Be aware of the various risks behind fermented foods & drinks & bull; hello healthy

Without you knowing it, the various food and beverage products that you consume daily have gone through the fermentation process. Call it tempeh, bread, tape, pickled cucumber, pickles, oncom, vinegar, soy sauce, shrimp paste, cheese, yogurt, and beer. Fermented products have their own properties and benefits that make them relatively superior. However, like other foods that have gone through certain stages of processing, fermented foods and drinks are not completely free from certain risks to health. If you consume too much fermented products, there are dangers that may lurk. Find out what are the risks behind the myriad of benefits of various fermented foods and drinks below.

Understand the fermentation process

Because of the many fermented food products that you encounter everyday, it helps to understand what the fermentation process looks like in various types of food and beverages. Fermentation itself was first developed to preserve food and beverages long before the invention of the refrigerator. Food and drinks will be preserved by changing the structure of the food through yeast, bacteria, or fungi. This process is carried out in very minimal or even airless conditions (anaerobic).

Benefits of fermented products

It turns out that the process of preserving this food provides certain benefits for health. Here are some of the benefits that fermented products offer when consumed in proportion.

1. Prevent heart and blood vessel problems

The fermentation process produces important nutrients such as vitamin K2 which functions to prevent heart disease and plaque buildup in the arteries. A study published in the journal Current Opinion on Lipidology in 2006 also revealed that fermented milk can reduce high blood pressure in people with hypertension.

2. Increase endurance

About 80% of your immune system is located in your intestines. Various fermented foods can be digested easily by the body so that you can prevent various digestive problems. The intestines will also receive the nutrients and microorganisms needed to build a strong immune system.

3. Get rid of toxins in the body

Fermented foods and drinks are good sources to aid in the detoxification process or the natural elimination of toxins and harmful substances. The content of acids and bacteria in fermented food is effective for leaching various types of toxins and heavy metals in the body such as mercury and aluminum.

4. Stimulate the growth of good bacteria

You can get an adequate intake of probiotics from various fermented products. Probiotics function to stimulate the growth of various good bacteria in the body. With good bacteria, the body will be more effective in absorbing nutrients and avoid various digestive problems.

Lack of fermented products for health

All the benefits of fermented foods and drinks that have been mentioned above should not be an excuse to consume fermented products excessively. Here are a variety of things you need to consider before eating or drinking too much fermented products.

1. There are nutrients missing

You can get the maximum nutrition and benefits if these foods and drinks are consumed fresh. Meanwhile, fermented foods and drinks are stored for a long time and have gone through various processes that risk reducing the original nutrients of these foodstuffs. For example, in yogurt, milk will be heated first to kill various bacteria. This process causes the loss of many important substances. For vegetables that are preserved through fermentation such as pickles and pickles, these vegetables will be chopped or chopped first and then soaked in a solution of salt or vinegar. This processing technique allows oxidation so that the nutrients and essential substances in these vegetables are no longer optimal.

2. Increase the risk of cancer

Various studies remind people not to consume fermented soy products such as soy sauce and tempeh in excess. Possible risks are colonization and infection with Heliobacter pylori bacteria. This condition can lead to stomach cancer. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified pickles as a cancer-causing substance (carcinogen). Most eating pickles and pickled vegetables can actually have an impact on the growth of cancer cells in the esophagus.

3. Excess lactic acid

The fermentation process produces various types of acids in food and beverages. One of them is lactic acid. If you have too much lactic acid in your body, symptoms may include shortness of breath or muscle pain or stiffness. This is caused by the buildup of lactic acid in the blood and muscles.