Fermented foods - good or bad for your gut?!??
Read on to find out when and when not to incorporate fermented foods into your gut health diet!
Fermented foods are certainly all the rage again, and every supermarket now stocks a variety of kombucha, kefir and sauerkraut. But are fermented foods really that great for your gut?
The answer is multi-faceted!
Generally the fibre and probiotic cultures in ferments can be good for your gut but it really depends which state your gut health is in! Ferments at the wrong time can actually make you feel worse or delay your healing.
With underlying conditions like Candida (fungal overgrowth in your microbiome) or SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) you have to be careful with fermented foods:
While fermented foods do feed your gut’s population of beneficial probiotics, they also feed Candida. What’s more, some fermented foods are already yeast-containing, and can directly contribute to your gut’s overgrown population of Candida albicans. If you are dealing with SIBO or Candida overgrowth, and already have an overpopulation of bad bacteria or yeast, eating fermented foods adds fuel to the fire.
In these situations its more beneficial to work with targeted and well researched probiotic strains like saccharomyces boulardii instead of fermented foods.
Fermented foods are also high in histamines. Histamines are byproducts of fermentation produced by certain bacteria, and can leave some people feeling quite unwell with symptoms like allergies. If fermented foods leave you nauseous, inflamed, bloated, or just feeling unwell, you may be more sensitive to histamine-producing bacteria or foods.
So the answer to fermented foods is, if you tolerate them, the benefits can be wonderful, and if ferments aren’t your friend, that’s OK too. You might have some gut healing to do before you can enjoy and tolerate fermented foods along with the benefits they can bring.
As always, I am a proponent of diet and nutrition being tailored to you as an individual, rather than following the latest trends- food is medicine, if its good for you and your current state of gut health.
Did this information surprise you?
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p.s. I work 1:1 with women who want to ditch bloating and have better poops.
MY GUT REPAIR METHOD WILL TAKE YOU ON A 90-DAY JOURNEY TOWARDS DITCHING THE BLOAT AND FITTING INTO YOUR FAVOURITE JEANS.
Interested in hearing more? Schedule your discovery call to find out more and tell me about your health issues!!!