Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Lacto-fermented foods

Its Harvest Time!! In many places of the world I'll add. Does anybody eat fermented foods for gut health and to kill microbes? I'm making batches of fermented vegetables daily and find it helps with my inflammation from AS. http://paleoleap.com/fermented-food-recipes/.
http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/gut-health-and-the-benefits-of-traditional-fermented-foods/
Here are a few links in case anyone is interested .

I am wondering if the starch content is broken down enough to eat lacto fermented beets on a NSD . Has anyone tested any starchy vegetables that have been fermented? I've never tried to test my own food with the iodine before. I am new to the NSD- and would love to eat all my fresh beets and make some yummy beet kvass. Everything I've read only states that the starches and sugars of foods are broken down into lactic acid, but how much starch remains in the food? Lots to learn about health....
- also- another question on a fermented food-
I've been drinking apple cider vinegar daily with water or on salads- no more than 3 -4 tbsp/day . The problem is that I don't want to hurt my gut lining anymore than it already is. The vinegar, I find lessens the inflammation to some extent in my body. I take NSAIDs and Codeine all day which is really taking a toll. I would love for this NSD to work , it's been a month so far, with some less pain, maybe the Advil or codeine has starch in them? I should think about testing the food and meds myself- but u guys here are very helpful - I've learned a great deal so far.
Thanks Jen.

Hi Jenny!

I'm not sure about beets. My parents made some fermented beets and I'm planning to try some later in the week when I visit. I can let you know how it goes!

I do eat fermented foods and take probiotics, that being said I've had to try not to do too much too soon. When I first started NSD I went crazy on the fermented foods and ate them with all kinds of food including highly fermentable things (FODMAPS like avocado, large amount of macadamias) I think my guts were already irritated and that fermentable food sitting in my intestines combined with extra live bacteria might have made my gut situation worse. I don't want to scare you off fermentable foods (FODMAPS) or fermented foods. I'm just saying that in my own experience I've found that I've had to learn to ease into eating fermented foods and pay attention to how I feel.

Currently I have homemade sauerkraut and pickles in my fridge. My GI tract has been feeling a bit irritated lately so when that happens I only have the juice from both of these and that seems to work well. If I'm feeling better I'll have a couple teaspoons a day of sauerkraut or a slice of a pickle. (I feel like I can notice the difference in the bugs between the 2 ferments bc I tolerate the sauerkraut much better than the pickles.) I've followed a lot of posts by Zark and read his blog (included in his signature on this site) and have made my second batch of natto because he had good results with it. I'm currently trying to figure out whether or not I tolerate that. I had a whole teaspoon of it today and felt really bloated and not well about an hour later. I may just try a couple beans tomorrow or just stop altogether (since it's made from beans which are definitely a FODMAP and starchy) It might just be too much for me to handle at the moment. Of course I'm always trying to push the envelop of what I can tolerate bc I want more good guys. Maybe that won't be the case for you, if you end up feeling good eating these things then there's probably no need to be so cautious. What have you made so far?!

Hi miniowl,
I've just read a lot of the posts on this site about the natto. Zarks blog is informative. I've never tried natto before. I currently have fermented pickles, beets, beans in the fridge and a large jar of a mixture of cabbage , carrot and beet tops on the counter fermenting! I usually only consume 1/2 cup / day. One thing I miss is my kefir. I haven't had it since the winter, when the culture died of starvation or being too cold. I need to find a new one, as I found it did wonders to my gut. It would be even more beneficial if I could buy some raw cows milk, someone out there should have some close by. I can't believe they make it illegal here in Canada to buy and sell raw milk. It should be (buy at your own risk) kind of food, just like the GMO foods sold here. I also tried making kombucha, but was too afraid to drink it as the scoby grew so large, and weird looking! I was chicken. I also noticed great energy from drinking beef kvass. Happy fermenting!
Jenny

Oh that's awesome! I can't wait till I get my tolerance up. Last winter before I knew anything about fermeneted foods or that I had AS,I was drinking a synergy brand kombucha almost every day and they made me feel great. I didn't know anything about gut health or bugs at the time. I got food poisoning over the winter and since then my tolerance is weak but I'm working on it, had about 5 forkfulls of sauerkraut today and feel good so very glad about that. I totally agree you on raw milk. It varies by state here in the US, not legal in NJ where I am either. Happy fermenting to you too!

Hi miniowl I'm with jenny milk keifer works great at keeping my gut running smoothly. when i started keifer it took about a month to notice changes in my gut. Its been about 3 months and I'm hooked. this is the first time in 20+ years that my gut isn't giving me trouble.I bought my grains on the internet and it took about a week to get my keifer grains working.If you can tolerate dairy give it a try Mike

I am having so much trouble with dairy at the moment but thank you for the encouragement! I actually have some grains that I got from a friend and I'm keeping them alive just so I can re-try kefir every month. Usually, my dairy response is pretty noticeable within a few hours but hopefully, eventually, I can do it!

hi Miniowl two quick thoughts if your dairy problem is with lactose the keifer grains feed on lactose. after 48hrs. all the lactose is gone,i brew mine 36hrs. after 48 the keifer is too sour for my taste. I saw there's water keifer also I haven't looked into it but it may help you Mike

I ferment my kefir for 48 hours and it doesn't get too sour, my room temp might be lower though in the UK. I once forgot and left it for three days and then it was too sour. I need to keep a piece of paper by that and my coconut yoghurt do that I know when times up to put it in the fridge lol.

I make mine into a smoothie with blueberries, strawberries some turmeric and a bit of black pepper (for tumeric absorption). I make a batch that lasts me a good few days and keep it in the fridge. It's my first food of the day. If I dont make a smoothie then I will have it over fruit which I will be doing more often with the berry season coming to an end.
x

I started making keifer 3 months ago so its been warm in the house,I will adjust the time with the seasons. I have a keifer smoothie each morning I put 1/2 apple, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, a big piece of ginger and a handful of kale or spinach. Mike