R.J. Ruppenthal - The Healthy Probiotic Diet: More Than 50 Recipes for Improved Digestion, Immunity, and Skin Health

Copyright 2014 by R. J. Ruppenthal

Photos on pages courtesy of author. Remaining photos copyright Thinkstock.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

www.skyhorsepublishing.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62914-202-9

Printed in China

Neither Skyhorse Publishing nor the author assume any liability for any health issues, including sickness, injury, or death, that arise from improper handling of probiotic cultures or the use or misuse of any of the instructions in this book. Brewing probiotic beverages requires patience and attention to detail. Always use caution and common sense when working with any fermented food or drink product.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

The Basics of Probiotic Fermentation

I n recent decades, a growing body of medical and nutritional research has confirmed that probiotics are good for you. People who take probiotics often experience better digestion, skin health, nutrient absorption, and immune system function, among other benefits. A healthy human body contains several pounds of bacteria and other microorganisms in its digestive tract. There, they help digest food that the body couldnt handle otherwise, produce beneficial enzymes and other compounds, and serve as a defense against unhealthy pathogenic organisms.

Scientists have demonstrated that certain species of bacteria and yeasts have a beneficial effect on the body. When people ingest these beneficial organisms, the populations of good bacteria seem to flourish. Meanwhile, the bad ones are kept in check and are not allowed to gain a foothold. These beneficial organisms have become known as probiotics. Good probiotics are particularly prevalent in lacto-fermented foods and drinks.

It stands to reason that if we want to stay healthy, we should include plenty of probiotics in our food. We can do this on an everyday basis by consuming lots of raw fruits and vegetables. Raw milk also contains some of these same organisms. But with todays highly refined and cooked diet, not to mention the pesticides on store-bought produce, it is difficult to ensure that we are getting the same probiotic effect as our bodies are built to expect.

Enter fermented foods and drinks, which can contain millions, billions, or even trillions of probiotics per serving. This makes them a much more concentrated source than the occurring bacteria in your average salad. Furthermore, a spoonful or two of fermented vegetables can contain more probiotic organisms than a whole jar of probiotic supplements from a health food store. As always, if you are suffering from a particular health condition, then it is always best to consult a physician or qualified natural health practitioner to make sure that probiotics are an advisable course of action. Generally, the risks and side effects are few to none.

When most people hear the word fermentation, they think of wine, beer, and other alcoholic drinks. I enjoy the occasional drink myself, but alcoholic beverages are not included in this book because they are not probiotic. The only beer in this book is Ginger Beer, which is made using the original mother culture known as the ginger beer plant. It is only mildly (probably less than 1 percent) alcoholic.

Most alcoholic drinks are made with special yeast, which ferments the brew and leaves alcohol as a by-product. If they are not killed off earlier, then it is unlikely that any probiotic organisms would survive the aging of wine. Beer has a better chance of being probiotic, but the yeast generally crowds out any probiotic organisms, while hops is used both as a flavoring agent and a natural antibiotic.

This book covers probiotic cultures that can include beneficial lactobacteria, yeasts, and aceto acid bacteria. The best probiotic cultures contain several species of beneficial microorganisms living in balance. Probiotic beverages can contain small quantities (usually much less than 1 percent) of alcohol. But assuming that the yeast does not dominate a culture, the level of alcohol should remain much lower. This is because other bacteria can digest the alcohol and convert it to other substances, such as vinegary acetic acid.

My main interest in writing this book is to help you discover live cultured foods with a diverse array of probiotics. Therefore, the book does not include foods or drinks that only use fermentation at an early stage of preparation to create a sour flavor. If the rest of the process kills off this culture, then it may still be a great food or drink, but it isnt a useful probiotic anymore. Wine and beer are examples. People also use probiotic starter cultures to flavor cheese, but many kinds of cheese (not the ones in this book) are heated again to stop this fermentation. Sourdough bread starter is one more example: it can contain natural yeasts and bacteria, but these surely do not survive the oven. And ditto with Ethiopian injera or South Indian dosas, both of which are made from fermented grain or lentil flour that is cooked into sourdough crepes.

I eat my share of baked sourdough bread with pasteurized cheese, plus the occasional beer or wine. I am not 100 percent devoted to raw foods. But because this is a probiotic book, it stays true to the items that really deliver an honest probiotic benefit. In addition, many of the recipes here involve combining strong probiotic foods (such as yogurt and sauerkraut) with other ingredients to create a salad, dip, parfait, or other dish that remains high in probiotic power. Theoretically, you can add probiotic cultures this way to any food just before you eat it!

There are some wonderful cultured soy foods, such as miso (from Japan) and tempeh (from Indonesia). Unfortunately, I have not included them in this book because, so far, the scientific research on these foods has not shown that they are probiotic. Each one contains just a single species of fungus, not any probiotic bacteria, and research results have been mixed about their probiotic effects. As with wine, beer, or sourdough bread, simply being fermented does not make something probiotic. I will keep eating miso and tempeh, which no doubt have other health benefits, but they do not belong in a probiotic book.