Beauty&Health

Today I want to share an article by my colleague, Yulia Maltseva. Julia is an expert in holistic methods of wellness, a herbalist (Herbal Academy of New England), a certified detox and nutrition specialist for the Natalia Rose program and Sarah Gottfried's hormonal detox; international yoga teacher USA Yoga Alliance RYT300; wellness trainer in Health & Wellness (University of Arizona); founder of the blog yogabodylanguage.com. In addition to all of the above, Julia is an enthusiastic fermentalist. She knows a lot about fermentation and the health benefits of fermented foods. In this article, Julia tells the details:

Fermented foods held a special place in the food culture of each nation. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors discovered that bacteria not only help preserve the seasonal harvest of vegetables, fruits, fish and game by fermentation, pickling, and soaking, but also give them a special taste that the world's best chef cannot create. Probably, in those days people did not yet understand the mechanism of fermentation, but clearly noted the health benefits of fermented foods.

The emergence of semi-finished products, preservatives, fast food restaurants has led to the fact that generations "Y" and "Z" can hardly believe that all food products were previously produced "from scratch" at home, and the main family recipes were tenderly stored and passed on. from generation to generation in bulky cookbooks. The changes have affected not only what we eat, how we eat, but also how we relate to food. Unfortunately, many modern people have lost the skills of traditional cooking due to lack of time, desire, due to the availability of quick ready-made food, and at the same time they ceased to feel a connection with nature and, by the way, began to get sick more often and more.

Long before probiotics were sold in capsules, it was fermented food that replaced medicine. Fermented foods were widely featured in the diet of our ancestors, keeping them healthy every day. The lack of these healing foods in the diet of modern people manifests itself in weak immunity, digestive problems, systemic candidiasis, dysbiosis, low energy levels, inability to concentrate, depression, etc. Surprisingly, all of these conditions are directly dependent on the bacteria that live in our body.

Why fermented foods and not superfoods, fresh vegetables, or green juice?
Because only fermented foods and drinks contain a wide range of beneficial bacteria that go a long way in determining our well-being, energy levels, appearance, and even happiness.

Why can't you just buy probiotics at the pharmacy?
Generally, it is difficult to find live probiotics of good quality and wide spectrum in a regular pharmacy. Even if you manage to find such, they will not contain the biological environment preferred by the bacteria in which they remain strong and alive. Along with fermented foods, you get probiotic bacteria and vitamins, minerals, organic acids from whole foods, which allows you to create optimal conditions in the human body for the colonization of bacteria, and not transit.

Why can't I just buy ready-made fermented foods from the store?
Commercial pickles, pickles, and drinks are often made with unwanted ingredients (emulsifiers, sugar, flavorings, unnatural vinegar). In addition, most fermented foods are pasteurized and therefore do not contain live probiotics. If you want to be sure of the “workability” of live products, it is better (and also easier and cheaper) to make them at home.

The easiest way to get acquainted with fermented foods is to start with kombucha: it is quite unpretentious and has a unique taste that you will definitely like!

Many diseases - one kombucha
To begin with, we do not drink the kombucha itself, but the drink produced by the kombucha culture - fermented tea. Kombucha itself is a zoogley, or "uterus" - a symbiotic colony of several types of yeast-like fungi and acetic acid bacteria, and looks like a rubber disk floating on the surface of a can. The beverage produced by zooglei, called kombucha in some countries, is rich in probiotics, vitamins and organic acids.

It is hard to believe that a drink based on regular sugar and tannin tea, obtained by a mushroom with a yeast content, is credited with healing properties. But the culture of kombucha has nothing to do with the kingdom of mushrooms, except, perhaps, some visual similarity. Do not be afraid of ingredients that clearly do not fit into the definition of a healthy lifestyle. When you add sugar to strong tea, remember that these ingredients are needed for the mushroom, not for you, and in two weeks the complete transformation of the sweet syrup into a life-giving elixir will take place.