Fermented Food & Macrobiotic Living Blog

Read TabuFood's articles about fermented foods, plant-based ingredients and macrobiotic living, with ideas for enjoying whole foods every day.

• BENEFITS OF JAPANESE FOOD PRODUCTS

  BENEFITS OF JAPANESE FOOD PRODUCTS NATTO (Japanese food) Made from soy beans fermented with Bacillus subtilis (good bacteria). Cleanses the gut. Benefits: Vitamin K2, more than 200% than other products Contains Zinc and calcium High in iron, protein, vitamin c Good for digestion Has probiotics – same has yoghurt Good for weight loss Good for

• Fermented Foods

  Without knowledge of microbes, our ancestors recognized, over time, the palatability, preservative, analgesic and mentally stimulating or sedating qualities of fermented foods and beverages. Thus, the stage was set for the purposeful application of fermentation to provide value in the areas of human nutrition, traditional medicine, and culture. It is difficult to say with certainty when intentional fermentation began in earnest: however, sophisticated measurements of the chemical content within ancient Neolithic vessels suggest intentional fermentation of fruit, rice, or honey beverages has been in common practice for close to 10,000 years.

• Umebushi Plum

  Ume (Prunus mume) is a fruit that’s been commonly referred to as a plum but actually is a species of apricot. There’s evidence of the Ume (originally called Ubai) having been used as a traditional medicine in China 2,000 years ago, as a dried smoked fruit.

• Sea vegetables

  For centuries, Oriental medicine has recognized that sea vegetables contribute to general well-being and especially to the health of the endocrine and nervous systems. Over the last few decades, medical researchers have discovered a diet that includes sea vegetables reduces the risk of some diseases and helps the body eliminate dangerous toxins. In fact, surveys show that people living in areas where sea vegetables are regularly included in the diet tend to live longer, healthier lives.

• Macrobiotic explained

  A macrobiotic practice encourages the body’s natural ability to heal itself. If the body is not burdened by toxins and excesses, it can function better and thus heal any illness that does occur. Anybody who begins a macrobiotic diet goes through a period of healing, beginning with the elimination of accumulated toxins and excesses.

• Net gain of Food

  The body gets its energy through food by way of nutrients. The more energy the body must expend to digest, assimilate, and utilize the nutrients in the food we give it, the less energy we are left with. Unfortunately most food in the modern western diet require almost ass much energy to assimilate as they contain. They therefore have an extremely low net gain. The nutritional value of food stated on the packaging refers to what is in the food, not what your body gets from it. The digestion process requires energy, a large portion of which is expelled as heat.

• Grains

  All grains contain phytic acid (an organic acid in which phosphorous is bound) in the outer layer or bran. Phytic acid can combine with calcium, magnesium, copper, iron especially zinc in the intestinal track and block their absorption. This is why a diet high in unfermented whole grains may lead to serious mineral deficiencies and bone loss.

• Chewing

  We know to chew our food well and that this simple act helps digestion. The litre or more of saliva that our mouths produce every day also aids digestion. Chewing food well and allowing it to be coated with saliva can make it more easy to swallow and cause less damage to the oesophagus.

• Lacto-Fermentation

  The art of culturing our food with lactic acid bacteria has been around for generations. And yet, we have forgotten about all that goodness that is in a jar of homemade sauerkraut or fermented dill and vegetable pickles.

• Natto – A Japanese Delicacy

  Natto is a wonder food, a superfood. It is a Japanese delicacy particularly favoured by the residents of Tokyo and the mid-eastern region of Japan. Natto is made from soya beans, first cooked and then fermented, resulting in a slimy, smelly and strongly flavoured food which can be eaten with rice, chopped onion or just with a little soya sauce additive.

• The Kuzu plant (Pueraria lobata)

  Its leaves and root have long been used as a food and its fibrous stems, as threads for fabrics and baskets. Kuzu is made from the starch extracted from the root, and used as a natural thickener that do not contain any gluten. Kuzu is produced by the Hirohachido Company based in Kyushu, the Southern island of Japan.

• Miso

  By studying diet and food intensively, I know Miso to be the most important and pivotal food for the Japanese people. Miso is a traditional food inherited by not only particular environment and climate surrounding in Japan, but also the actual constitution of the Japanese people. Boiled soybean is a bit difficult to digest. However, soybean becomes easy to digest by the fermentation in the form of miso, tofu or shoyu.

• Brown rice

  Brown rice and white rice have similar amounts of calories and carbohydrates. The main differences between the two forms of rice lie in processing and nutritional content. When only the outermost layer of a grain of rice (the husk) is removed, brown rice is produced.

• TEMPEH

  Tempeh is a nutrient-dense food made from fermented soybeans and offers a wide range of nutritional benefits.