Eat Bacteria to Build Your Immune System

If you could make ONE CHANGE in your life that would LOWER your risk of heart disease, help you lose weight and make you feel happier and more energetic, would you do it?

Any person in their right mind would loudly exclaim, “YES, I would do it!”
It’s widely known, and I am sure you would agree, that processed foods aren’t good for your body as they are packed with sugar (especially fructose/HFCS), synthetic and rancid fats, preservatives, additives and even genetically modified ingredients (GM). Some of them even have things like sawdust and insect organs in them. What may come as a shock is that processed foods are actually MORE harmful to you and your immune system than other, more obviously harmful lifestyle activities (smoking, drinking etc)!
A recent published article in NUTRITION JOURNAL, points out that the modern westernized (processed food) diet is setting the stage for immune-suppressed diseases:

“While today's modern diet may provide beneficial protection from nutrimental deficiencies, our overabundance of calories and the macronutrients that compose our diet all lead to increased inflammation, reduced control of infection, increased rates of cancer and increase risk for auto-inflammatory disease”

Does this hit you as hard as it did me? We are literally eating ourselves towards an early death!
Examples of Common Processed Foods:

• All Breakfast cereals

• Breads, Crackers & Cookies

• Meat Products (lunch meats, bacon, sausages etc)

• Drinks: Milk, Soft Drinks, Fruit Juices

• Convenience Foods: Microwave Meals or Boxed Dinners

• Savory Snacks: Chips, Crisps, Puffs etc

Let’s be honest (and glaringly transparent) – I used to have a diet filled with these types of foods and would say to myself: “It could be worse. At least my processed pizza has a vegetable topping ;-).”
What I didn’t know what the connection between food and my intestinal & Immunological health. Nearly 100 Trillion bacteria, fungi, viruses and living microorganisms live inside your intestine. It’s such a large gathering of cells its now been termed your MICROBIOME (and it is the LARGEST collection of cells in your body – even outnumbering your body cells 10 to 1!).
Did you know your Microbiome helps to:

• Combat inflammation and stop the spread of viral and bacterial disease

• Produce vitamins, absorb minerals and eliminate toxins

• Reduces risk for allergies, both seasonal and food

• Normalizes your weight

• Balances your mood and mental health

• Has been linked to 80% of your Immune Strength!

When you eat processed foods, you harm, damage and even destroy your Microbiome. This results in your body’s innate ability to heal becoming weakened from within. Compound this with the many other interferences in your healing and one can quickly see how it can feel impossible to overcome any health condition.

But There Is Good News!
A recent study found that it only takes 2 weeks (14 days) for you to improve the strength of your Microbiome and Immune System. Their suggestion: swap out ONE processed food meal for a meal of fermented foods. Just one! (Just imagine if you did this for every meal for 2 weeks!)
But why limit yourself? How about you take ANOTHER baby step and start cooking, from scratch, one more meal per week. So switch out one processed food per week for a fermented food, and switch out another meal per week with a full meal made from scratch. That’s one less trip through the drive-thru. That’s one less dinner out of a box or a can. And you know how good a home cooked meal can be. So much better than anything out of a paper bag.
But back to fermented foods, because we’re on a microbiome rant right now. Fermented foods are loaded with TRILLIONS of healthy living bacteria ( BUGS) ready to add strength and power to your weak Microbiome. And they taste great too!

Here’s My List of Fermented Favorites:

Kombucha, Kevita, Kimchi, Pickles, Sauerkraut, Kefir, Raw Cheese, Cultured Raw Veggies, Miso & Cultured Coconut Yogurt.
Last issue I wrote on the benefits of Bone Broth Soup to provide the nutrients to build your gut lining and restore the membrane from what is called leaky gut causing autoimmune issues.  After a bone broth fast, it is important to replenish the gut flora with good beneficial bacteria with foods such as the ones described above. Below are some of my favorites.
Another fantastic improvement of eating healthy bacteria is a healthy brain.  A healthy gut equals a healthy brain because your gut is your second brain. Most Serotonin is produced in your gut and helps with our new millennium diseases like depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's. Start eating more fermented foods and you will see your life change!

Kombucha is a great fermented drink, that not only quenches the thirst but does wonders for your gut health, offering pre and probiotics to help balance and maintain your intestinal flora. It helps with digestion, immunity, inflammation and avoiding all sorts of disease. Other than that, it’s pretty easy to make at home.

Here’s our favorite kombucha recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 gallon of filtered water

• 1 cup sugar (preferably organic cane sugar)*

• 8 bags black tea, green tea, or a mix (or 2 tablespoons loose tea)

• 2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha or store-bought kombucha (unpasteurized, neutral-flavored)

• 1 SCOBY per fermentation jar

Equipment

• Large stock pot

• 1-gallon glass jar or two 2-quart glass jars

• Tightly woven cloth (like clean napkins or tea towels), coffee filters, or paper towels, to cover the jar

• Small funnel

• Heavy-duty rubber bands

• 6 12. 0zSealable glass bottles

The Process

• Make your tea. Take the gallon of water, add it to the large stock pot with the teabags and let it heat to a very low boil. Turn the burner off and let the tea steep until the water is cooled. This may take several hours.

• Add your starter tea or store-bought kombucha. Stir it into the mix.

• Put the mixture into the glass jar(s).

• Gently put the SCOBY into the jars.

• Cover the jars with several layers of cloth and seal it with a rubber band.

• Let the mixture ferment for 7-10 days. Leave it out of the sun and at room temperature.

• After a week or so, have a little taste. If you like it, go to the next step. If it’s too mild for you, let it go another day and try again.

• Gently remove the SCOBY from the jars.

• Put the kombucha in sealable glass bottles. You can leave the bottles at room temperature for 1-3 days to add natural carbonation as well.

• Enjoy!

*Fermentation turns sugar into lactic acid, CO2 and alcohol. Don’t worry about the sugar content in these recipes!

Kefir

Kefir is a classic Indian fermented drink. It’s often compared to yogurt, but is much thinner to the point that people drink it straight from a glass! It has all the benefits of any fermented food, and you can flavor it with nearly anything–though most people prefer fruit flavors.
Ingredients

• 4 TBSP kefir grains, dry

• 1 gallon whole, organic, grass-fed, raw milk (if possible, or as close as you can get) This can be substituted with almond milk, cashew milk or other substitutes.

Equipment

• Mason jars with lids

• Tightly-woven cloth (for temporary lids)

• Heavy-duty rubber bands (to seal the cloth on the jars)

• Wooden spoon

• Plastic strainer

Directions

• Equally distribute your kefir grains among your mason jars

• Equally distribute your milk among your mason jars (always leaving a little bit of room at the top of the jar)

• Cover your jars with the tightly-woven cloth and seal with rubber bands

• Let sit at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 1-2 days, stirring occasionally with the wooden spoon

• When finished, strain the milk of kefir grains and serve. Grains can be re-used for another batch, but must be used immediately.

Enjoy by sweetening with Stevia, adding blueberries and nuts  and please let me know if you need help by calling me at 208-859-6170 or emailing me at rjmaindc@yahoo.com