Fermented veggies are loaded with probiotics which support your digestive system, immune health, mental health & more.  Here is a simple recipe to make your own at home!

What you will need: 

– 1 wide mouth glass or ceramic jar (something like a mason jar would work) *never use anything metal when fermenting

–  A plastic or rubber lined lid, if you do not have either of those you can use a towel to cover your jar, with a rubber band wrapped around the top to seal it.

–  ½ teaspoon of Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt 

–  Enough veggies to fill up a wide mouth quart jar – cabbage is a good base to use because it is easy to massage out the liquid brine in it, but any vegetable will work: carrots, squash, zucchini, radishes, collard greens, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc.

Directions:

–  Before you begin, make sure to wash the vegetables, and any surfaces / appliances you will be using to eliminate any harmful bacteria.

–  Cut/Shred the veggies into tiny pieces, or grate harder veggies such as carrots or radishes.   For cabbage, quarter the head then remove the core first.   

–  After cutting/shredding the veggies, place them into a clean bowl. 

–  Mix in the salt (the salt will help the veggies release their liquid brine)

–  Massage the veggies until the liquid (brine) starts to be released.  If the vegetables were too dry to begin with, you may need to add a small amount of salt water.  Massaging breaks down the cell walls of the vegetables to release the brine so the veggies can be submerged under the liquid.   This can take 5-10 mins. 

–  Once the brine is released, tightly pack cabbage into a clean fermenting jar, or ceramic crock using your fists or other packing tool (wood or plastic only, no metal).  As you press the veggies down the liquid will rise up.   The liquid brine will not completely cover the veggies because they will float, but it should be equal with the top of the veggies, add water if necessary.  

– You can use a full cabbage leaf to cover the top of the veggies to make sure they stay submerged. 

–  Put lid on and then back off a tiny bit to allow the pressure to escape during the fermentation period.  If you are using a towel as a lid, place towel over the mouth of the jar, and seal with a rubber band.  

–  If you are sealing the jar with a lid, it is important to release the pressure from the gases that will build up (to burp the jar) daily.  

–  The goal is to keep the minimum amount of oxygen from reaching the veggies so mold doesn’t develop.  If a light amount of mold does develop at the surface skim it off and remove any discolored veggies.  It is important not to let mold develop to the point that it can get down into the sauerkraut or other vegetables being fermented, if that happens, toss the batch. 

–  Leave jar in a dark place in a bowl (in case any liquid escapes) to ferment for 3-7 days.  Longer means more beneficial probiotic activity.  Start sampling the veggies after 3 days to see when they taste the way you want, some people like a light fermented taste, others like it tangier.   

–  Once it reaches the stage you like, place into a container, such as a tightly covered jar and put into the refrigerator.  Make sure there’s ½ inch headroom and the brine covers the veggies (add clean water if needed).  It can keep for months in the refrigerator.  

*Tip

–  If you are using a large crock, you can place a plate on top of the veggies, to keep the vegetables submerged.​

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September 6, 2016

To start, let me start with a disclaimer: This post is about supplements I generally recommend to my patients. 

However: You shouldn’t take anything, let alone a supplement, without seeking your physician’s advice first. So, do that. The following list is what I see every day in my practice as common deficiencies in the modern American diet.

Vitamin D

What does it do?

Vitamin D is necessary for strong bones, helps promote heart health and aid against other diseases, clear skin, and aids in regulating blood pressure.

Where’s it found?

The sun. Animal products. Mushrooms.

All three of which aren’t necessarily good for you.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

If you don’t get enough, you die. But only usually only after you develop one or more of the following: cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment in older adults, severe asthma in children, and cancer.

What should you know if you’re taking it?

Make sure you choose a formula that’s not petroleum based. That goes for all supplements by the way. 

Magnesium

What does it do?

Magnesium serves a role in over 400 processes in the human body. That’s a lot of processes. A short laundry list: Regulating muscle and nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure and making protein, bone, and DNA.

Where’s it found?

Dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, fish, beans, whole grains, avocados, yogurt, bananas, dried fruit, dark chocolate, and more.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

Bad stuff:

The early signs of not having enough magnesium in your diet are loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. As the deficiency gets worse you’ll start getting numbness, tingling, cramps, seizures, personality changes, heart palpitations, and coronary spasms. Severe magnesium deficiency leaves your body unable to process calcium and potassium.

What SHould you know if you’re taking it?

Recommended daily allowance is 400 – 420 mgs per day for men, 310-320 mgs for women.

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CoQ10

What does it do?

CoQ10 is a naturally occurring antioxidant that’s necessary in the creation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which helps direct energy within the creation of your body’s cells. In short – it’s your energy!

Where’s it found?

Although it occurs naturally in the body, sometimes (usually because of poor dietary habits) you don’t produce enough. CoQ10 is especially important if you’re on a statin. Statins deplete CoQ10 levels.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

More bad stuff:

Heart failure, chest pain, and high blood pressure.

What SHould you know if you’re taking it?

For most people, having the proper balance of CoQ10 in the body will help you feel more energetic.

Probiotics

What do They do?

They’re bugs, essentially. Good bugs. Your gut has trillions upon trillions of these little bacteria and yeasts and their presence in there is essential to your life. Think of it this way: These guys are responsible for keeping your gut healthy. Your gut’s role in your health is rivaled only in importance by your brain. That’s how important probiotics are.

Where Are They found?

They occur naturally in your digestive system. Among other places. A great place to get them in your diet is from (real, non processed) pickles, sauerkraut, fermented vegetables, and kombucha.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

Once again: Bad stuff.

Microbial gut imbalances have been linked to tons of autoimmune diseases, including but not limited to Crohn’s disease, Meniere’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis, inflammatory bowl disease (IBS), Type 1 Diabetes, Celiac disease, and Grave’s disease, just to name a (horrific) few.

What Should you know if you’re taking it?

It’s always best to get what you can from your diet (see above). If you need a supplement, make sure there’s a list of ingredients on the label. You don’t want any harsh chemicals. You also want them to be a fresh as possible, given that these things are alive and tend to lose potency over time.

B Vitamins

What do They do?

B Vitamins—specifically B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12—serve as an essential catalyst in your body’s process of converting food into energy. I’m not sure what B’s 4, 8, 10, or 11 did wrong to get kicked out of the club.

Where are they found?

B vitamins are found in whole, unprocessed foods.

What happens if you don’t get enough?

A B Vitamin deficiency can cause peripheral neuropathy, seborrheic dermatitis, glossitis, and cheilosis, and, in adults, depression, confusion, and seizures. Which all sound terrible.

What Should you know if you’re taking it?

Each of the B vitamins do different things.

Here’s a handy chart from Wikipedia with the details:

Wrapping Up

Given our culture’s current and collectively terrible diet, supplements are often necessary. The rule of thumb, though, is to get as many nutrients as possible through a good diet. Put simply, eat good foods, breathe good air, and develop other healthy habits.

If you have questions not answered here, we have decades of experience with this stuff. We even have our own white labeled line of supplements, which have been vetted to make sure they are very clean, and very effective. Send along your questions here, call us at (586) 554-7515, or come to a FREE Wellness Dinner Seminar!

The post The 5 Supplements that You Should (Probably) be Taking Every Day appeared first on Wellness Training Institute.