There’s an increasing amount of research proving that our gut ecology – the little organisms that inhabit our digestive tract – is to be taken seriously and principally into account when talking about our health. Probably about half of you have already read Giulia Ender’s best seller « Gut » (or the many abounding blog posts or podcasts on the Microbiome) and you know most of the following: there are more organisms sitting in your digestive tract than there are people on the planet. Each of us is literally a world that’s inhabited by billions of tiny creatures. These tiny creatures live in symbiosis with us – we provide an environment in which they can live and prosper, and they provide all kinds of amazing benefits that keep our body happy, healthy, and long-lived. A balanced microbiome regulates the immune system, metabolism, sustains the gastrointestinal tract, supports mood and brain function, produces crucial vitamins and nutrients, and helps us maintain a healthy weight.
So it is you, yourself and them…and we live in harmony, or do we?
Let’s see. Many modern world advances have been found to harm our probiotic bacteria and upset the delicate balance that is optimal for our health. Here are some: cesarean section delivered babies and babies fed on formula, stress, alcohol, some medications including birth control pills, antibacterial soap, and of course antibiotics, (helpful as they are, are major contributors of a dysfunctional microbiome, and what most of you have probably not realized is that antibiotics are everywhere. Antibiotic overuse is rampant and not only in medicine but also in agriculture (both in livestock and produce) and from pharmaceutical processing plants dumping drugs into wastewater).
The fact that most of us have lives so much removed from the soil and live in over sanitized environments has been proven to have a very negative imprint in our gut ecology too.
So here are some easy ways to help you protect and diversify your gut flora:
- Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut and fermented veggies. Making fermented veggies is so simple and satisfying. I join a couple of recipes
- Eat whole food and avoid processed food. Really! In addition to containing additives and chemicals that damage our guts, processed foods do not typically contain the insoluble and soluble fiber that fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and grains contain. We need this fiber to nourish our gut flora.
- Eat prebiotics – foods that actually feed the bacteria in our guts. These include: chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, dandelion greens, garlic, leek, onion, banana, and asparagus.
- Garden! Walk barefoot! Get some dirt on your skin. The environment we inhabit helps determine our interior environment.
RECIPES
HOME-MADE KIMCHI
- ½ head red cabbage
- 1 head napa cabbage
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1 bunch scallions
- 3 cm piece of ginger
- 3 heaping tablespoons of red chili paste
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Mason jar
- wood spoon for mashing
- shot glass
- cheese cloth and rubber band
1. Thinly slice the cabbage and radishes (I like to use a mandolin grater), dice the scallions, and mince the ginger
2. Combine the veggies in a large bowl with the salt. Start mixing everything by hand. You need to massage the cabbage with salt to draw out the moisture
3. Add the chili paste and give everything one final mix with a spoon (you can use a spoon this time)
4. Use the spoon to begin transferring the veggie mixture into the jar. Press firmly after each spoonful. You need to keep pressing and squeezing until the liquid covers the top of the veggies.
5. Set up a weight in your jar to keep pressing the veggies down and maintain the liquid level. This is essential because mold cannot grow on the veggies covered by liquid. I like to use a smaller glass jar filled with water for my weight. It's best to stick to glass and ceramic because plastic and metal can have funky reactions with the ferment.
6. Cover the whole contraption with a clean dishtowel and set it aside to begin fermenting.
7. Check your kimchi daily to make sure no mold is growing (skim it off if it is) and to do a taste test. After about 3 days you should start to notice a change in flavor.
8. Once the kimchi has reached your preferred level of fermentation, take out the weights, put lids on the jars, and store in the fridge. The kimchi will stay good in the fridge nearly indefinitely...
PRESERVED LEMONS
- 4-6 organic lemons
- 1 tablespoon of sea salt per lemon
- 1 Mason jar
- wood spoon for mashing
- shot glass
- cheese cloth and rubber band
1. Take a lemon and cut off both ends and slice into quarters, stopping right before cutting all the way through.
2. Completely cover it in a little less than half a tablespoon of salt.
3. Squeeze the lemon together and then squeeze it into the jar. Add a bit more salt on top of the lemon.
4. Take your wooden spoon and mash down until all of the juice is released; this is what creates the brine.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 adding in the remaining lemons.
6. Place a shot glass on top to make sure all lemons are below the brine. Cover the jar with cheese cloth and store in cool, dark place for about 3 weeks.
7. After 3 weeks, remove the cheese cloth and place the lid on the jar. Refrigerate for eight hours to stop the fermentation process and enjoy.
When you ferment lemons, every part is edible, including the peel.