Enzymes are your body’s ‘language’. In effect, they tell the body what to do, when and how, so it’s very important that we have enough of them. When our diets are high in cooked and processed foods, these foods don’t provide very many enzymes, which means having to ‘steal’ them from the body’s valuable enzyme reserves.
Raw food eaten just before a meal provides these essential digestive-aiding enzymes. The ‘before’ part is crucial as it was shown in studies that eating raw food towards the middle or end of a meal, didn’t provide much benefit in the way of digestion (although anything raw – no matter when it’s eaten – will deliver important nutrients). On the other hand, eating raw food before a meal provides a huge digestive benefit.
It definitely seems that the answer to resolving food allergies, as well as virtually all autoimmune disorders, is to repair the intestines and ensure that they function well.
Fermented foods are both powerful detoxifiers and provide far larger amounts of probiotics, compared to probiotic supplements, making them extremely reasonably priced (think R25.00 vs R250.00 or more) and highly effective in maintaining ideal gut flora.
Since most people struggle to eat raw, cool food in winter, naturally-fermented vegetables are a great solution (see recipes below). If you’ve never eaten fermented foods before, start slowly, as too large a portion may result in a healing ‘crisis’, which happens when the probiotics kill off pathogens in your gut (when the pathogens die, they release potent toxins).
Begin with as little as one teaspoon with one meal. Observe your reactions for a couple of days before proceeding with another small amount. Aim to eventually eat 2-3 (or more) heaped tablespoons per meal.
Pickled Cucumbers
Recipe from: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
Ingredients:
- 4-5 pickling cucumbers or 15-20 gherkins
- 1 Tbs mustard seeds
- 2 Tbs fresh dill, snipped
- 2 Tbs sea salt
- 1 cup filtered water
Method:
Wash cucumbers well and place in quart sized, wide mouth, glass jar. Combine remaining ingredients and cover cucumbers, adding more water to cover. The top of the liquid should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temp for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. Pickles will be ready for cold storage after 2 days at room temp.
Sauerkraut
Recipe from: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
Ingredients:
- 1 medium cabbage, cored & shredded
- 1 Tbs caraway seeds
- 2 Tbs sea salt
- 4 tablespoons whey
Method:
In a bowl, mix cabbage, caraway seeds and salt. Pound with a wooden pounder or meat mallet for about 10 minutes to release juices. Place in a quart sized, wide mouth, glass jar and press down firmly with pounder or mallet until juices come to the top of the cabbage. The top of the cabbage should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and keep at room temp for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage. The sauerkraut may be eaten immediately, but improves with age.
Tanya Wyatt
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