The Baby Boomer Diet

As ancient as the great Flood of Noah, fermented foods are becoming the new “stars” of the natural-foods world.

Modern science is now confirming that fermented foods are the quintessential anti-aging foods. They are essential to restoring our prenatal jing and are the true “superstars” of the natural-foods world. At Body Ecology, we are pleased to be able to teach you how to use them to reverse biological aging.

The focus on these ancient … yet new-to-you … foods is what makes the Body Ecology Way stand out above all other “diets” being promoted today. It works! In fact, it makes the other ways of eating obsolete. This chapter shows you why you really must include fermented foods daily to regain the vitality of your youth.

By the time Baby Boomers were born, the refrigerator was an essential appliance in the home. Although we take it for granted, it is a relatively young technology. Even our parents might recall the iceman bringing frozen blocks to a wooden icebox that was lined with tin. So how did people survive without refrigeration for thousands of years? They ate foods fresh from the fields and dried, smoked, and fermented them.

In some parts of the world, fermented foods are believed to be the food of Noah’s ark, when the world was covered with water. They were certainly included in the diets of American Indians, who preserved their meats and fish by fermenting and smoking them. To ensure that they had vegetables through the long winter months, they fermented and then buried them in earthenware containers.

Probiotic-rich fermented foods may seem either foreign or familiar, depending upon your cultural heritage. All traditions still have their own versions of cultured foods, which are staples in the diet. In Germany, a significant percentage of fermented foods and beverages are consumed today in the form of beer, wine, sourdough breads, sauerkraut, kefir, and kvass. The Germans and Portuguese enjoy a regional raw, fermented sausage, called rohwurst and chourico, respectively.

In Russia, children are offered a glass of kefir (fermented milk) at school on a regular basis. In China, the government distributes cabbage to the population each fall to ferment and store through the cold winter months. Indonesians eat tempeh, a fermented soybean cake; and in Japan, fermented foods from both soybeans and dairy lead sales in the natural-foods arena, spurred on by a tremendous amount of research by doctors, food companies, universities, and medical schools.

American Baby Boomers grew up with cheese, sauerkraut, yogurt, soy sauce, and dill pickles—foods that are traditionally fermented. Unfortunately, the mass-produced versions found in our supermarkets are not real food. If you read the labels on these items, you’ll notice that most of the brands on the market are pasteurized and contain added refined vinegar and poor-quality salt. Pasteurization by high heat destroys precious enzymes and beneficial microflora, and the addition of refined salt has contributed to many of the health problems we face today. These products are nothing like the live, enzyme-and microflora-rich fermented foods and beverages you’re encouraged to eat and drink each day on The Diet.

As we age, our nutritional requirements do not change, but the number of calories we consume ideally should be reduced, especially in our 40s.

As you now know, limiting the amount of food you eat per day … or calorie restriction while optimizing nutrition … is the one sure way that researchers agree slows and even reverses biological aging.

Well, it is a fact that you can’t effectively or safely practice calorie restriction with optimal nutrition without having fermented foods in your diet.

Calorie restriction is only effective when you both limit calories and increase the quality of what you eat and digest. The fermented foods and liquids you’re learning about in this book will allow you to do just this. But they also have a host of other benefits:

— Fermented foods create a healthy inner ecosystem. Fermented foods lay the foundation for our internal garden of microflora: the “Missing Piece” that must be inside of us, supplying energy for everyday life. Fermented foods contain the microorganisms essential to the nourishment and health of our intestines. With every meal containing these foods, our inner garden renews itself.

— Fermented foods are a must for immunity. Up to 80 percent of the immune system resides in the gut-associated lymph tissue in our intestines. The microflora living there play a key role in keeping that region healthy and free of pathogenic (bad) bacteria, and us well nourished and immunologically hardy.

Immune senescence is a recently coined term that refers to the biological changes that take place in our immune systems as we age. Simply put, as each decade passes, the immune system becomes significantly weaker and less able to protect us, making us more prone to infections such as the flu and to cancers. There’s no point in living longer only to die from preventable diseases. However, administering potentially harmful flu shots to the elderly is not the Baby Boomer way. I predict that instead, delicious fermented foods will become much more appealing as a “protective tool” once more of us understand their power to keep our immune systems hardy.

— Fermented foods act as alchemists. The beneficial microflora found in fermented foods and drinks perform chemical magic by manufacturing B vitamins deep down inside you, where they are easily assimilated through your gut wall. They also make vitamin K₂(menaquinone), now positively linked to cardiovascular and bone health. Recent studies also show that vitamin K₂ helps reduce the symptoms of diabetes.

— Fermented foods and beverages can be more potent than probiotic supplements. That’s because the microflora obtained from organic foods grown in the ground form powerful synergistic relationships with one another that ensure that they flourish. They must survive in nature versus being grown in a lab. The microflora travel down your digestive tract, escorted along by the foods and liquids that they grew in. This helps them survive stomach acid and digestive enzymes so they colonize in greater numbers. While probiotic-supplement companies keep offering ever-increasing numbers of bacteria per capsule, probiotic foods contain hardier microflora than those found in these supplements, which actually work better when you also have fermented foods and liquids in your diet.

— Fermented foods provide more nutrients. The microflora abundant in unpasteurized, fermented foods provide additional enzymes to properly process nutrients, markedly increasing their availability.

— Fermented foods improve digestion. The microflora in fermented foods help protect the gut lining. They also increase the bioavailability of each meal so you can better absorb nutrients, allowing deficiencies to be corrected.

As the years go by, our digestive tracts tend to show signs of wear and tear. The mucosal lining of our intestines becomes less efficient, and absorption decreases. Often an increase in intestinal permeability occurs, which may allow toxins to pass through more easily and poison us. Our lessening ability to smell and taste foods can make the very act of eating less appealing. Enzyme production also decreases.

In addition, there may be impaired absorption of vitamins, particularly B₁₂, B₆, and folate, as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron, due to low stomach-acid production. Motility and peristaltic contractions weaken, and we become constipated. Constipation also contributes to diverticulosis (small pockets in the colonic lining). A weakened gag reflex increases the risk of choking. Hemorrhoids, reflux, heartburn, peptic ulcers … the list goes on and on.

— Fermented foods are raw … but more than raw. Raw foods may be difficult to digest, especially as we age. Many are very rich in sugars, which make our bodies too acidic, feeding yeast, viruses, and other pathogens. Fermented foods have all the benefits of raw foods … including enzymes, antioxidants, and cell messengers such as polyphenols and catechins … yet none of the disadvantages.

— Fermented foods control cravings. Carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol leach minerals from our bones, making our blood more acidic, so avoiding them is essential for restoring our prenatal energy. However, since they are addictive, many people do not have the willpower to resist these cravings. With two related epidemics—obesity and diabetes—threatening to take the lives of many Baby Boomers sooner than we’d like, fermented foods and drinks (such as cultured vegetables and young coconut kefir) become a godsend.

— Fermented foods allow us to enjoy mildly sweet foods found in nature. Microflora eat the sugars in foods and shield us from damage that sugar can often cause. However, too much sugar can disrupt the balance of the beneficial flora. The amount found in natural foods is conducive to their growth. How perfect that we can enjoy the sweet taste of a carrot while our microflora benefit from the sugar.

— Fermented foods are detoxifiers. Due to planetary toxicity, now more than ever we need to put these microflora to work on cleaning up our environment.

Microflora ingest toxins, like pesticides and the mercury found in fish, as well as other harmful materials, and remove them through colonic elimination. (At least 70 percent or more of the weight of the bowel movement is bacteria.)

Most often red and green cabbage, kale, and collards are used in combination with other vegetables to make “cultured vegetables.” These are members of the cruciferous family that contain glucosinolates and other active molecules, such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and di-indolylmethane (DIM), which can alter detoxification of estrogen in the liver. With these in the diet, estrogen can be converted into safer pathways that decrease the risk of ovarian, uterine, and breast cancer, as well as help with inflammatory conditions, like premenstrual syndrome.

— Fermented foods make a healthy “fast food.” These foods and beverages are healthy alternatives to fast food. They are filling, nutrient rich, and easy to digest. Additionally, their high liquid content makes them ideal fast breakfast foods. A smoothie made with fermented milk kefir is a perfect way to start the day for the many Baby Boomers who digest dairy well. A nondairy smoothie made with young coconut kefir is great for those who don’t.

— Fermented foods restore acid/alkaline balance. Fermented foods are excellent for helping restore the best possible acid/alkaline balance. Because the microflora are so efficient in promoting colonic absorption of minerals such as calcium and magnesium, our blood can pick up the minerals and carry them out to our cells. With the correct mineral balance, the body remains in a healthy alkaline range. Cancer, diabetes, yeast, and viruses can’t grow in an optimal alkaline environment.

— Fermented foods provide a sour taste for improved digestion. The sourness of fermented foods (due to the lactic acid produced by the microflora) stimulates peristaltic movement so that our intestines eliminate properly. To be well balanced, according to Ayurvedic medicine, a great meal should have as many of the six tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent) as possible, in the right balance.

Given the healing benefits of fermented foods, it’s never too late to start reinforcing your inner ecosystem—and rebuilding your health.

Fortunately, there are a growing number of options for enjoying fermented foods, and you can choose according to convenience and your own unique palate.

Once again, these are quintessential anti-aging foods. Yes, they are new to many of us and involve a bit of a learning curve, but these fermented foods and drinks are so critical to our vitality and longevity that they are well worth seeking out. In fact, they may be our number one ally in our quest to age “youthfully” and healthfully.

Remember, when fermented, a food or liquid becomes sour. Many of us are not familiar with this taste and only enjoy the sweet and salty tastes. But please eat and drink these sour foods for a week and you’ll soon be “hooked.” Visit Body Ecology’s website (www.bodyecology.com) for more articles on fermented foods, and discover how they can help prevent or reverse many health conditions and add many more years to your life.

The following sections feature three especially amazing fermented foods: cultured vegetables, cultured vegetable juice, and young coconut kefir.

Cultured or fermented vegetables have been around for thousands of years. Captain Cook took barrels with him on his long voyages to the South Pacific. They protected his crew from developing, and dying from, scurvy.

Indeed, they have been survival foods for many cultures, and we humans might not be here if we hadn’t learned how to ferment vegetables as a way to preserve them, providing us with nutrients through long winters. You may be familiar with kimchi, a cultured-vegetable product from Korea consisting of bok choy cabbage, carrots, green onions, ginger, garlic, and hot peppers. And certainly, most of us are familiar with sauerkraut, coined by the Austrians from the German sauer (sour) and Kraut (greens or plants).

Cultured veggies are raw, cut, and shredded vegetables that have been left to ferment at room temperature. This allows the naturally present lactobacilli and enzymes to proliferate, creating a vitamin-, mineral-, and enzyme-rich superfood.

Keeping in mind that microflora act as alchemists, fermenting vegetables not only increases their nutrient value, but also negates the adverse effects some have on our bodies. For example, cabbage, kale, and collards have a thyroid-suppressing effect when eaten raw … something to be aware of in this day and age when many of us have issues with low thyroid. However, when we ferment them, we still get the benefits of the enzymes found in raw foods, but without the thyroidsuppressing effects.

Certain sweet vegetables—like sweet potatoes and beets—are very rich in sugar; and when they are cooked, they become even sweeter, a problem for many people with conditions such as candida and diabetes. Fermenting allows us to benefit from their nutrients while the microflora feed on their natural sugars.

If you prepare your cultured vegetables using the Body Ecology Culture Starter (available at www.bodyecology.com) … you will have a food that is rich in a special bacteria called L. plantarum.

Today, many people suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). L. plantarum has been shown to help repair the damaged intestinal mucosa implicated in IBS. In fact, one study found that regardless of how it was administered, L. plantarum lasted for up to ten days in the digestive tract of mice with no unwanted side effects, making these bacteria an ideal probiotic for inflammatory conditions, like IBS and colitis.¹

A study from Sweden found that L. plantarum is just as effective as a conventional antiseptic in preventing the most common cause of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in hospitals.² And a number of researchers have shown its effectiveness at breaking down bile acids and lowering blood-serum cholesterol.³

This is a hardy microbe. It is antiviral and is resistant to bile acid and to antibiotics. It’s comforting to know that if you must use an antibiotic, these bacteria will remain in your intestines, preventing an overgrowth of yeast/fungus.

Recipe for Cultured Veggie Juice

1. Fill a blender with chopped green or red cabbage.

2. Add springwater until blender is 2/3 full.

3. Blend at high speed for 2 minutes.

4. Add package of L. plantarum starter culture.

5. Pour mixture into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.

6. Let sit at room temperature for 3 days.

7. Strain and place in refrigerator.

8. For a second batch, simply add 1/2 cup of the first batch to the second, and it will be ready in 24 hours.

Drink 1-1/2 cups of cultured vegetable juice per day … divided throughout the day. We suggest drinking a small juice glass with each meal, as it greatly assists digestion. Several ounces upon waking and at bedtime when the stomach is empty are also wise.

A small juice glass of cultured veggie juice is perfect with any meal. It provides the sour taste to stimulate digestion, as well as peristalsis to ensure that food moves through your digestive tract with ease. At Body Ecology, we love cultured veggie juice so much that years ago we began to recommend that parents give it to their newborns to help prevent colic, autism, and other childhood disorders. A baby may make funny faces at this strange sour taste when given tiny spoonfuls soon after birth, but it helps with digestion of milk and builds a stronger immune system. (With a strong immune system, a child is less likely to become “infected” by a vaccination and develop autism.) Another nice plus: When babies are introduced to the sour taste early in life, they don’t develop a “sweet tooth.” They grow up feeling quite satisfied with the sweetness in a carrot or a berry.

Please share the value of fermented foods and drinks with your children and grandchildren as they see you enjoying several glasses of cultured veggie juice each day. Remember, the secrets to health and long life were traditionally passed from generation to generation through explanation and example. Fermented foods are the answer to the childhood-obesity epidemic.

One of my deepest passions is to use food to heal and save our children. When I first started to hear about autism and the rising numbers of children affected by this alarming worldwide pandemic, I wondered what I could do to help. I lived in Atlanta at the time, and to my amazement, I found a flyer in a local market promoting a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) conference that very weekend.

I attended that first DAN conference in 2001 and was impressed by the doctors who were speaking. They seemed to have an accurate diagnosis of what was physically wrong with the autistic kids (heavy-metal toxicity, yeast infections, digestive disorders, addiction to carbs, mineral deficiencies, sleep problems, and so on); but at that point there seemed to be a dearth of real, promising solutions. I immediately noticed some startling parallels between the symptoms of the children and those of many people I had worked with over the years. I truly thought I could offer some solutions … at least with respect to diet.

A “Feel-Good” Tonic

Kefir means “feel good” in Turkish. Milk kefir has been called “nature’s tranquilizer” or “nature’s Prozac” because of its calming effect. It contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that when combined with calcium and magnesium helps calm the nervous system. In fact, the body converts tryptophan into serotonin—a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger in the brain allowing for communication between nerve cells. Serotonin, also referred to as 5-HT, is known to modulate emotions, mood, memory and learning, temperature regulation, behavior, cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, endocrine regulation, sleep, and appetite. This makes it especially helpful for people who are depressed, high-strung, or nervous; or who have trouble sleeping (serotonin converts to the sleep hormone melatonin)—not to mention for those wishing to improve memory.

Around that time, circumstances suddenly forced me to move to Los Angeles, where I met a man named Don Kidson who introduced me to young coconuts from Thailand. Knowing it was too sugary for people on the Body Ecology Diet but impressed that the water had such cleansing properties, it suddenly occurred to me that we might ferment it with Body Ecology Kefir Starter. Don and two other friends helped me create the very first batches of young coconut kefir. Once Don and I began to share this new discovery with others, word spread like wildfire. This water in its fermented form seemed to have magical benefits.

As we know, “all is in Divine order,” so right on time, in 2002, my first autistic child walked into my life. Or his mother, Diane, did… . She called me one fateful afternoon to talk about her son Thomas, who had been diagnosed with autism at the age of three.

With my guidance, Diane immediately put Thomas on the Body Ecology Diet, and to my amazement, she was actually able to find young Thai coconuts in Charleston, South Carolina, where she lived. Diane’s clever and creative efforts, combined with her strong intention to heal her son, resulted in a full recovery for Thomas. He has been healthy for more than eight years now.

Diane and I went on to create BEDROK, a support community for families struggling with autism. Years later, we continue to see amazing success with the Body Ecology protocol. (If you know of someone with an autistic child, please send them to bedrokcommunity.org, where they will receive amazing information and support.)

Today, more and more people are discovering the benefits of coconut water. While DAN conferences have slowly morphed into more of a pharmaceutical resource for physicians and parents, many of the orginal DAN doctors have moved away, preferring to offer a more successful and caring approach. They know diet is more important than drugs, for example. They recommend cultured vegetables, coconut kefir, and the Body Ecology Diet to their patients and have enjoyed remarkable results. In fact, if you want a great doctor, find one who is successfully treating children with autism.

I believe that an antifungal diet, along with Body Ecology recommended foods such as young coconut kefir, is not only invaluable in the treatment of autism, but also the key to prevention.

To date, because our BEDROK moms know how to prevent autism, siblings born later are totally free of this devastating illness. We feel this stands as testament to the importance of fermented foods while a fetus is forming in the womb and immediately after birth. In fact, fermented foods and drinks and the Body Ecology Way of Life should be a part of a child’s diet from conception (via his mother) until the day he draws his last breath.

Most people are familiar with coconut meat and water from the mature (brown, hairy) coconut. A green coconut is the same food, but younger. The liquid inside is much more like sweet water and is different from prepared coconut milk. Please don’t confuse coconut water with coconut milk, which is actually made from warm water and the meat of the mature coconut. Coconut water is the liquid found naturally inside the young coconut. It is full of B vitamins and minerals, especially potassium and sodium—two important minerals for heart and adrenal health. This water has been known for centuries to have a cleansing effect on the liver, kidneys, and heart.

While unfermented coconut water makes a delicious drink on its own, it is too sweet to be medicinal. Drinking it will make your body too acidic and encourage the growth of pathogens (viruses and yeast) and tumors. You can still obtain the benefits of this superfood, however, by fermenting the young coconut water, making young coconut kefir (YCK)—a bubbly, champagne-like drink.

It is much easier to obtain fresh coconut water in healthfood stores today than it once was. Thai coconuts have the sweetest water in the world, which is best for fermenting. Body Ecology has begun to import fresh, frozen organic coconut water from Thailand. Many Whole Foods Markets and other health-food stores are carrying it in their frozen-food section. (If you have any difficulty finding it locally, please visit the Body Ecology website.) Not only is coconut water in cans or aseptic packages pasteurized, but it isn’t sweet enough to ferment.

From the Physician’s Desk

“We have at least 10 trillion cells in our bodies and 100 trillion microbes in the form of bacteria, parasites, and fungi. Managing these microbes should be a top priority.”

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We shall not cease from exploration / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.

This excerpt from T. S. Eliot’s poem “Little Gidding” is just an elegant way of saying “history is destined to repeat itself.” I think this is particularly true of our emerging awareness of how beneficial bacteria and fermented foods balance our inner ecosystem. Pioneers like Donna Gates are really revivers of ideas we’ve known for thousands of years, but which have been lying dormant and largely ignored.

There is evidence, for example, that 2,500 years ago fermented dairy was used in Iraq, and just 100 years ago, people such as Nobel Prize winner Dr. Élie Metchnikov talked and wrote about the anti-aging benefits of fermented foods. Fortunately, we are once again beginning to realize the importance of this overlooked area of health. However, there are parts of the world that have always routinely used fermented foods. When I was traveling with my wife in Denmark and Sweden, there would be jars of fermented yogurt on the table to take with meals. It was simply a natural part of the diet. In fact, fermented foods have been used for thousands of years in many regions of the world, ranging from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to India, China, and Japan, where they depended upon bacterial cultures long before refrigeration was available.

Certainly, refrigeration has been a wonderful addition to life—and has saved a lot of lives—but we’ve also lost something vital in the process by forgetting about the value of culturing foods. Once again, we are now revisiting this most valuable technology as a cornerstone of health.

There is another major reason why cultured foods should be a part of every meal. Every year 70 million people in the United States check into the ER due to food poisoning, regardless of whether they eat at home or in restaurants. This problem can be diminished with the regular use of fermented foods, or probiotics. Science has shown that fermented vegetables and drinks fill the gut with beneficial bacteria. These probiotic-laden foods make their own biofilms and antibiotics (bacteriocins), which kill, disable, and crowd out pathogenic bacteria.

Beneficial microflora are basically an excellent insurance policy. In healthy people, the percentage of pathogenic bacteria in the body is much lower than the amounts of neutral and beneficial bacteria. When we become sick or get out of balance in some way, then the pathogenic bacteria can start multiplying, and literally take on a life of their own. Unless we are proactive, these pathogens disrupt the microfloral balance, leading to often-permanent degenerative diseases.

In conclusion, let’s remember we have at least 10 trillion cells in our bodies and 100 trillion microbes, mostly in the form of bacteria, with some fungi, parasites, and viruses. The necessity of managing these microbes to the degree we can should be obvious. Yet most of us have little or no notion of friendly bacteria or how to culture our foods.

I believe that if you were going to make only one beneficial change in your lifestyle and health in the next year, it should be to begin integrating fermented foods into your diet. Most health programs talk about the importance of healthy carbs, exercise, getting your omega-3s, and so forth. The Body Ecology program, however, is one of the few to address the importance of the inner ecosystem and bacteria management through fermented foods.

— Leonard Smith, M.D.