{"id":10676,"date":"2014-09-15T01:44:27","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T05:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=10676"},"modified":"2014-09-15T01:50:40","modified_gmt":"2014-09-15T05:50:40","slug":"the-healing-properties-of-fermented-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yang-sheng.com\/?p=10676","title":{"rendered":"The Healing Properties of Fermented Foods"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Daoist Internal Alchemy \u9053\u5bb6\u5185\u4e39\u672f]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Healing Properties of Fermented Foods<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by Dr. Ted Nawalinski<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Healing Properties of Fermented Foods is a survey of more than two hundred research sources recently published by Traditional Chinese Culture Institute International, (http:\/\/www.tccii.com<\/a>).\u00a0 In this introductory article Dr. Nawalinski summarizes they key points of the paper for readers.\u00a0 You can read the complete paper as a free PDF download<\/a> with reference citations and a full bibliography.\"Fermented<\/a><\/p>\n

Fermentation of food products refers to the anaerobic decomposition of carbohydrates, serendipitously yielding lactic acid (as in the production of yogurt and sauerkraut), ethanol (wine and beer), and carbon dioxide (the rising of bread). Yeasts (Saccaromyces<\/em>) do the fermenting of grapes or grain in the production of wines and beers and degrade starch to produce the bubbles in rising bread.<\/p>\n

Virtually every culture throughout history has had fermented foods;\u00a0 some of these may seem quite bizarre and some are so common that we don’t even realize that chocolate, tea, coffee, salami, pickles, and soy sauce are among the items we eat daily that depend on lactic acid bacteria for taste and nutrition.<\/p>\n

To appreciate fermented food, we need to appreciate the roles of the active agents – lactic acid (“probiotic”) bacteria – and one of their important products – vitamin K.<\/p>\n

Probiotics\"probiotic<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Probiotics can be taken as supplements to modify the human gut flora but, as with all foods, the components are best taken together. A lot of research has been done with one or a few bacterial species independent of any food product and the results of their activity are impressive.<\/p>\n

As a tonic:<\/strong> Healthy workers taking a fermented dairy product had significantly fewer common infectious diseases, fewer sick days, and fewer days with fever.<\/p>\n

Against infectious diseases:<\/strong>\u00a0 HIV-infected children taking a formula containing Bifidobacterium bifidum<\/em> and Streptococcus thermophilus<\/em> showed an increase in immunoactive CD4 cells while the control group showed a decrease in cell count. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported area hospitals reducing in-house Clostridium difficile<\/em> (‘C. diff’) infections with two servings of yogurt daily.<\/p>\n

A three-month trial among 281 children who attend day care centers showed that those receiving a fermented milk product had significantly fewer upper respiratory tract infections compared to the placebo group.<\/p>\n

Women with recurrent vaginitis reported improvement after using glycerol suppositories impregnated with Lactobacillus<\/em>.\u00a0 Even taking the probiotic orally alleviated symptoms because the gut flora is known to exert far-reaching effects outside the intestinal tract.<\/p>\n

Cancer:<\/strong>\u00a0 Recurrence rate for superficial bladder cancer was lower for subjects receiving freeze-dried Lactobacillus casei <\/em>\u00a0than a control group taking a placebo.<\/p>\n

Cardiovascular Health:<\/strong>\u00a0 Powdered probiotic cell extracts significantly decreased systolic pressure, diastolic pressure and heart rate in hypertensive subjects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Vitamin K<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vitamin K is found in dark leafy greens but the most important analog of the naphthaquinone complex is found in fermented foods or is produced by the anaerobic bacteria in your colon. Vitamin K<\/p>\n