A bit more on fermented veggies, since there’s a few people asking for details.
If you want to read more on the research- look up ‘gut microbiome’. It’s basically the weird mix of bacteria keeping you alive from the inside. Think of it like a zoo. You might have imported a wide variety of animals to your zoo, but what you feed them determines what lives and thrives, and what starves and dies. Eating lots of fried carb food and fizzy drinks? Then you’ve narrowed your gut population to ‘bad’ bacteria that don’t give you much help. Eat a wide variety of veg, meat & grains? You’re encouraging a wide variety of ‘good’ bacteria that give you side benefits like weight loss and stronger immunity.
There are two main ways to improve your gut bacteria. One is get tested, identify what’s missing, get a faecal transplant. Basically they transfer some raw poo from someone with a better profile of bacteria than you and stick it in your intestine and hope they take over. Yes, really. Check it out, if you can bare it.
Or, method two, eat some small amount of fermented food regularly. Guess which I picked? At first you are introducing the good bacteria to your system, and letting them do battle with the bad stuff. Then you increase the population of good stuff by feeding it more fermented food.
The guru of fermented food is a guy called Sandor Katz (cool name, huh?). There’s lots free online, or buy his books. I think his ‘bible’ is the Art of Fermentation? It’s pretty hardcore, but gives you like 1000 ways to DIY it on the cheap.
Or just buy fermented veg/kefir/kombucha. Remember that although it tastes a lot like pickled veg, there’s no vinegar involved. Vinegar is an acid, that kills bacteria, right? If it’s in a jar or can on a shelf in a shop, it’s probably pickled. If it’s in the chilled section, and says ‘lacto-fermented’ or ‘wild fermented’ it’s probably the one you want. It has to be ‘alive’ to work.
Sounds a bit ‘woo’ I know, a bit like every two-bit snake oil solution to health. But I’m a researcher, and I’m so anti-wacky it’s not funny.
Follow the research, pick your favourite veg (easiest to find or ferment are cauliflower, green beans, cabbage, carrot, gherkins) and go for it. Get a recipe, mind the kitchen hygiene. Start with small amounts (in your diet) in case you have very dreary gut biome. You don’t want to start WW3 down there. Add salt and spices, as you would for a pickle. Our household fave is cauliflower with coriander seeds and some red cabbage (turns it a pretty hot pink). Don’t forget heat kills it too. Eat it cold, on the side, or away from the hot foods on your plate.
If you’re brave, seek out an old Slavic person who makes sauerkraut, or your local Korean restaurant for homemade Kim Chi. That’s some hardcore ferment.
Anyway, sorry that’s a bit long. But I can’t overemphasise how much it helped me, and how normal it will be for our children’s generation down the track. Every month I’m finding more legit research being done on the benefits.