Probiotics are absolutely essential to your health and well-being. These little beasties live in your digestive system and help you to properly digest your food. Largely ignored for many centuries, scientists are now discovering that these tiny organism play an essential part in preserving your health. Add probiotics to your daily diet by consuming fermented foods like organic sourdough breads, pickled vegetables, kombucha, yogurt, beer and cheese.
Lactic acid fermentation is a food production and preservation method which has been around for thousands of years. Fermented foods like breads, sour grain porridges, wine, cheese and kvass sustained people through harsh winters and crop failures. Today, lactic acid bacteria help us to process our food and are intrinsically linked to our overall health and wellbeing.
When it comes to foods that cause IBS, wheat products are most often cited by sufferers as being a trigger for symptoms. A recent study by Adele Costabile and her team of researchers from the University of Reading investigated the effects that breads with different fermentation times had on the gut and found that for some IBS sufferers, bread may still be on the menu.
Greenwashing is the practice of using words like ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ on a product to entice buyers even when the products don’t deliver. While the fact that consumers are demanding food that is healthier and contains fewer chemicals is a promising development, studies show that many companies are not telling the whole truth on their labels. This is partly because there aren’t stringent guidelines which companies need to meet in order to use words like ‘natural’ and because the standards that do exist are poorly enforced by the regulatory agencies.
