Effects of Lactic Acid Fermentation

Fermented foods have long been celebrated for their health benefits. A Persian legend maintains that the Old Testament patriarch Abraham owed his unusually long life to a regular consumption of yogurt. In the early 1900s, scientist Elie Metchnikoff attributed the longevity and vitality of the Bulgarians to a high ingestion rate of sour milk. And many recent studies appear to validate the wisdom of our ancestors.

Increased Iron Absorption

Iron deficiencies are a common health problem for infants, adolescents, and women of childbearing age in both Western and developing countries. A recent study conducted by the Department of Human Nutrition at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University in Denmark found that lactic-acid fermented foods greatly increase the body's absorption of iron. In the study, women of childbearing age who were served a fermented gruel experienced a 50 percent increase in the rate of iron absorption compared to women who consumed a pasteurized fermented gruel and non-fermented gruel.

Improves Glucose Tolerance

For people with diseases related to insulin resistance, nutritionists recommend a diet containing low glycemic index foods. Unfortunately, many of the carbohydrates frequently consumed in the typical Western diet, like rice, pasta, and white bread, are in the high glycemic index range. A study conducted in Sweden by Elin Ostman of the Department of Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry at Lund University found that the consumption of lactic-acid fermented foods at breakfast can keep blood sugar levels from spiking if a high glycemic index lunch is consumed. In the study, healthy adults who ate a low-sugar breakfast that included fermented barley bread were better able to tolerate high-glucose index meals for lunch, as compared to a control group.

Decreases Cancer Risk

Nutritionist Dr. Dorothy Pathak at the University of New Mexico has found that women who regularly eat at least three servings per week of sauerkraut face a reduced risk of breast cancer by comparison with women who consumed much less of the food. When cabbage is fermented, it produces cancer-fighting compounds called "isothiocynates." And, Joann Lunn of the British Nutrition Foundation says that these compounds are beneficial for a healthy gut as well. "They are absorbed by the gut lining," she says, "and are thought to protect against bowel cancer."

Boosts Immunity

The consumption of lactic acid fermented foods has also been shown to reduce susceptibility to allergens and boost immunity. Judy Van de Water, Carl Keen, and Eric Gershwin from the Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of California--Davis fed live-culture yogurt to a group of young adults and a group of senior adults and found that both groups experienced a decrease in allergic symptoms. Also, the seniors in the control group experienced a rise in cholesterol levels while the cholesterol levels of the seniors in the yogurt group remained steady.