Health Benefits of Cultured Foods

As you learned in Cultured Foods―Defined, naturally fermented or “cultured” items rely on beneficial microbes, or “good” bacteria, which transform the food over time, improving it nutritionally in many ways.

One research study exploring the dynamic microbial ecology of fermented foods noted that they represent an intricate ecosystem that generates complex microbial communities and metabolites which positively modulate the gut microbiome in many ways.

By introducing beneficial microbes and bioactive compounds into the gut, you increase microbial diversity, resilience, and barrier function, all of which help improve immune regulation, metabolic homeostasis, cognitive function, and chronic inflammation in the body.