What is "fermented food"?

Fermentation is when a food is exposed to bacteria and yeasts either naturally or through the air. It is the bacterial conversion of starches and sugars into lactic acid and acetic acid.

Fermentation was discovered thousands of years ago, before refrigeration, as a form of food preservation.

Common fermented foods are:

Vegetables: sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles.

Soyfoods: miso, tempeh, natto, say sauce.

Dairy: kefir, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, cottage cheese.

Beverages: kombucha, rejuvelac.

Fermented food are now seen as super foods  for their amazing health benefits. 

What does stubborness mean?

A stubborn person shows dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.

It is the tendency to resist any form of change.

Stubborness is effectively a resistance to life itself and leads nowhere.

Anything new or different or involving change is perceived (perhaps unconsciously) as a direct threat- even if the change in question is positive and in the person's best interest.

If you think you may be stubborn ask yourself: Why do I resist change?

What am I afraid of?

What do I fear would happen to me if I allowed uncontrollable changes to happen?

If looking deeper ask yourself, How was I hurt in the past? Can I let it go?

Why are fermented foods good for health?

Fermented foods are good for the digestive system which is extremely important as this system controls 85% of the immune system.

The digestive system has about 100 trillion bacteria which need to stay balanced between good and bad bacteria in order to function best.

The stomach is very acidic, and designed to kill off bad organisms (fungi, viruses, worms, bad bacteria, parasites) so that only acid-tolerant-good microbes move through into the small intestine where nutrition absorption takes place.

Stomach acidity declines with age, meaning that more and more bad microbes pass through into the small intestine as peoeple age. Studies are now linking dementia, age related disease to pathogenic microbes found in the small intestines.

Fermented foods are acidic and help the stomach maintain it's acidity. They also help with keeping the stomach detoxified so that it can do it's job better. Fermented foods also have a very high level of probiotics (good bacteria) which pass through into the small intestine.

Fermented foods also help produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter which helps with bowel movements, and therefore help prevent constipation.

Fermented foods also help prevent obesity and diabetes, regulate fat absorption, and help with mineral absorption.

Why are diets so hard to stick to?

A public health researcher at the University of Buffalo recently looked into the question of why follow through on diets is so difficult.

He found that maintaining a diet is a "thinking" event requiring planning, scheming, will power, etc. which are all cognitive skills.

But follow-through on a diet requires good "feelings" in  order to be successful. If one doesn't enjoy the foods in a diet, the diet will fail. A successful diet needs to have a very strong emotional component. If the "thinking" and the "feeling" of a diet are not congruent, the health change will fail.

So the key issue, in designing a new diet, is much more than what's healthiest to eat....but also what are the most enjoyable as well as the healthiest foods to eat. 

What is Pyroluria?

Pyroluria is a genetic error in B6 and Zinc metabolism; Zinc and B6 are needed in the production of GABA and Seretonin.

People who are not effectively producing GABA and Seretonin have poor stress control, anxiety, mood swings, poor short term memory, explosive tempers, and depression.

Pyrolurics also have poor dream recall, abnormal fat distribution, and sensitivity to light & sound. 

What is Magnesium?

Magnesium is a chemical element needed for over 300 chemical reactions in the body. It's also known as an anti-stress mineral and natural tranquilizer.

Magnesium is depleted in people whose diets consist of processed foods, baked goods, soda, more than 7 alcohol units/week, caffeinated drinks, calcium supplements.

Magnesium is also depleted in people who are under alot of stress and who have poor diets.

Lack of magnesium looks like hyperexcitability, muscle weakness, sleepiness, aggression.

Studies done with high risk youth have found diets rich in magnesium are associated with reduced aggression and for reduced ADHD symptoms.

Magnesium can be found in dark, leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and cocoa.

What is GABA?

GABA is a neurotranamittor which controls fear and anxiety when neurons become overexcited.

A deficiency of GABA can help explain why some people have anxiety disorders or panic attacks.

GABA is also directly responsible for the regulation of muscle tone.

GABA does not cross the blood-brain barrier which is why supplementation is probably ineffective.

The amino acid L-glutamine is the precursor to GABA production.

Zinc and B6 also help in the production of GABA.

Some foods can stimulate the body to produce more GABA; such as oolong tea, cherry tomatoes, anything fermented (kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh).