Why eat fermented foods? Here are several reasons - and the list is not exhaustive!

#1 The bacteria that ferment food act as pre-digestion. These good bacteria facilitate the assimilation of starches and proteins by breaking down raw proteins into easily absorbable amino acids, as well as starches and complex sugars into simple sugars.

#2 A lacto-fermented vegetable contains 10 times more vitamin C than the same fresh vegetable.

#3 Accompanying a good piece of dried meat with pickles allows for significantly better iron absorption than if this same dried meat was accompanied by a piece of white bread...

#4 Lacto-fermentation increases the bioavailability of the minerals present in foods and promotes the acid-base balance; contrary to what one might think, fermented foods do not acidify the body.

#5 Fermented foods are rich in choline, precursor of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter contributing among other things to good memory. Eating sauerkraut so as not to end up in the cabbages is advice that should be given to every learner! In the brain, the lactate produced by astrocytes accelerates the memorization process. Lacto fermented foods could be a real booster of astrocytes, star-shaped glial cells in the central nervous system that play a crucial role in memory and learning.

#6 They protect us against pathogens such as for example Shigella, Salmonella, E. coli. Indeed the microbes allowing the fermentation of food are part of those present in our intestinal flora, which is the main ally of our immune system.

So, get your pickles!