How eating fermented foods affects your gut health

Fermented foods are a gut health powerhouse – and if you get into making them at home, could be a fun new hobby. These are the ones to eat, and how to use them.

Dietitian Jemma O'Hanlon at home with seasonal vegetables talking about gut health. Picture: Brad Fleet

Fermented food is a gut health powerhouse, and incorporating it into your diet can even become a fun new hobby.

Dietitian and nutritionist Jemma O’Hanlon said the technique had been used for thousands of years as a way to preserve food, but the benefits went beyond food safety as fermented dishes often contained beneficial bacteria that supported a healthy gut.

And people can learn how to make fermented foods in the comfort of their own home.

She has shared a number people can include in their diet - including sourdough bread, made using a sourdough starter loaded with good bacteria.

“Although the baking process tends to kill off most of the live cultures in the dough, sourdough bread has a low glycaemic index, prebiotics and is often better tolerated due to the fermentation process,” she said.

“Choose wholemeal or wholegrain sourdough for optimal benefits, or better yet make your own at home.

“It’s become a weekend ritual in my household, folding the dough on Saturdays and baking on a Sunday morning.”

Sauerkraut, a fermented food made of thinly sliced cabbage, made a delicious condiment, according to Ms O’Hanlon.

“It also provides gut-loving fibre,” she said.

Fresh kimchi made of cabbage

“Top your salad with it or add it as a side to your next meal.

“It also goes well in a toasted sandwich with cheese.”

Kimchi is a traditional Korean side dish, made by salting and fermenting vegetables such as cabbage and radish, alongside seasonal ingredients like onion, garlic and red pepper, Ms O’Hanlon said.

Ms O’Hanlon explained kimchi contained lactic acid bacteria and was rich in dietary fibre and polyphenols, which did wonders for our gut health.

Kombucha is a fermented iced tea made with a SCOBY, which stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, she said.

Ms O’Hanlon said it was easy to make at home with a SCOBY, a big batch of tea and some sugar, which was required for the fermentation process.

“Kombucha is readily available on the market and with polyphenols and live cultures, it is a healthier alternative to soft drink,” she said.

“Try to avoid the super sweet kombuchas.”

Senior research dietitian Jane Varney, from Monash University, agreed that adding more fermented foods into people’s diets could be beneficial for gut health.

She said examples of these included yoghurt, the fermented milk drink kefir, or tempeh, which is made of fermented soybeans.

Tempeh

“These foods may support gut health by introducing beneficial species of bacteria and beneficial by-products of bacterial fermentation, such as short chain fatty acids and polyphenols,” Dr Varney explained.

Polyphenols can help beneficial gut bacteria thrive while inhibiting harmful ones, and short-chain fatty acids serve as the main fuel source for the cells lining the colon.

Next Thursday in the third instalment of the Get Your Gut Health Right series, we’ll investigate how our mental health is impacted by what we eat and feature more expert tips.

Originally published as How eating fermented foods affects your gut health