Did You Know...

...that eating a diet rich in probiotic foods (also known as cultured or fermented foods) can make a dramatic improvement to your health? Ancient civilizations thrived on these types of medicinal foods. Many modern civilizations including China, Japan, Russia, Germany and others still consume cultured foods on a daily basis, knowing they are full of vitamins and minerals, and that they encourage the growth of beneficial organisms throughout the digestive tract. However in North America, it seems we've lost this valuable knowledge. The current state of our country's health shows just how poor our diets really are. The foods we eat every day, at every meal, are highly processed, de-natured, and full of hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and hydrogenated oils. These daily assaults on our bodies disrupt hormone balances and create an overly acidic condition in the blood, which is where all disease begins!

So, how do we find foods that balance us, alkalinize our blood and keep us vibrantly healthy? The answers to these critical questions may seem impossible to find in this fast-food, fast paced, highly industrialized society we live in today. This is where Culturing Wellness steps in. We will show you, on a step-by-step basis, how to cleanse internally and rebuild your immunity by using these simple principles:

• Adding cultured/fermented foods to your diet
• Changing the quality of the oils and fats in your diet
• Greatly reducing your intake of carbohydrates and sugars

Mastering these changes will take time, but you'll be surprised at how easy it will be to incorporate these simple concepts into your busy lifestyle, while witnessing the benefits that come along with them.

Cultured Vegetables (CV's)

Benefits

• CV's are a 100% raw, organic food loaded with beneficial enzymes. The lactic acid produced during the fermentation process aids in digesting all foods eaten along with them - especially proteins and starchy foods.
• CV's improve the digestion process. The veggies are "pre-digested" by the beneficial probiotic organisms, which is very helpful to those with weakened digestive systems.
• CV's are alkaline-forming due to the abundant presence of vitamins and minerals. CV's guard the body from becoming too acidic, which is where ALL DISEASE BEGINS!
• CV's help control cravings for starchy and sweet foods when consumed on a consistent basis!
• CV's are a "living" food, teeming with beneficial microorganisms. These intelligent little beings work hard to maintain your inner ecology. They are much more powerful than most probiotic capsules found in health stores today. The *L. Plantarum cultures we use are very hardy and cannot be destroyed by antibiotics.

Making CV's

Cultured vegetables are made by shredding cabbage or a combination of cabbage and other vegetables and then packing them tightly into an airtight container. They are left to ferment at room temperature for five to seven days or longer depending on room temperature. Friendly bacteria goes to work and the finished product is a broken down or predigested vegetable that is significantly more bio-available than in the raw form. This is especially beneficial for individuals whose health has declined as the body is able to assimilate nutrients with minimal effort.

The airtight container can be glass or stainless steel. Use a 1 to 1½ quart container that seals with a rubber or plastic ring and a clamp down lid. Room temperature means 72 degrees Fahrenheit, for at least 3 days. We prefer to let ours sit for six or seven days. You can taste them at different stages and decide for yourself.

In the winter months if your kitchen temperature falls below 70 degrees, wrap the container in a towel and place it inside an insulated or thermal chest. In the summer months the veggies culture faster. They may be ready in just three or four days.

During this fermentation period, the friendly bacteria are having a heyday, reproducing and converting sugars and starches to lactic acid. Once the initial process is over, it is time to slow down the bacterial activity by putting the cultured veggies in the refrigerator. The cold greatly slows the fermentation, but does not stop it completely. Even if the veggies sit in your refrigerator for months, they will not spoil; instead they become more like fine wine, more delicious with time. Properly made, cultured vegetables have at least an eight month shelf life.

While it is not necessary to add a "starter culture" to your vegetables, we recommend that you do it just to ensure that your vegetables begin fermenting with a hardy strain of beneficial bacteria. Body Ecology's Cultured Vegetable Starter contains a very robust bacterium called L. Plantarum. (See the recipes below.)

Two of Our Favorite Beginners Recipes

One important secret to making really delicious yet medicinal cultured veggies is to use freshly harvested, organic, well-cleaned vegetables. After washing the veggies, spin them dry. Clean equipment is essential. Scald everything you use in very hot water.

Version 1

3 heads green cabbage, shredded in a food processor
1 bunch kale, chopped by hand
(optional): 2 cups wakame ocean vegetables (measured after soaking), drained, spine removed, and chopped
1 Tbsp. dill seed

Version 2

3 heads green cabbage, shredded in a food processor
6 carrots, large, shredded in a food processor
3 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Remove several cups of this mixture and put into a blender.
3. Add enough filtered water to make a "brine" the consistency of a thick juice. Blend well and then add brine back into first mixture. Stir well.
4. Pack mixture down into a 1½ quart glass or stainless steel container. Use your fist, a wooden dowel, or a potato masher to pack veggies tightly.
5. Fill container almost full, but leave about 2 inches of room at the top for veggies to expand.
6. Roll up several cabbage leaves into a tight "log" and place them on top to fill the remaining 2 inch space. Clamp jar closed.
7. Let veggies sit at about a 70 degree room temperature for at least three days. A week is even better. Refrigerate to slow down fermentation. Enjoy!

To use Body Ecology's Culture Starter:

Dissolve one or two packages of starter culture in 1½ cup warm (90 degrees Farenhiet) water. Add some form of sugar to feed the starter (try Rapadura, Sucanat, honey, Agave, or EcoBLOOM. Let starter/sugar mixture sit for about 20 minutes or longer while the L. Plantarum and other bacteria wake up and begin enjoying the sugar. Add this starter culture to the brine (step 3).

Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor

Once you master the basic technique, be creative. Try different vegetable combinations, and include dark green leafy vegetables like kale and collards. Soak, drain, and chop up some ocean vegetables like dulse, wakame, hijiki, and arame. Add your favorite herbs (dried or fresh), seeds (dill or caraway), and juniper berries. Even lemon juice can be added to the "brine." Try leaving out the cabbage all together and making a batch of cultured daikon.

You may be thinking that making cultured veggies amounts to a big hassle. Well, it is possible to buy them commercially, but store-bought amounts can be fairly small and too costly for many people. You wouldn t be getting the "therapeutic amounts" you reap by making your own. So here is a suggestion: plan a "CV Party" with your family and friends. Gather on a weekend afternoon to laugh together, chop and pack the veggies. Make sure everyone leaves with enough containers to last until the next party. You and your loved ones will enjoy many meals of one of the most medicinal and economical foods you'll ever eat.

Coming Soon!

Culturing Wellness is finalizing arrangements with governmental agencies to bring you the best tasting Organic Cultured Vegetables on the market today. These will be available in quart-size mason jars and shipped via GROUND shipping ONLY because most cabins of express cargo planes are not pressurized which will cause the jars to leak during shipment, damaging the package and the vegetables.

Young Green Coconuts

Great discoveries often stem from a touch of serendipity and some creative experimentation. Most North Americans have seen and tasted the milk and meat of the mature (brown, hairy) coconut; a green coconut is really the same food, but it is just younger. Sometimes the green outer shells are cut off before they are shipped to market. Look for either the green shell or a white "husk" if the outer shell has been removed, in the produce section of your big-chain supermarket.

Although the liquid of the young coconut has an abundance of minerals, was concerned that it would be too sweet. Drinking it would make the body too acidic and encourage the growth of pathogens and cancers. The idea to add Body Ecology's Kefir Starter to this liquid and "culture it" kept popping into author Donna Gate's mind. She knew it would be a perfect medium for the growth of beneficial microflora.

On a pretty summer night in Donna and some close friends combined the starter and coconut water, let it rest for 24 hours, and were delighted with what they had created. All the sugar disappeared and a fizzy, sour, champagne-like drink, like a spritzer, was born.

What People Say About Coconut Water Kefir

• It completely stops your cravings for sugar. Imagine the benefits of that!
• It aids digestion of all foods.
• It has a tonifying affect on the intestines, even flattening the abdomen!
• It appears to cleanse the liver. In Chinese medicine the liver rules the skin, eyes, and joints. Coconut water kefir eases aches and joint pains. Many people report having a prettier complexion. They experience the brown liver spots on the skin fading away and skin tags, moles, or warts drying up and disappearing. Vision also improves.
• It contains high levels of valuable minerals, including potassium, natural sodium, calcium, and magnesium, which explains why the hair, skin and nails become stronger and have a prettier shine.
• It appears to have a beneficial, cleansing effect on the endocrine system (adrenals, thyroid, pituitary, ovaries). Women find that their periods are cleaner and healthier; some who had experienced early menopause have found this important monthly cleansing returning again.
• It increases energy and gives you an overall feeling of good health.

Young green coconuts yield several delicious foods. You can ferment the water (not "coconut milk") into that delicious, healing kefir. You can also eat the very special meat. Soft, pudding-like, and technically a seed, this meat is high in protein, enzyme-rich, and very easy to digest. Like all seeds and nuts, it is a protein fat, but this seed provides an excellent source of lauric and caprylic fatty acids. You can scoop the meat out of the shell and eat it raw, or you can put it in a blender with enough water to make it the same consistency of guacamole and then ferment it. Just add our kefir starter, and in 24 hours, you'll have a sort of kefir "cheese", a fabulous fermented base for salad dressings, dips, or just plain eating as is. It's like eating yogurt, only it's dairy-free.

How to Crack Those Coconuts

First, remove the 1½ to 2 cups of water inside the young coconut and use it to make kefir. To do this, lay the coconut on its side and shave several layers off the bottom until a circle appears. If you keep on shaving, two more circles will appear and you'll have what looks like a face with two eyes and a mouth. Place the young coconut in your kitchen drain so that the point fits into the drain. (This just holds the coconut steady.) Take a sharp object like a carrot peeler or apple corer and poke it through the bigger (mouth) hole. Rout out the hole, making it bigger, and then flip the coconut over onto a glass jar to let the water pour out.

Use the water from about four coconuts with one package of starter, let it sit on the counter for 24-48 hours, and you're all set. You'll know it's done when the color changes to a milky white and usually there's a bit of bubbling or foam on top. This means all the sugar has been removed. When you drink it, make sure it tastes tart and tangy. This is another sign that all the sugar is gone.

Special Notes: You can use about 1/4 cup from your first batch to "transfer" the friendly bacteria to your next batch of kefir. Do this up to seven times with one package of starter. And when the weather turns cold, warm the liquid to about 90 degrees before adding the starter. Then place the glass jar into an insulated container so it will maintain a steady temperature of about 70 degrees while fermenting.

Getting to the meat of the coconut takes a little more work. We suggest cutting it in half with a heavy chopping knife.

For a visual demonstration how to make Young Coconut Kefir click here.

Ways to Enjoy Coconut Water Kefir

Remember, since you now have two more cultured foods in your healing arsenal, you can devise many different ways to eat them. A half cup of the coconut water kefir with meals greatly helps digestion. You can add ginger, stevia, lemon, and/or lime if desired. A half cup at bedtime will help establish a healthy inner ecosystem. Studies from Europe show that when you are lying still during sleep, the microflora reproduce faster. In the morning, combine a half cup of the young coconut water with unsweetened cranberry or black currant juice, as a great wake-up tonic. And in stage two of the Body Ecology Diet when you start introducing a little fruit for breakfast, the coconut kefir microflora will happily enjoy the sugar in the fruit and leave you with its vitamins and minerals.