How to help maintain your immune system with fermentation
No matter what season or time of
year, we all know the importance
of a healthy immune system and
the central role it plays in overall wellbeing.
While sleep, healthy eating and
a balanced lifestyle are all essential
for a healthy immune system, clinical
studies show fermented supplements
are an effective approach to supporting
good gut and immune health.
“Your immune system is an important
factor in maintaining health
at any age,” says registered dietitian
Keri Gans. “Fermentation is getting
a lot of attention for its ability to support
the gut and the immune system.”
Gans answers top questions about fermentation
and how it helps support the
digestive system and immune health:
What is fermentation?
Fermented foods support gut
health, an important part of the immune
system. Fermentation happens
when organic material (usually from
plants) is broken down by microorganisms
like yeast and bacteria. Many of
those microorganisms are part of the
microbiome in the gut.
One fermented food is sauerkraut,
a well-recognized food that has been
around for centuries. Sauerkraut
is cabbage that has been fermented
with probiotic bacteria such as lactobacillus.
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While the cabbage is being
fermented, the bacteria produce metabolites
that affect the texture, taste
and nutritional qualities of the food.
These non-living metabolites are postbiotics,
which are an essential part of
the fermentation process.
Probiotic vs. postbiotic
Many people have heard of probiotics
supporting digestive health. Probiotics
are live microorganisms that can be
present in foods like yogurt. However,
when focusing on fermented products,
the benefi ts also come from postbiotics.
Postbiotics are non-living metabolites
and compounds produced by microorganisms
like yeast or bacteria
during a fermentation process. Instead
of adding live bacteria to your
gut, you are adding their metabolites.
Postbiotics in turn support the good
bacteria already in your gut.
How do you get the postbiotics
in fermentation?
Incorporate fermented foods into
your diet like kombucha, kefi r, sauerkraut,
miso and sourdough bread. If you
don’t like the taste of fermented foods,
don’t have regular access to them, and
perhaps don’t want to eat a lot of them,
fermented supplements are an easy option
to get the benefi ts of postbiotics to
support your gut health and immune
system. Postbiotics don’t have bacteria
that need to be kept alive, so they don’t
need refrigeration, which means you
can take it “on the go.”
When researching fermented supplements,
look for EpiCor, a fi rst-ofits
kind fermentate ingredient that
taps the natural power of fermentation
to deliver immune and gut health
benefi ts in your vitamin and supplement
products.
Why eat fermented foods and
supplements?
It’s important that people understand
that you should support your
immune system every day. Fermented
foods and supplements support immune
health and gut health. These
foods and supplements support the gut
microbiome, the complex system of microorganisms
that make up a healthy
environment in your digestive tract.
“It’s critical to take care of your
health every day. That starts with
supporting your immune system,”
says Gans. “Fermented foods and supplements
help you do just that.”
— BPT
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