Probiotic Foods for Good Health

Beatrice Trum Hunter

Description

Probiotics are fermented foods cultured by beneficial microorganisms. These foods have values byond their original states as fermentation increases some nutrients, gives foods a tasty zing, and keeps food without preservatives. The beneficial bacteria in fermented foods helps keep the digestive tract healthy and protects against food borne illnesses. This book will clearly explain the special nutritional and therapeutic features of traditional probiotic foods.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Diététique
• diététique
• Nutrition
• Fitness
• Health
• Diet

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781591205340
• Langue: English

Extrait

Probiotic
Foods
for Good
Health
Yogurt, Sauerkraut, and Other Beneficial Fermented Foods
Beatrice Trum Hunter
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the author. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the author and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
28812 Top of the World Drive
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-715-7327 • www.basichealthpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hunter, Beatrice Trum.
Probiotic foods for good health : yogurt, sauerkraut, and other beneficial fermented foods / Beatrice Trum Hunter.
  p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-59120-534-0
1. Probiotics. 2. Fermented foods—Health aspects. I. Title.
RM666.P835H86    2008
613.2'6—dc22
2008031219
Copyright © 2008 Beatrice Trum Hunter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the author.
Editor: Cheryl Hirsch
Typesetting/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1
To Cheryl Hirsch and Ruth Mary Pollack with heartfelt appreciation
Contents
Introduction
Part One
Fermentation: A Venerable Tradition
1. Probiotics: New Applications for Old Knowledge
2. Fermentation: An Old and Widespread Practice
3. Fermented Foods and Beverages Around the Globe
4. Some Special Features of Fermented Foods
Part Two
Yogurt and Other Fermented Milk Products
5. Yogurt: An Ancient and Modern Food
6. Yogurt and the Gastrointestinal Tract
7. Yogurt and the Immune System
8. Yogurt and Food Allergy, Intolerance, and Sensitivity
9. Yogurt and the Genitourinary Tract
10. Yogurt and Structures, Organs, and Systems
11. Probiotic Bacteria: From Wild and Free to Controlled and Profitable
12. Yogurt: From Plain Jane to Superstar
13. Drinkable Cultured Milk
Part Three
Fermented Non-Dairy Foods
14. Fermented Vegetables: Nutritional and Therapeutic Treasures
15. Beans: Fermentation Is a Necessity
16. Cereal Grains: Improved Through Fermentation
Conclusion
Appendices
A. Probiotics as Dietary Supplements
B. Bioactive Probiotic Components in Milk
C. Bioactive Probiotic Colostrum: A Special Mammary Fluid
Main Sources
About the Author
Introduction
M any people seem to be obsessed with a desire to maintain a germfree environment. It may come as a shock for them to learn that the human intestinal tract is home to an estimated 100 trillion bacteria. This staggering number includes many beneficial microbes that help keep the body healthy by fending off pathogenic ones that otherwise might colonize in the intestinal tract.
The state of good health or disease can be compared to the metaphor of warfare: a constant battle is waged between the forces of good (the beneficial microbes) and the forces of evil (the pathogenic microbes). Both armies engage in continuous skirmishes against each other, in living environments of soils; in and on plants, including food and feed crops; and in animals, including livestock and ourselves. The beneficial microbes attempt to prevent the foodborne pathogens from establishing “beachheads” by adherence in our guts, where they thrive, proliferate, and inflict harm. If the beneficial microbes are overwhelmed, the pathogenic ones win battles by causing infections and diseases. Within the context of living organisms, the beneficial microbes experience the ravages of war. Fortunately, the beneficial organisms have strategic “weapons” to rout, immobilize, and defeat the enemy. These weapons are probiotics.
All too frequently, the concept of probiotics is limited to probiotic dietary supplements, to the exclusion of the time-honored probiotic foods. In this book, I will emphasize probiotic foods. Probiotic dietary supplements may offer benefits as medical adjuvants, but the day-by-day consumption of foods with probiotic benefits are the ones that deserve primary consideration. As with other dietary supplements, the probiotics should not replace foods, but serve as adjuncts for intestinal health. (To learn more about probiotic supplements, see Appendix A on page 153.)
FORMER DISMISSAL OF PROBIOTIC FOODS
For too many years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) denied the probiotic value of yogurt. In its 1965 Yearbook, Consumers All , the USDA discussed yogurt in a section titled “Food Quackery.” The agency assured consumers that “yogurt has no food or health values other than those present in the kind of milk from which it is made.” This pronouncement was ludicrous, even at the time when it was made. The agency chose to ignore evidence of the additional values developed in fermented milk: its bactericidal activity against foodborne pathogens; its ability to synthesize certain vitamins; its role in alleviating many gastrointestinal distresses and other health disorders; its usefulness in relieving antibiotic-induced effects; and its beneficial role for lactose-intolerant individuals.
Over the years, research conducted by the USDA’s own Agricultural Research Service (ARS), as well as research conducted elsewhere, established evidence that yogurt has food and health values beyond those present in the milk from which it is made. The additional benefits are due to the probiotics in the fermented milk. Similarly, sauerkraut has values beyond cabbage, and other fermented foods have values beyond their original state.
DEFINING PROBIOTICS
As interest in probiotics has grown, experts have debated how to define probiotics specifically, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). One widely used definition, developed by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO), designates probiotics as:
… live microorganisms, which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.
Other definitions are more inclusive. R. Havenaar and J. H. J. Huis in’t Veld, in The Lactic Acid in Health and Disease (Elsevier, 1992), suggest probiotics are:
… a viable mono- or mixed culture of microorganisms which, when applied to animals or man, beneficially affect the host by improving the properties of the indigenous microbiota [microflora in the digestive tract].
G. Reuter, in “Present and Future Probiotics in Germany and in Central Europe,” ( Biosci Microflora , 1997) offers this definition:
… a microbial preparation which contains live and/or dead cells, including their metabolites [byproducts], which is intended to improve the microbial or enzymatic balance at mucosal surfaces or to stimulate immune mechanism.
R. Fuller, in “Probiotics in Man and Animals” ( J Appl Bacteriol , 1989), proposes that probiotics are:
… a live microbial food supplement which beneficially affects the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance.
R. B. Parker, in “Probiotics: The Other Half of the Antibiotic Story” ( Anim Nutr Health , 1974), includes humans as well as other animals in food supplements that:
… have a beneficial effect on the host animal by affecting the gut microflora.
Live beneficial microorganisms promote a physiologic balance essential for good health in humans and other animals.
APPRECIATION AND UTILIZATION OF PROBIOTICS
To continue the war metaphor used earlier, the world seems to be overrun by pathogens. Each of us, in a volunteer army, should recognize the microbial allies that have evolved with, and support, our wellbeing. Unfortunately, the food processors, like a World War II fifth column, have infiltrated our ranks and undermined our health, by perverting the fermentation process. The food processors offer us yogurt-coated pretzels and frozen yogurts, chemically fermented soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, canned sauerkraut, and unfermented soy products, among others. We need to be on guard against these enemies within the camp, oust them, and strengthen the corps. We need to do constant battle with pathogens intent on our destruction, and allow the powerful forces of probiotics to secure and maintain the peace of health and wellbeing.
This book will demonstrate that fermented foods, such as yogurt and sauerkraut among others, help to maintain and restore good health. As the results of many human experiences through the centuries, the benefits of fermented foods have been recognized. Currently, fermented foods continue to be valued and used in traditional diets, but unfortunately they have been largely discarded in the Western diet.
There is no mention of fermented foods in the federal 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Healthy Americans, which provide advice about the foods and dietary habits that can promote health and reduce risk for major chronic disease, or in the numerous graphic versions of food pyramids. Rarely do Western physicians or nutritionists recommend fermented foods to patients. Nor are fermented foods included in dietary sheets given by dietitians to patients. The indexes of books by current writers on food and nutrition—people who are acknowledged as authorities in the field—fail