Probiotics and Gut Health
The theme of the week is gut health and how it connects to your whole body's health. The ever-so-trending concept is to 'clean' out our gut to yield vast and powerful results on our overall wellbeing, and especially our mind state. It is good to know why the food you eat is so great for you, especially when it comes to eating fermented foods like sauerkraut. I want you to think about some of these incredible perks: immune support, increased cognition, detoxification, anti-inflammatory protection, digestive benefits, allergy relief, endocrine system function.
Not only can you benefit from sprinkling a high-quality probiotics into your regimen, but also from eating fermented foods. For those who are new to eating fermented foods, the idea can be quite daunting. But have no fear, your body will thank you from the inside, out.
When you enjoy cultured dairy products like yogurt and kefir, you've tasted some of the benefits of processing similar to fermentation. When you eat foods like fermented cabbage (aka sauerkraut) you are consuming live and extremely beneficial probiotics that feed the healthy bacteria in your gut, which makes you smile (gut-brain connection is so strong!).
WHAT IS FERMENTATION?
Fermentation is a metabolic process where carbs like sugars are converted into either alcohols and carbon dioxide, or organic acids. It requires the presence of a carbohydrate source (like milk or vegetables, which contain sugar molecules) plus yeast, bacteria or both. The yeast and bacteria microorganisms are responsible for converting sugar into healthy bacterial strains that populate your gut environment and help regulate a plethora of bodily functions.
WHAT'S ALL THE HYPE ABOUT PROBIOTICS?
These beneficial gut bacteria live along the lining and folds of your intestinal walls, where they communicate with your brain via the vagus nerve. They also protect against a myriad of harmful bacteria, chemicals, allergens or environmental toxins that enter your body. Just can't get enough!
WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT SAUERKRAUT?
Sauerkraut is an awesome source of probiotics, antioxidants, and fiber, along with nutrients including vitamin K, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, folate, and vitamin B6. Most sauerkraut is made from white or green cabbage, some varieties use purple cabbage too, which is packed with health-protective anthocyanins.
Manhattan Milk sells an incredibly cool new brand of Sauerkraut that you should definitely give a try. Whether you're a first-timer or an foodie-expert, your gut will thank you for trying!
Bon appetit. Let us know what you think.
