WHY YOU SHOULD BE EATING BACTERIA

Don’t roll your eyes yet; I still recommend hand washing and other sanitary practices. There are good bacteria though and for optimum health we need to include them in our diet. The best way to include these microorganisms in our body is fermentation.

Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases, or alcohol. Examples of readily available fermented foods include; yoghurt, butter milk (mala), porridge, mursik, cheese and pickled vegetables. There are more products of fermentation but for the purpose of this post we will concentrate on the above food products.

Benefits of fermentation

ü  Probiotics. These are bacteria for therapeutic purposes. To prevent bad bacteria from growing in your gut/intestines, you have to eat good bacteria. In the absence of good bacteria, bad bacteria flourishes which is not good for your health. Yoghurt and mala are very good sources of probiotics. Yoghurt makes a very healthy and tasty snack too.

ü  Increases micronutrients in food. Some bacteria can increase levels of vitamins in food, especially B vitamins.

ü  Makes food more digestible. If you are lactose intolerant, fermented milk is a good way to get all the health benefits of milk. This is because lactose (form of sugar in milk) is broken down during fermentation. Also, fermentation microbes produce enzymes that break down cellulose in plant foods, which humans can't digest, into sugars which are well tolerated by the human digestive system.

ü  Prolongs the shelf life of food. Fresh milk has a shorter shelf life than fermented milk. Sometimes when milk threatens to go bad you can just ferment it. One thing though, pasteurized milk (milk you buy in packets) will not have the desired outcome. If you want to make mala at home, use milk that has not been pasteurized. Different types of bacteria have different preferences and the kind of bacteria we are after does well in unpasteurized milk.

ü  Gives food aroma and flavor. Don’t you like it when mala, yogurt and cheese taste like they were not made from milk? This gives milk products variety. You can have fresh milk and cereal in the morning; have ugali and mala for lunch and not feel like you are sick and tired of milk.

NB; when buying fermented food, make sure it is good quality food. Not all yoghurt will be a result of fermentation. Some people are out to make quick money so make sure you choose products from brands you trust. Most pickles sold in supermarkets will not have probiotic effects because the product is pasteurized for canning or bottling.