We hear the word “superfood” being thrown around a lot these days. Everything from avocados to spirulina is being called a “superfood”, but what about traditional “superfoods” such as fermented vegetables, bone broth, and organ meats? These foods aren’t as popular as the avocado, but they should be part of your diet. Let me explain why and how!
Fermented Vegetables
Fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) and kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage) are one superfood that I include into my diet on a daily basis. Why? Because they are a source of probiotics, which is crucial for an optimally functioning digestive system.
Our gut is home to approximately 100 trillion microorganisms and contains 10 times more bacteria than human cells in our entire body. Our gut flora promotes healthy digestive function, but when we have an imbalance in our gut flora, disease can occur. Diseases linked to deregulated gut flora include anxiety, depression, and autoimmune diseases just to name a few.
To help promote balanced, healthy gut flora, include fermented vegetables in your diet as a source of probiotics.
My favourite way to include fermented foods into my diet is in the form of sauerkraut. I love the tanginess of sauerkraut so much, that I usually include it as a side dish to any one of my meals throughout the day. Sauerkraut is also a great to add in salads for a little extra tang, crunch, and nutrition!
Bone Broth
Bone broth is an important traditional “superfood” especially when it comes to improving your gut health. Bone broth is rich in countless vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus to name a few. It is also rich in the amino acid glycine, which is crucial for a healthy functioning digestive system because glycine helps regulate the synthesis of bile salts and the secretion of gastric acid. Glycine is also required for the synthesis of DNA, RNA, and many other proteins in the body; therefore, it is very healing for the gut as well as the body as a whole.
It’s easy to include bone broth into your diet when using it as a base to homemade soups. You can also sip on it out of a mug, just as you would a cup of warm tea!
Organ Meats
Don’t turn up your nose quite yet. Organ meats are one of my all time favourite superfoods and I hope you’ll give them a try, too!
Organ meats are the most concentrated food source of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. In fact, they have some of the highest concentrations of naturally occurring vitamin D which is incredibly important for your body, especially now as the days are getting shorter and we enter fall and winter.
Start today by mixing chopped up pieces of liver into your homemade meatballs or burgers or go all out (like I do!) and fry up some liver and onions for dinner!
