Will fermented foods improve my gut health?

Fermentation is a hot craze in fancy restaurants around the world. And fermented foods, like kombucha and kimchi, are even sold in corner stores. 

Listeners of this show will have heard that fermented foods might benefit our gut health. But these foods make us uneasy. The idea of letting food rot, then eating it goes against everything our parents taught us. So, is fermentation scary and dangerous? 

This episode will show you why it's not only safe but beneficial to eat fermented foods, and that fermenting foods is something you can try at home. 

Jonathan speaks to Tim Spector and Sandor Katz — whom the food magazine CHOW calls a provocateur, trendsetter, and rabble-rouser — to better understand the fabulous world of fermentation. 

• Sandor Katz is a food activist who is widely credited with reintroducing fermentation to the US and the UK, calling himself a fermentation revivalist.
• Tim Spector is a co-founder at ZOE and one of the top 100 most cited scientists in the world.

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Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

00:13 - Topic introduction

02:21 - Quickfire questions

04:10 - Isn’t fermentation niche?

05:05 - What is fermentation?

07:36 - Why did our ancestors ferment their food?

08:54 - How is fermentation preserving food?

12:45 - What are the impacts on our health of eating fermented foods?

16:27 - How to make kimchi

19:00 - What is kefir?

20:25 - Why are fermented foods good for our health

24:19 - Why don’t we have to worry about bacteria in fermented foods?

29:36 - What are the best fermented foods to get started with?

34:16 - Can you purchase fermented foods at stores?

39:26 - 5 tips for people interested in trying fermented foods

42:42 - Summary

44:17 - Listener’s question: What’s the most unusual food that you’ve fermented?

45:16 - Goodbyes

45:24 - Outro

Episode transcripts are available here.

Follow Sandor: https://www.instagram.com/sandorkraut/

Learn Sandor’s sauerkraut recipe here.

Get Sandor’s book here.

Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/

This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.