Boosting the Immune System

[Marlenewatsontara]

As a teacher and health educator for over 30 years, one of my passions for getting as many people around the world back into their kitchens and cooking is key to my work. In sharing the hugely positive healthful benefits associated with following a wholefoods plant based diet is what I do on a daily basis.

This post explains why fermented vegetables are the perfect food to replenish the good bacteria in your gut and support your immune system. We are made up of 90 per cent bacteria. Nine out of every ten cells in our bodies are not human but belong to these microbial species (most of them residents of our gut).

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So what exactly are the 500 or so distinct species and countless different strains of those species that make up the kilogram or so of microbes in our gut doing there? For most of these microbes, their survival depends on our own, and so they do all sorts of things to keep their host – us – alive and well.

Perhaps their most important function is to maintain the health of the gut wall, or epithelium. In the course of a lifetime, 60 tons of food pass through the gastrointestinal tract, yikes!!

Taken as a whole, the organisms in the gut constitute the largest and one of the human body’s most important organs of defence.

So why would the body enlist bacteria in all these critical functions, rather than evolve its own systems to do this work? One theory is that because microbes can evolve rapidly they can respond with much greater speed and agility to changes in the environment.

Though we’ve tended to think of bacteria as agents of destruction, they are invaluable creators as well. Gut bugs manufacture essential vitamins (including vitamin K as well as several B vitamins) and a great many other compounds scientists are only just beginning to recognize.

Overly-processed foods typical of Western diets don’t contain enough fibre to sustain our gut bacteria – unlike probiotic foods such as pickled vegetables, miso and other fermented food. The lack of fibre in our diet is, in effect, starving our gut and its the microbes that live within.

We have changed the human diet in such a way that it no longer feeds the whole superorganism, as it were, only our human selves. We’re eating for one, when we need to be eating for a few trillion.

It makes sense therefore that the more healthy bacteria you eat, the more you crowd out the bad guys, and it’s so simple to make some fermented dishes in your own kitchen.
Watch my video and make some with me in your own kitchen;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W34kwvw8hDQ

The case for eating live-culture foods seems strong, perhaps strongest for fermented vegetables. In addition to bringing large numbers of probiotic guests to your gut, the vegetables themselves also supply plenty of prebiotics - nourishment for the bacteria already there = (fibre)

You can choose from an array of beautifully coloured vegetables to ferment but cabbage, carrots and cucumber are the ones I use most. Watch my video here;

The salt and water solution (known as brine) is used to protect against the growth of microorganisms that would lead to rotting, and promote the growth of the good bacteria ‘lactobacilli.’ It’s important to use the correct ratio of salt to water otherwise the fermentation process won’t happen (filtered water please), A good rule of thumb is 4 cups of water for 2 tablespoons of sea salt.

As you will know, Lacto-fermented vegetables are cultured vegetables. You’ve probably heard of sauerkraut, kim chi, and sour dill pickles. These are all forms of lacto-fermentation. Making your own lacto-fermented vegetables is so easy that once you start you’ll be hooked! Sour, Salty and crunchy these pickles are delicious added to beans and grain dishes, salads, and we have a serving or two daily from the many different pickles I make.

Traditionally lacto-fermentation was used to preserve the harvest and store vegetables for the winter. If you have a garden full of cabbage, cauliflower, beetroots, carrots, and green beans and don’t know how to store them all, consider making a few batches of lacto-fermented vegetables. These can be stored in your refrigerator for months.

If you are dealing with multiple allergies, chances are your gut is out of balance and is in need of a daily dose of beneficial microorganisms. These crispy, sour, salty vegetables are highly addictive and an easy, economical way to maintain a healthy gut. These vegetables are also important to include daily for good health.

Please watch this short video from my husband Bill who explains in such a user friendly fashion, why we need to feed our 'biome'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4IHSsW6Z9o

In good health
Marlene x