Sauerkraut enriched Probiotics for glowing skin

How did I discover the Sauerkraut Miracle?  

As a model and beauty queen I was exposed both to eating disorders and luckily during the same time to a Macrobiotic community while living at the heart of Hong Kong – this is where I first came across the healing power of Natural food preparation way before science and nutrition became friendly, back then the notion of  “you are what you eat” was an idea dismissed by all mainstream

I started eating natural foods enriched with greens such as broccoli and cabbage while removing dairy products and most of the baking goods. While eating Macrobiotic and a daily amount of sauerkraut I was able to improve my digestion and cravings and ultimately heal my damaged gut. More about my personal story later.

So, what is Sauerkraut?

Sauerkraut is a fermented cabbage which practically means that while bathing in some salt for few days the cabbage starts a fermentation process – and yes you guessed, it creates Enzymes and Probiotics Bacteria. Fermentation is the process of microorganisms (bacteria) present on the cabbage- digesting and converting sugars into carbon dioxide and organic acids this results in the formation of Enzymes growth of Probiotics bacteria.

Fermented food exists in every culture  

Regardless of your geography or cultures, this food preparation called Fermentation has been widely spread across the world for thousands of years. Originally used to preserve the foods from spoiling, and later recognized as a powerful healing food. The Germans call it Sauerkraut, the Koreans Kimchi and the middle eastern “sour cabbage” regardless of the names, its benefits soars beyond its surprisingly refreshing taste. It doesn’t matter where it originated it did have the same purpose back then -preserving the food from spoiling. The fermentation process is what makes the cabbage a superstar called Sauerkraut. Let’s Dive into its benefits -there are many! and you will love them all. 

   A Hype or Necessity? 

Probiotics presence is essential for optimal health. Its presence in the Gut enable digestion and assimilation of vitamins, Minerals and also assist in self guarding the body from invasive toxins and microorganism. We must remember the Probiotic are a condiment and a supplement and not the central part of our diet , therefore we must do all the other part correctly- eat natural foods rich in fibers, antioxidant and as little processed foods. 

10 Nutritional Benefitsof Sauerkraut

• It is packed with Super Nutrition-- cup will provide approximately the following:  
• Fat: 0 grams
• Carbs: 7 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams
• Protein: 1 gram
• Sodium: 39% of the RDI
• Vitamin C: 35% of the RDI
• Vitamin K: 23% of the RDI
• Iron: 12% of the RDI
• Manganese: 11% of the RDI
• Vitamin B6: 9% of the RDI
• Folate: 9% of the RDI
• Copper: 7% of the RDI
• Potassium 7% of the RDI

 Sauerkraut Improves Your Digestion

The gut flora (lining) contains trillions of bacteria, this is why it is so important to keep the balance of this co habitant in optimum condition – The probiotics in the Sauerkraut are important for our defense system as they attack harmful substances that enter our digestion. Modern nutrition, fast food, diet rich in sugars and excessive use of antibiotic all disturb the microbiome balance in the gut, when this happens you will get the following symptoms 

Gas 

Digestion problems 

Bloating 

Weigh gain 

Food allergy 

Weak immune system 

Candida  

Relief constipation

Sauerkraut improves your immune system 

THe probiotic found in Sauerkraut keeps your Gut lining healthy by balancing the microorganism populating your gut. Balance is the key. Maintaining the Microbiome balanced prevents the growth of bad bacteria such as candida. When our gut lining is healthy and strong no harmful substances leak into the blood stream – this as you may guess can create inflammation and many immune responses from food allergies to arthritis ..

Sauerkraut reduces cravings for sugar 

The sour taste is powerful and much needed in our diet, not much science is needed, just try 3 table spoon of a natural sauerkraut or apple cider vinegar in your salad and you will feel the effect immediately. The slight acidic taste when balanced with other elements creates a pleasant tang on the palate which automatically begins the stimulation of digestions process. 

Sauerkraut strengthen bones 

Sauerkraut contains vitamin K2 which is essential for bone health. With the presence of K2 calcium the main mineral in the bones is assimilated better provided healthier and stronger bones- note that other elements must be presence in our diet in order to fully benefit from this – the one must crucial one is PH which is alkaline – more about this subject in my next course“ 80 percent vegan for busy people “ 

Weight loss

 when combined with Ph diet the sauerkraut helps digestion and the food we eat -assimilation thus helping us to lose weight. Some studies suggest that probiotic reach food help digest fat and increase the efficiency of metabolism -you will notice how your stomach is feeling better and looking flatter- but more about this later.

Improves GUT-health 

Sauerkraut enriched  probiotic can improve your mood and brain function.The Gut health is related directly to our brain. The good news is that it improves the mood and the brain function. It simple the same healthy bacteria I your gut communicate with the brain through transmitting, more of those in the gut better memory in the brain cells, etc. … need to add more 

Sauerkraut Is good for your HEART 

Helps lower Cholesterol -more about it here 

Sauerkraut helps Detox the Gut from carcinogens and toxins 

Enzymes are substances thatpromote anti-aging and detoxification simply because they are so important for proper digestion and assimilation, they are also crucial for proper elimination -however as we age, we have less of them. By addicting fermented food and sprouted food to our daily diet we bring in more of these miracles substances to promote hour health. 

Sauerkraut Balances immediately your Acidic PH 

Optimalbody diet is all about promoting the natural balance of our body -Homeostasis We are striving to balance constantly out PH by eating foods that are more alkaline such as Sauerkraut which is so concentrated thus affecting the PH instantly. More about this here.

 Probiotics Pills or Sauerkraut? 

 Probiotics population and density – most supplements contain in average 5 billion units per serving , in comparison 100 grams (approximately 6 Table spoon of Sauerkraut contains similar amount  or less - However here is where it gets tricky – we need different Probiotics strains in order to provide different benefits to our Gut’s health, that is why home preparation of fermented foods give us a wider health coverage and advantages . some research have concluded that home sauerkraut contain up to 30 different strains in comparison to the brand over the counter. i personally take both to ensure my digestion system gets the best support it needs. 

Click this affiliate links to purchase Dr. Gundry's Probiotics  PREBIOTHRIVE

 

 How to Make Your Own Sauerkraut

 

Ingredients

• 1 medium/large green cabbage
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) Himalayan salt 

Have a 1-quart (1-liter) glass- jar ready to keep the sauerkraut in, a 4-ounce and a wooden spoon for pressing down the cabbage and lastly a cutting board and a good knife. 

 

Instructions:

1. Discard the outer leaves of your cabbage, setting one or two green leaf aside. Then, shred the cabbage into thin layers, work around the cabbage continuously moving the cabbage around, leaving the core in. This will make shredding easier.
2. Place the shredded cabbage into a ball. Start placing layers of shredded cabbage into the jar. Each layer should be around 1 inch- then sprinkle with a pinch of salt each time. Using a clean wooden spoon press the cabbage pressing it against the glass jar walls- tightening the cabbage all around it, to get read of air pockets
3. Keep adding layers of cabbage, each layer sprinkle with a pinch of salt and repeat the same process. 
4. Use the cabbage leaf you set aside earlier and fold it to match the size of the jar opening -cover the opening completely and keep pressing the cabbage down until you start seeing liquid floating up -this is a good sign. 
5. By the end of the process you should press enough the cabbage so that the liquid will cover most of the cabbage 
6. Screw the lid onto your 1-quart (1-liter) jar. And let the fermentation process start. 
7. Keep at room temperature and out of direct sunlight for 1–5 days. During the summer fermentation is fast due to the heat. In the winter you will need at list 7 days. 
8. After few days you can check out the top leaves- if you see mold it means its about time to discard the leaves- and most probably your cabbage is almost ready 
9. When Sauerkraut is ready and you start using it – it is best to keep it in the refrigerator to keep it from spoiling and developing mold. 

Sauerkraut Nutrition Value

This is definitely a super food high in beneficial vitamins, fibers and minerals including iron, selenium, calcium, manganese and folate. Vitamin C is one of the most abundant compounds in sauerkraut, protects against infections and oxidative stress. One cup provides the following: 

• 27 calories
• 1.3 grams of protein
• 6.6 grams of carbohydrate
• 4.1 grams of fiber
• 0.2 gram of fat
• 35 percent of the DV (daily value) of vitamin C
• 23 percent of the DV of vitamin K
• 9 percent of the DV of folate
• 1 percent of the DV of vitamin A
• 12 percent of the DV of iron
• 11 percent of the DV of manganese
• 7 percent of the DV of copper
• 4 percent of the DV of calcium
• 39 percent of the DV of sodium

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The meaning of Healthy Gut 

If you think about it logically the gut is our life line which connects between the outer world and our internal world- our Physiology. The Gut is the engine that convert food supply into a life force and what we call in general “energy” -without that constant flow of electricity in our body life would not exist. 

So what is the deep meaning of Gut health? and why its healthy maintenance is so crucial for all of our bodily functions?  - If we go back to visualize the example of a tube that connects the outer world and our inner world , we can further investigate the idea of this Line-connection being exposed to all kind of toxins and bad bacteria that come together with the food supply and enter into our body. It is hence crucial for the gut to maintain some kind of immune system defense against these intruders. I believe that what “makes or breaks” the deal is the balance -in other words our microbiome needs to be in a balance that create health rather than illness. 

Our nutrition is a crucial key factor to the gut health and therefore with have the ability to create a healthy body if we understand what are our most basic needs for a healthy digestion and therefore body. 

Before we continue, I would like to mention briefly that not only the nutrition is important. There are other factors such as our emotional state, for example anger, stress, sadness will affect the way our body respond to digestion and assimilation of foods. Also, the environment in which we live and eat ids very important a calmer environment induces better digestion. In addition, chewing the food at least 30 times is crucial for the food breakdown and the contribution of enzymes happened when food is being mixed with the saliva- proper chewing will jump start a good digestion and later assimilation.  The gut are exposed to what we eat and thus reflect directly our habits and nutrition choices- fast food, hydrogenated oils, baked products and commercial foods are lacking fibers, vitamins, antioxidant and created many acidic waste products that over the years accumulate in our gut – tipping off the healthy balance and creating conditions that later create illness. Acidic conditions are an outcome of industrial diet as I mentioned earlier lacking fibers, natural foods, organic vegetables and fruits and good unsaturated fatty acids like flax seeds. 

How to avoid common mistakes 

When your Sauerkraut is ready to use make sure you keep it refrigerated, also make sure you tighten the lead so that no air can escape in. 

Once you start using the Sauerkraut it should be kept in your refrigerator to avoid spoiling. 

As always best of luck 

Leora

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