"The Harmful Truth About Fermented Foods"??

[MeghanH]

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/fermented-foods/the-myths-of-fermented-foods.html

So, obviously, I love fermentation. Someone recently sent me a link to this website and they were all worked about what this guy was saying. He claims to be raw foodist but seems to have no appreciation for enzyme activities during fermentation and a whole host of other things? Overall, this guy sounds a tad wacky and is really hung up on fermented foods seeming "unclean." However, the site did raise a couple questions in my mind.

One question for instance is about the claim that Lactobacillus bulgaricus is not a natural inhabitant of the human GI tract and therefore not useful as a supplement? Does anyone have more information about what probiotics "naturally" occur in our GI tract?

Also, he points to the creation of ammonia and and alcohol during fermentation as terribly harmful. I was under the impression that ammonia is not always a biproduct of proper fermentation--am I wrong? I also am curious about his fear of "lactic acid" as it is created during fermentation?

He makes a really bold claim and says that vinegar prevents the digestion of any foods soaked in it. Does anyone know what he might be referring to or is he just having a crazy moment?

[fleaf]

Hi, Meghan:

The issues raised remind us that the respected healing properties/benefits of "traditional foods"  often still lacks current "scientific" validation.

Resource links that may provide a deeper grounding in the science of probiotics reside here:
http://www.horizonpress.com/gateway/probiotic.html

Let us know what you discover!

Fern

[ClaireW]

I would also like to get some more info. I do believe all the principals that Weston A Price Foundation promotes about the benefits of traditional foods including fermented food due to the probiotics, which are good for our GI tract to increase good bacteria. However when I tell people about this they sometimes ask me questions that I do not have an answer for. For example, a doctor friend of mine told me that he does not believe that taking foods/drinks that contain "live cultures" of "probiotics are beneficial to our digestion tract , like the way some promote it to be. He thinks that the "life probiotics" that we take in our foods and beverages, would have already been killed by the time they reach our intestine as our stomache has  very high acidic digestion fluid that would kill them all.

Does anyone here know how the chemistry work in this regard so that we know for sure taking probiotics is good for us?

Thanks.

[jodi f.]

Your doctor may want to go back and review his Latin. The word, acidophilus, means acid-loving, and these particular organisms survive stomach acid quite well. Many other species also survive quite well, including Bifidobacterium lactic (have attached an article to show your doc). As with other aspects of the human body, there are great differences among individuals as to what their microflora population consists of, due to age, which types the diet provides, gastric acidity, whether the diet otherwise supports their proliferation, and what specific strains an individual starts life with.

Also, following the same logic, no one should be able to be infected with E. coli or salmonella, since stomach acid should kill them. Many folks have inadequate acidity and sometimes the sheer number of organisms entering the body can overwhelm the mechanisms to keep them out. Bacteria are sneaky.

I suggest the following reference as an excellent article on human microbiota as they actually exist in the gut. It doesn't specifically address how they survive transit, but it does an excellent job of explaining the intricacies of their lives in our bodies: Reuter, G. (2001). The lactobacillus and bifidobacterium microflora of the human intestine: Composition and succession. Current Issues in Intestinal Microbiology, 2(2): 43-53.  Retrieved from http://www.open-access-biology.com/probiotics/reuter/reuter.html

[ClaireW]

Jodi - Thanks for your response and that research article. That is definitely a good answer and I'll be sure to refer this article to my friends for some reading in the future.