It seems that Hippocrates was a man who knew what it meant to be healthy. When you start talking about general nutrition or trying to establish a starting point on a journey back to better digestive health, you can generally look back at what the father of holistic medicine said many centuries ago.

Eating fermented (or probiotic-rich) foods is a timeless approach and a much better solution than taking the current medical industry approach of taking probiotic pills and supplements. Hippocrates believed that if you have digestive problems, it is a contributing factor or the main factor in most chronic and degenerative diseases. And ultimately, your first line of defense against the disruptive factors in your intestines can be found naturally in food or water.

So what exactly are fermented foods? Fermentation occurs through a lacto fermentation process in which natural yeasts feed on the sugars and starches in food creating lactic acid. This process of breaking down sugars actually preserves food and produces beneficial enzymes, B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics that are important to our overall health.

Natural food fermentation has also been shown to preserve nutrients in food and break them down into a more digestible form. This, along with the large amount of probiotics created during the fermentation process, could explain the link between consuming fermented foods and reducing digestive problems.

Traditional fermented foods have beneficial lactic acid bacteria, which are the friendly organisms responsible for the fermentation process in the first place. When you think of sour milk, it’s because of this lactic acid bacteria.

What are some of the benefits of incorporating fermented foods and beverages into your diet?

According to some research, a serving of fermented vegetables has 100 times more beneficial bacteria than a whole bottle of a high-potency probiotic product.

1. They provide a greater variety and complexity of beneficial bacteria than probiotic supplements.

2. Cultivated vegetables “pre-digest” sugars and starches, which help maintain overall digestive function. This is called being more bioavailable to our body.

3. The fermentation process is alkaline in formation due to its abundance of vitamins and minerals.

4. The lactic acid produced during fermentation helps you digest other foods that are eaten at the same time as those grown, which is especially important for digesting protein and starchy foods.

5. If you have a sugar addiction or want to stop sugar cravings, many people report that eating regularly grown vegetables can help you regain control over these cravings.

So what is the best way to start incorporating more fermented foods into your diet? Is there a step-by-step process? Each person has different bacterial balances in their body, so there is no hard and fast rule. However, I can give you some ideas and suggestions on how to get started.

• When you start adding traditional fermented foods to your meals, the key is to eat a small portion of them regularly. It is best once or twice a day with meals.

• If you want to get your health value from probiotic foods, keep in mind that there are big differences between healthy fermented foods and what you normally see in the supermarket. For example, store bought sauerkraut (brined cabbage) has no nutritional value because it has been pasteurized, which kills any live crops in food. Also, cheeses and milk are pasteurized, so they have little or no live culture.

• Start a fermented food regimen. Fermentation (or creating an anaerobic environment) often takes place in low oxygen environments like our gut and is not found in supplements. Examples of fermented foods you can find are Greek olives without bleach or head to local Asian markets and look for traditional or cultivated foods like natto, miso, and kimchi. As a tip, in general, the stronger the flavor (excluding jalapeno and hot peppers), the more likely that the food still has active and beneficial lactobacteria.

• Increase the prebiotic content in your diet by eating more soluble fiber and resistant starch. These are the foods your gut flora thrives on, the kind of fiber you really want, not the physically abrasive insoluble kind you’ll find marketed in breakfast cereal boxes, but it does very little other than bulk up your stool. .

The bottom line is that you just have to go out and try a variety of fermented organic vegetables and fruits; The possibilities are endless and as more and more consumers realize these powerhouses they can be part of every healthy dinner or healthy diet idea.