Fermented Foods: The YES List
| Apple Cider Vinegar | Kefir | Olives | Yogurt |
| Pickles | Kimchi | Saukraut |
Are all fermented foods good for your health? This is a question that often comes up when people begin to overhaul their diet and introduce foods they may not have tried before. The category of fermented foods includes things like sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, kombucha, kefir, and yogurt, along with foods like kimchi or kvass that are less common in North America. So are all of these foods good for your health? Like many things in medicine, the answer is… it depends!
Fermented foods can play a really important role in rebalancing the gut flora and recovering from gut imbalances like intestinal Fungus overgrowth. However, every fermented food is different. Evaluating each one means looking at what has (or hasn’t) been done to it and what has (or hasn’t) been added to it. Let’s explore in greater detail what that means, and what you need to watch for it when it comes to fermented foods.
Fermentation & Food – Understanding The Basics
There are a number of ways to ferment foods, including acetic acid fermentation, alkaline fermentation, and more. However, fermented foods are usually (but not always) produced using one of these two methods:
1. Fermenting sugar with yeast to produce sugar alcohols; OR
2. Using lactic acid-based bacteria (e.g., Lactobacillus) to act on dairy products or vegetables, this aids in their preservation and increases their good probiotic content.
However, many mass-produced ‘fermented foods’ nowadays, unfortunately, have little actual ‘fermentation’ left in them. This is due to the range of added sugars, preservatives, colorings, or cheap vinegar used. These additives are used in place of a real fermentation process. Typical examples are the sauerkraut, kimchi, and olives that you find in your local supermarket. Additionally, many yogurts contain no probiotic bacteria at all by the time they reach the shelves!
When produced this way, these foods will give you virtually no beneficial bacteria. As you know, ‘good bacteria’ are incredibly important to maintain healthy digestion, regulate intestinal pH, and ‘out-compete’ pathogens like fungal overgrowth for space in the gut. Meanwhile, the added sugars and preservatives like sodium benzoate place stress on your digestive system and the rest of your body.
Foods like these are not really fermented and are nowhere near as beneficial for your health as real fermented foods can be. True fermented foods typically contain substantial amounts of lactic acid-producing probiotic bacteria. These bacteria thrive during the fermentation process and give the fermented food its characteristic flavor. We should add a note of warning here.
Eating large amounts of fermented foods is not so different from taking large amounts of probiotic supplements. If you go too fast with these foods, they can lead to a Herxheimer reaction (i.e., fungal die-off) in those already dealing with a Fungus overgrowth. In other words, don’t rush in and eat 3 bowls of sauerkraut! Pace yourself and start with small servings of one or two fermented foods per day, especially if you suspect that you are dealing with a fungus infestation. So, which fermented foods should you actually be eating? Let’s take a look at the key things you should watch out for when selecting (or making) your fermented foods.
Beneficial Fermented Food Options
Making your own fermented foods is almost always the best option if you have the time and motivation to do it. It’s easier than you probably realize, and this way you can control the process and the ingredients completely.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to ferment your own foods, don’t worry! There are plenty of healthy options available to buy. Consider the following tips as guidelines for helping you choose and consume healthy, Fungus-fighting fermented foods:
Look for organic ingredients
A Fungus overgrowth means that your liver is already overworked, so the last thing you should do is add extra pesticides and chemicals for it to metabolize. Furthermore, organic produce tends to be higher in nutrient content, so you’ll get more nutrition out of each bite!
Go unpasteurized (particularly with fermented vegetables and dairy)
Processes like pasteurization and sterilization kill beneficial bacteria. Even if bacteria are added back in and cultured after pasteurization, remember that the enzymes in the food are still destroyed by pasteurizing. These enzymes help you to digest foods more easily. For someone with Fungus overgrowth who is likely already experiencing digestive problems, pasteurization makes foods harder to digest and much less beneficial.
Avoid added alcohol
Small amounts produced during the fermentation process are generally ok, but alcohol is a liver toxin. Remember that Fungal Feminine Issues is already producing potent toxins like acetaldehyde. You definitely don’t want to add to your body’s toxic burden.
Consume your fermented foods along with fatty and protein-rich foods
Fatty and protein-rich foods tend to inhibit the natural production of beneficial lactobacillus bacteria in the gut. To offset this, it makes sense to eat a small portion of fermented foods at the same time. In your Anti-Fungal diet, this may be things like meats, nuts, eggs, etc.
Fermented Foods: The MAYBE List
| Koombucha | Miso | Tempeh |
| Kvass | Natto |
You might have heard that kombucha tea is good for Fungus sufferers, because it is a fermented drink rather like kefir or probiotic yogurt. However, kombucha is a combination of yeast and bacteria. In fact, often kombucha will contain Fungal Overgrowth or yeast overgrowth. The exact constituents are largely dependent on what is contained in the particular kombucha ‘SCOBY’ (the starter culture).
Unfortunately, without testing each SCOBY there is really no way for us to tell exactly what it contains. For this reason, we recommend avoiding kombucha during your Fungus treatment as there are too many unknowns in this situation to ensure that it would be beneficial for you. If you would like to try fermented foods (which we generally do encourage), choose safer and healthier alternatives such as probiotic yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut (preferably raw), and kefir.
There are a few soy-based fermented foods in the MAYBE list. Soy is something that you should generally be avoided during the anti-Fungal diet. However, if you can find miso, natto, or tempeh that uses non-GMO soy, that should be OK.
The last fermented foods mentioned in this list are kvass. While it is a super-nutritious drink that has many health benefits, kvass is also quite high in sugar. This is exactly what you would expect from a drink derived from beets. If you can make your own kvass, you can ferment it longer to lower the sugar content and turn it into a more suitable drink. If you buy kvass from the store, be aware that it likely has high sugar content.