated this interest. Each fermented food typically hosts a distinct population of microorganisms. Once ingested, nutrients and microorganisms from fermented foods may survive to interact with the gut microbiome, which can now be resolved at the species and strain level by metagenomics.

Fermented-food diet increases microbiome diversity, decreases inflammatory proteins, study finds

Eating foods such as yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, vegetable brine drinks, and kombucha tea led to an increase in overall microbial diversity, with stronger effects from larger servings. "This is a stunning finding," said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology. "It provides one of the first examples of how a simple change in diet can reproducibly remodel the microbiota across a cohort of healthy adults."

Gut microbiome: meet Lactobacillus brevis – a fermentation superstar

Fermentation, one of the oldest food production and preservation techniques, has seen a huge revival in recent years. From craft beers and kombucha to yoghurt, sauerkraut and pickles, fermentation is central to producing these foods and drinks. There are different types of fermentation, one of which is lactic acid fermentation. Lactic acid (also known as lactate) is best known for the burning sensation we feel in our muscles when exercising, which acts as a signal to the body to lower the intensity of the activity.

Healthy Food Trend: Fermented Foods

Fermented foods have recently become popular, but they have actually been around for thousands of years. Fermentation was originally used as a method to preserve foods, but today it's being touted for its health benefits....

How Fermented Foods May Alter Your Microbiome and Improve Your Health

Foods like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut and kombucha increased the diversity of gut microbes and led to lower levels of inflammation.

How hardworking microbes ferment cabbage into kimchi

I love fermented foods. I love that you can leave something out on the counter, in the refrigerator — forget about it, even — and it just gets better. But why do some foods improve with age, while others spoil? I wanted to know how it happens.

Kefir, Yogurt, Sauerkraut: All About Fermented Foods

What makes it good for us? Probiotics. Probiotics. Probiotics. These are the good bacteria found in fermented foods. Some good bacteria already live in our gut, but we can boost our health by consuming even more. Healthy bacteria provided by fermented foods can be beneficial to the digestive system and the disease-fighting immune system. When it comes to your GI track, probiotics keep the accumulation of harmful bacteria in check and (bonus!) reduces bloat.

Kombucha, kimchi and yogurt: how fermented foods could be harmful to your health

Fermented foods have become very popular, thanks to claims about their nutritional properties and reported health benefits, such as improving digestion, boosting immunity and even helping people lose weight. Some of the most popular fermented foods include kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, tempeh, natto, miso, kimchi and sourdough bread. But though these fermented foods might offer us many health perks, most people aren’t aware that they might not work for everyone. For some people, fermented foods might cause serious health issues.

Mmm, the Flavors of Fermentation

Packaged-food makers, grocers and chefs say more Americans are developing a bigger taste for fermented foods. Flavor experts even envision a world where spicy kimchi replaces pedestrian sauerkraut on American hot dogs. Already, fermented flavors are popping up on snacks and condiments such as Lay's Sriracha potato chips, Heinz balsamic vinegar flavored ketchup and Trader Joe's Spicy Seaweed Ramen noodles. The Subway sandwich chain is testing a creamy Sriracha sauce.

Put more sauerkraut on your hot dog (your gut might like it)

For some tastebuds, sauerkraut is the perfect compliment to a hot dog on a hot summer day. For others, it’s a sour stomach-churning mess. Whether you like to eat it or not, this tangy fermented cabbage might help protect the gut, support digestion, and potentially stave off illnesses

The Dos and Don’ts of Fermented Foods

Is all yogurt created equal? Does it matter if the kimchi is spicy? And what if my kombucha has sugar? Your questions answered.

Two Faces of Fermented Foods—The Benefits and Threats of Its Consumption

Fermentation is one of the oldest processes that allows the preservation of food stability with the participation of microorganisms. The term itself comes from the Latin word fervere, which means “to cook.” The action of microorganisms is based on the breakdown of complex compounds (carbohydrates and other macromolecules) into simple ones, which is accompanied by the formation of various types of beneficial catabolites, such as B vitamins, minerals, or Omega-3 fatty acids (Sivamaruthi et al., 2018). In most fermented products, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play a major role in production.

Why Your Diet Needs More Fermented Pickles

Maybe you heard somewhere that pickles are a "superfood," and dutifully added them to your shopping list. Unfortunately, you may reach for the wrong jar, because many pickles at supermarkets aren’t especially good for you.