Here we are at the start of another month! January is a hard month to get through but those of us who signed up for the herbal gut reset noticed great benefits, from improved digestion, better sleep, reduced inflammation, weight loss and generally, feeling happier. Combining the gut reset with Intermittent Fasting gave us even more benefits and was a perfect way to establish some boundaries around eating. No one is perfect but we can all benefit from giving our gut buddies a break! Check out my post on Intermittent Fasting, it’s so simple to do, and has far-reaching benefits for our health!

Now that we have given our gut buddies a rest, we can start to send in the reinforcements of the good guys to join our gut army! So welcome to Fermenting February; my absolute favourite topic. It's a vast one with so many variations, and there is something for everyone! To be honest, even I am still exploring all the fermented foods and drinks, and will likely never stop learning about these incredible foods.

The phrase Food is Medicine certainly applies to this group, these are living foods packed with beneficial bacteria and yeasts in a massive array of foods and drinks! Diversity is the name of the game, and all the wonderful ferments contain different strains of microbes to boost our health on every level.

I have just returned from a trip to New York, which was great fun but I really did miss all my delicious ferments. It wasn’t a foodie holiday, more a sampling of all the baked goods and coffee in all the best cafes and patisseries, which although they tickled my taste buds, they did nothing for my wee gut buddies, and I ended up with really sluggish digestion! I am my best self when I eat and drink to support my trillions of gut buddies so I am back to the diverse foods I love and am feeling so much the better for it!

Fermented foods are simply foods that have been transformed by the controlled action of bacteria and/or yeasts into living foods packed with probiotics! The wonderful thing is fermented foods are literally predigested by microbes, increasing their nutritional value by a huge amount. The bad stuff generally buggers off and all the good stuff is enhanced by a mile!

So, microbes transform food and drinks into easily digestible superfoods, which have the power to transform our health on every level! And they taste delicious and are inexpensive to make at home!

This month is a deep dive into the magical world of microbes, from sauerkraut and kimchi, to kefir, kombucha, kvass and yoghurt, and eastern staples, miso and tempeh. We have already covered sourdough in depth and there is a separate section on Sourdough on the recipe section on The Wellness Hub Website, with everything you need to know, from making your own starter to equipment, techniques and recipes.

The guest expert this month is me, since I am indeed an expert on all things fermented!

I wear ferments, I eat them, I drink them, I put them on my skin, I am literally fermented inside and out, and I will never stop sharing about the benefits of these incredible foods.

They can be the missing link and the key to unlocking our best health, so if you haven't dipped your toe in the fermenty waters, then this is the time to do it!! Introducing fermented foods regularly is key, it's not about eating a jar of kimchi or sauerkraut or downing a bottle of kombucha, then going back to making poor food choices. Small amounts consistently give the best results, so making your own is a skill absolutely worth learning, then you can have a constant source of these amazing foods and drinks for a fraction of the cost of shop-bought ones.

Have a listen to this Podcast recorded with The Microbiome Medics if you need further convincing that fermented foods are beneficial. The scientific evidence is building at a rate of knots, it can’t be ignored or denied, we have the proof that fermented foods support our health on every level. Let’s get fermenting!

In good health,

Janice x