What is Fermentation? And why fermented foods are essential for superior health!

Fermentation is believed to be the oldest form of food preservation technology in the world. Indigenous fermented foods such as bread, cheese, and wine have been prepared and consumed for thousands of years and have shaped culture and tradition for people all over the world.

Anthropologists have suggested that it was the production of alcohol that motivated man to become agriculturalists. Some even think that the consumption of fermented foods is pre-human.

The first fermented foods consumed were probably fermented fruits. Hunter-gatherers in times of scarcity would have consumed rotten or fermented foods, over time developing a taste for fermented fruits.

In fact, we have been consuming fermented foods for so long that they have shaped our biology by providing us with the necessary bacteria required to grow healthy and strong, in an almost symbiotic relationship.

At the most basic level, fermentation is the transformation of food by microorganisms — whether bacteria, yeast or mold. To be slightly more specific it is the transformation of food through enzymes produced by those microorganisms.

Fermentation has been used as a perfect, low-cost method of preserving food, practiced by every native diet throughout the world. A tradition that, for most people, has largely been lost due to modern food conveniences and storage methods.

Essentially, the process of fermentation creates a controlled environment of decay during which the good bacteria flourish and act as a natural preservative.

The word fermentation comes from the Latin word fervere, meaning “to boil.” The ancient Romans, upon seeing vats of grapes spontaneously bubble and transform into wine, described the process using the closest analog they could think of. And while those vats of grapes had nothing to do with boiling, they were true ferments in the scientific sense, as yeast-produced enzymes transformed the sugars in the grapes into alcohol.

Fermentation is a chemical alteration that transforms relatively complex compounds into simpler, more easily digestible compounds that provide digestive enzymes, friendly bacteria, vitamins, and other readily available nutrients.

Why does fermentation taste so good?

So what makes fermentation taste so good? On their own, starch and protein molecules are too large for our bodies to register as sweet or umami-rich (umami or savory is one of the five basic tastes, it is characteristic of broths and cooked meats). However, once broken down into simple sugars and free amino acids through fermentation, foods become more obviously delicious.

Koji made from rice has an intense sweetness that plain cooked rice doesn’t. Raw beef left to ferment into garum has a savoriness that speaks to us at a primitive level.

Simply put, the microbes responsible for fermentation transform more complicated foodstuffs into the raw material your body needs, rendering them more easily digestible, nutritious and delicious.

So what are the benefits of fermented foods?

Many who study the microbiome — our bacterial ecosystem — believe we are so deficient in a diversity of gut bacteria that we are experiencing a worrying extinction.

We have a less diverse microbiome than our ancestors did, and yet we are also discovering that many different aspects of our health depend on this diversity.

As our understanding shifts toward a greater appreciation of the human being as a holistic organism, it would appear there is a lot happening within our guts, which are home to the trillions of micro-organisms called the micro-biota and the two million genes they carry, called the microbiome.

Diet is the most important driver of microbiome composition in humans. Regardless of the microbes, you may have inherited from birth, what you feed the microbes living in you can make a big difference to how they behave. Even without fully understanding how the microbiome works, you can still push it in a healthier direction by consuming a wide variety of fermented foods.

One thing to keep in mind when discussing the benefits of fermented foods, is that they are so varied that it is impossible to generalize, as not all fermented foods have the same level of nutrients.

However, there are some very clear patterns that arise when it comes to fermented foods.

Fermentation is a form of pre-digestion: Nutrients are made available to us through the process of fermentation.

Soybeans are the plant source with the most concentrated levels of proteins. However, our digestive system is not capable of extracting these proteins from soybeans. Yet, when we ferment soybeans into things like miso or tempeh, the proteins get broken down into amino acids and thus are made available to us. This is predigestion.

Another example is Lactose in milk. Many people who have difficulty with milk, have a fine time with other fermented derivatives of milk, like kefir or yogurt.

Detoxification: Fermentation helps break down toxic compounds. Cassava contains high levels of cyanide and fermentation breaks down the Cyanide, making it safe to eat.

Creates additional Levels of Nutrients: Almost all fermented foods have elevated levels of B vitamins (this has to do with an accumulation of microbial bodies, which augment the B vitamins in the food.)

Unique micro-nutrients are also created through fermentation. Fermented veggies, for example, contain Isothiocyanate — found to be anti-carcinogenic — and is not found in the vegetables before the fermentation occurred.

What we think of as our immune system is mostly the work of bacteria in our intestines. Your microbiome plays an important role in the development of your immune system as it teaches it what to attack and what to leave alone.

Through diet you can alter the composition of your microbiome to your benefit and long-term health.

How to get started with fermentation?

If you would like to learn the art of fermentation and fully realize the benefits discussed above, please click here so that I can send you exclusive material on fermentation I don’t share anywhere else

There is a fine line between rot and fermentation. I will show you exactly what to do at each step of the process, how to prepare properly, delicious recipes and hacks, and most importantly, how to know if your batch is safe to eat.