The whole truth about fermented foods: are they beneficial and what dangers do they pose to the body?
Kyiv • UNN
Immunologist-dietitian Lyudmyla Honcharova stated that most fermented foods, such as pickled vegetables and smoked meats, are harmful to health. She noted that only some of them, such as cheeses and yogurts, can be safe in limited quantities.
Fermented products are not a "superfood," but a consequence of the past, when it was necessary to preserve food for as long as possible in the absence of refrigerators. Most of them – from pickled vegetables to smoked meats – despite their popularity, are harmful to health. However, there are fermented products whose consumption will not harm, but only in limited quantities. This was told to UNN by immunologist-dietitian and microbiologist Lyudmyla Goncharova.
What are fermented products
Fermented products are products prepared using enzymes such as bacteria, yeast, or mold. As a result of this biochemical process, the taste, consistency, and nutritional value of the product change.
A common example is lactose-free products. When the body lacks the enzyme lactase, it is added to dairy products. The enzyme lactase breaks down milk sugar into 2 molecules
This method of fermentation helps a person consume certain products, previously unacceptable for them, without the risk of developing a disease or allergic reaction.
Fermented products with added enzymes are a consequence of modern achievements, when we take an enzyme that actually breaks down some compound for us, and we introduce this product to a person who previously could not break it down because this enzyme was not present in their body.
As for the fermented products familiar from childhood, usually fermented with the help of bacteria or fungi, the dietitian explains that our food history dictated its own conditions for food preservation. Currently, there is no longer a need for this type of preservation. We can go to the store at any season and buy any product.
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We obtain such products by involving bacteria and fungi that live with the help of sugar and salt in anaerobic or close to anaerobic conditions, i.e., without oxygen. The conditions for product development without oxygen, for a person who cannot live without oxygen, are a guarantee of getting an anaerobic infection into their body, which causes a large number of diseases and chronic inflammatory processes, reduces immunity, causes pathologies, various disorders of the cardiovascular system, brain, etc.
She adds that such products do not contain the vitamins and trace elements that are found in them in their raw, natural form. Goncharova emphasizes that fresh cabbage is much healthier than sauerkraut, and the same applies to carrots and most other vegetables.
The best way to store food, according to the dietitian, is freezing.
After the freezer, we lose about 30% of vitamins and macro- and microelements, but 70% are still preserved. There is absolutely none of this during fermentation.
Harmful fermented products
These are wine, vinegar, so they should be taken as medicine, if we are talking about vinegar. This is smoked, marinated meat, fish with a lot of salt. These are pickled watermelons, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and so on.
She explains that not all people are able to digest certain fermented products because the fungal infection used for fermentation may "not get along" with their microbiome.
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Consequences
A large amount of sugar and salt will lead to histamine production and there will definitely be inflammatory processes. After 40, they intensify, because fermented products themselves are blockers of cell function. They do not cure any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
The dietitian also lists among the complications caused by the consumption of such products, especially in large quantities: mucosal disorders, swelling, excess weight, allergic reactions, dermatoses, hormonal imbalances, brain diseases with cognitive impairments, autoimmune diseases, etc.
She also adds that the fungi used for fermentation also harm the reproductive health of women and the health of the future baby if pregnancy has already occurred.
How many children today are in autoimmune conditions, allergic conditions. And still, the whole family buys these pickled mushrooms, ferments cabbage in barrels.
Reference
The human microbiome is the totality of all microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea) that live on and inside the human body. The largest part of them is concentrated in the intestines, but it is also present on the skin, in the oral cavity, in the respiratory tract, genitourinary system, etc. Their task is to aid digestion, regulate the immune system, protect against pathogenic microorganisms, etc.
"Easy" to digest fermented foods
Cheeses, yogurts (but yogurt and rennet cheeses) are the easiest option for fermented products that are absorbed by us, if a person is able to absorb protein of animal origin.
One of the "best fermented products with salt" the specialist calls lard with a small amount of salt. However, according to the specialist, it is advisable not to consume more than 20 grams of such products per day.
Tests will help determine which fermented foods are safe for you.
A more responsible approach to health requires taking tests that can determine which fermented products are safer for each specific person to consume, and which are highly not recommended. In particular, the tests take into account existing health problems that can be complicated by the consumption of salt, sugar, vinegar, etc. Thus:
- animal yogurts without sugar (sheep, goat, cow) – allowed to consume based on test results;
- rennet (whey) animal cheeses without sugar with a small amount of salt – allowed to consume based on test results, and not based on individual sensitivity as everyone is used to;
- natural tofu cheese (or from soy) – allowed to consume with individual perception.
At the same time, Goncharova adds that all meat and fish fermented products are very difficult to digest. "5-10% benefit, and 90% harm," the specialist adds. In addition, fermented fruits, berries, vegetables, and mushrooms, according to her, cause only harm.
It is strictly forbidden to eat fermented products for diabetes, pancreatic disorders, hypertension, kidney diseases, and tendencies to strokes.
