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are fermented foods good for you

TYH: Fermented Foods

Dec 24, 2019 | 12:45 PM

Merry Christmas Eve! We are talking fermented foods today. It’s pretty safe to say that the majority of us have heard of Kombucha, touted a ‘health drink,’ but why? I chatted with Sherry Ogasawara, a Population Health Dietitian with Northern Health on the benefits of things such as Kombucha, which have undergone a process of fermentation.

So what exactly is ‘food fermentation’? The process is something that has been done “for thousands of years,” said Ogasawara, originally meant to preserve foods. The process includes the breakdown of carbs by bacteria and yeast, which leaves you with fermented foods such as Kimchi, Kombucha, Kefir, and Saur Kraut.

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Research has shown that these foods are worth eating for their health benefits. “(They) help decrease (levels) of inflammation in the body, (they) help to increase your immunity, (they) help with..fighting off infections,” said Ogasawara to us in an on-camera interview. She mentions that fermented foods can also help with digestion, along with the influence of the absorption of vitamins and minerals in our guts.

However when you shop Osagawara says you should be reading the labels, to ensure that the fermented foods you are buying will give you enough bang for your buck, “look on the label, look for active-cultures, active probiotics it’s going to be listed on the label.” Also keep in mind that when you are shopping, foods found in the aisle along with the pickles won’t be the most nutrition filled ones, “the stuff that you find over in the, you know…with the pickles and all of those things that’s been highly processed and the probiotics are no longer active in it.

Osagawara wants to remind people that any healthy food is beneficial paired with a healthy diet.