Fermented Foods: Are They Really Healthy?
Amanda and I have thrown out our fermented foods. We used to eat sauerkraut, miso, and even fermented olives, believing they would improve our gut health. However, our pioneer health publications did not warrant their use, nor that of sour-tasting bread (confirmed by Sister White). These foods have aldehydes, alcohols, histamines, acids, and even viruses that are all harmful to health. We must not follow the latest health crazes but instead practice what God has taught us in our past. Research shows that most people will not benefit from probiotic foods. However, a supplement might have its place in treating acute illness or when taking antibiotics. In fact, probiotics may actually do more harm than good since our bodies have hundreds of different kinds of bacteria and probiotics may hinder a proper balance by overpopulating only a few species.
A Far Better Way than Fermented Foods
So, what is the best way to have a proper balance of gut flora, which is associated with both good brain and immune health? There are two simple steps.
- Eat God’s diet, namely vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes and nuts.
- Limit all kinds of stress.
The first two food categories listed are the most important for various reasons, most especially because they contain the most inulin fiber, a prebiotic (which is far more influential than a probiotic). It is no wonder why paleo people think they need probiotics – their diet stinks! Apples, bananas, and blueberries seem to be especially good fruits. And notice that mushrooms are not in these categories of food; they are not part of the diet that God gave us, even after He introduced meat. God gave us the “herb bearing seed” and added the “herb of the field”/”green herb” after sin. Mushrooms come in just about every color other than green and, being fungi and not plants, do not produce seeds. They would likely lead to more harmful bacterial growth.
To learn what both the Spirit of Prophecy and science have to say about fermented foods, please check out the article and the video below.
Fermented Food? (Dr. John Clark)
The Takeaway
Our conclusion is that fermented foods belong where all rotten things belong: in the trash. And while you’re at it, toss your mushrooms in with them. They love rotten things, anyway.
Have you ever eaten anything you believed was good for your health because of the health fads that go around, only to find out it was actually harmful? Or are there any health fads you would like us to write about? If so, share with us in the comments below!
Oh My! What an article. I do not eat fermented foods per se but I do eat lots of mushrooms. Lately, that is! I stopped eating all processed vegan meat products, I call them Satan’s foods. So I started eating mushroom burgers and lots of them in my soups.
I just made my first batch of vinegar from scratch. That is fermented. I use it for my fruit flies and coleslaw. I am really working hard on diet reform. It seems to be the last thing God is working on with me before leaving for Tennessee. I will definitely give this article lots of thought.
Yes, there is a lot more to diet reform than most realize, isn’t there? We’ve learned a lot over the past year and have had to make a lot of changes. And here we thought we had a really healthy diet! Ricky gets considerably less acid reflux now than he used to, so there’s some good evidence for the truth of these matters. I hope I will be able to add some of our old posts on some of the other things we’ve researched soon. I need to deal with some other things first before I can take the time.
PS: Sorry for taking so long to respond to your comments. For some reason, WordPress hasn’t been notifying me of new comments lately, so I didn’t even notice we had any. 🙁 But I really appreciate all your feedback, sister! Thank you for your encouragement!
Thanks for the article! I’ve always suspected fermented food should be avoided, and continued eating but i felt it was negatively affecting my digestion. So no more. What are your thoughts on Apple cider vinegar and also spices. (which are good or bad?)
Thanks,
Troy.
Hello, Troy! Thanks for your comment.
We are firmly against the use of any kind of vinegar in food. We do use ACV as a hair rinse, so it’s not useless, but we definitely recommend against ingesting it. Aside from the fact that it is the product of fermentation, just like alcohol and aldehydes, it is also hard on the digestion.
Regarding spices, mild spices (such as ginger or paprika) in moderation is fine. Strong spices, such as black pepper and cayenne, have serious negative effects on the body. Maybe at some point we will have a proper post on spices, as there are a lot of misunderstandings about their effects. In brief, aside from being hard on the digestion, there’s also a negative effect on the very character of the person (e.g. they are known to reduce self-control and inflame sexual passion and tempers).
Hi from NZ!
I was hoping to get an update on how the removal of all biogenic amines was going?
I have read how high level Buddhists, Taoists and Hindu’s eschew all fermented foods, as well as high level Rastafari and people who have taken a Nazarite vow.
My reasonings have concluded that once someone is highly advanced in dietary practices and no longer damages their digestive tract and body with things like animal products, alcohol and coffee etc, the benefits of probiotic foods are zero and will actually harm. But for those still actively consuming bad choices, probiotic foods may offer some benefit.
I was a homemade kombucha fan, but now my diet is approaching near ideal, I feel I cant justify consuming stimulating foods like fermented drinks and foods anymore.
How have the last 2 years been? Were there times when you considered adding probiotics for short term medicinal purposes?
Praise Jah!
hi.. are the studies on pickling using vinegar or specifically on fermentation?.. ty🙏
This article is specifically about fermented foods, but pickles made in vinegar are in the same boat. The vinegar causes fermentation in the stomach, so it ends up having the same effect as if you actually ate fermented foods.
I’m so confused. Barbara Oneill advocates for cultured foods but not fermented, sourdough bread that is not sour included. Isn’t that what they made in the Bible? Didn’t they have curded milk in the Bible?
Is there a difference between filtered and fermented? If I make pickles with salt and water, no vineagar , leaving it for 4 days on the counter, is that fermented or cultured?
A friend of mine had irritable bowel, and could not digest anything, took high dose probiotics for a couple months and was healed.
Injera is red grain cultured for 2-3 days on the counter that they have eaten in parts of Africa for centuries. Is that fermented as well?
I thought cultured foods was a natural way to add bacteria rather then buying a pharmaceutical bacterial pill.
Can you help me understand this?
Thank you for your help. 🙂
Wow, Amanda (indirectly, Ricky) and all; wow in Jesus! Interesting blog, like the old mother earth news almanac motto, ‘them thats doin’. So, I moved here recently, as I mentioned to Ricky in an introductory contact, and decided to prepare to fish in the river. (‘Haven’t been fishing for the souls of fish since the 70’s and 80’s in my twenties and thirties.) Now, it turns out the Dupont rayon factory upstream at Waynesboro, which closed four years before I was born, is still leaching out four-hundred times over the ingestible amount of venus. At this point, I’m wondering how you Saturday-in-the-park brethren reckon with telling Jesus to leave off eating fish. Understand, I anticipated recently reading Ellen’s explanation’s of unsanitary conditions for meateating with a reading of Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’. ‘Repondez vous, s’il vous plaitre.