Recipes for Health: Fermented Dairy

Some of the best superfoods on the planet are actually traditional foods.

These traditional foods are foods that our ancestors used for generations to heal and protect the body. Many of these foods were also used to promote fertility and prepare a woman for pregnancy.

Traditional superfoods are nutrient-dense. They are packed full of health-promoting fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. Many times, fermentation unlocks these nutrients or enhances an already rich nutrient profile.

The Benefits of Raw, Grass-Fed Dairy

Dairy is one of nature’s original superfoods. Consider yourself lucky if you live in a state where raw, grass-fed dairy is available.

• Many states in the United States do not allow raw dairy.
• When dairy is pasteurized, the wonderful enzymes and bacteria naturally found in dairy are also destroyed.
• Raw dairy has the enzymes lactase and lipase intact, which aid in digestion.
• Fermented dairy enhances intestinal health.

Do You Have a Dairy Intolerance?

Those who cannot handle the sugar in dairy may also find that they do best with fermented dairy, such as yogurt, kefir, cultured butter, or true sour cream. The friendly bacteria in fermented dairy consume milk sugars, such as lactose, and also help to break down milk proteins, like casein. (1)

Sometimes, we have difficulty digesting the proteins in dairy. If you find that you still struggle to digest fermented dairy:

• Follow all of the seven principles of the Body Ecology Diet and, for the time being, remove dairy from the diet.
• Use at least 2 -3 scoops of Vitality SuperGreen on a daily basis. Vitality SuperGreen has GlutImmune in it, which is especially formulated to heal the lining of the gut.
• This will give your intestinal tract the time and nourishment that it needs to heal.
• When you begin to introduce dairy back into the diet, include a digestive aid, such as Assist Dairy & Protein.

Consuming Full-Fat Dairy Is Critical

Many of us are afraid of fat because we have been taught that all fat generates heart disease. We now know that this hypothesis is wrong, and that just the opposite is true. (2) However, many people are still afraid of healthy fats. Did you know that saturated fats are essential to produce hormones in the body?

Even those who are lactose intolerant can often still enjoy raw dairy! Otherwise, try fermented dairy, like kefir, yogurt, cultured butter, or true sour cream, for a healthy boost of friendly bacteria to improve digestion.

One large study conducted through the Harvard School of Public Health found that:

• Women who ate more than two portions a day of low fat dairy foods were 85% more likely to be infertile.
• Women who ate full-fat dairy foods more than once per day had a 25% reduced risk of infertility. (3)

Finding grass-fed dairy is essential. When an animal is fed corn or soy-based feed, more pro-inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids are created.

• A pastured animal that eats grass will produce a product rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which actually inhibit inflammation in the body.
• This rule of thumb applies to dairy, eggs, and meat.
• Grass-fed animals will produce golden yellow butter, or if it is a chicken, bright orange egg yolks.

Grass-fed butter, which is made from the cream found in dairy, is rich in CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). CLA is another type of beneficial fatty acid.

• CLA is sold as an isolated supplement at health food stores because it is known for its fat-busting properties.
• That’s right! Eating the right fats can actually reduce fat, especially belly fat. (4)
• This is because belly fat is oftentimes the result of too many inflammatory signals in the body.
• In other words, stress can lead to accumulating fat, and healthy fats will dampen the stress response in the body.

This vitamin is not the same as vitamin K1, which does not convert into vitamin K2.

• Researchers have found high concentrations of vitamin K2 in the brain (the brain is full of fat!).
• Vitamin K2 plays a significant role in bone health and heart health. (5)(6)
• The darker and more yellow the butter, the more vitamin K2 it contains.

Make Real Sour Cream at Home

Making your own sour cream at home is incredibly simple. With homemade sour cream, you can stir in dried herbs, finely chopped dulse, or Celtic sea salt to create a wonderful dip for veggies.

Steps to make homemade sour cream:

1. First, acquire a pint of raw, grass-fed cream.
2. Pour the cream into a quart-size jar and whisk in a packet of Body Ecology Kefir Starter Culture.
3. Allow this mixture to sit somewhere warm for 1–2 days.
4. Smell and taste the cream, making sure that it is “sour”. This ensures that all the milk sugars have been consumed by the beneficial microflora. Depending on the temperature of your home, the time for this process will vary.
5. Place the fermented cream in the refrigerator. Use or allow it to ferment longer in the refrigerator, if you wish.
6. To use, briefly whisk the cream until it thickens. You can also thicken the cream by simply shaking it in the jar.

Homemade Cultured Butter

If you would like to make your own cultured butter at home, use a jar of cream that you have already fermented.

1. Pour the fermented cream into a blender and blend until the butter solids separate from the buttermilk.
2. At this point, the butter solids will look yellow in contrast to the buttermilk surrounding it.
3. Separate the butter solids from the buttermilk. Save your bacteria-rich buttermilk! You can use it later for soaking grains.
4. Next, continue to press the butter solids together by hand with a spoon. This will press out more buttermilk.
5. Wash the butter by adding cool, clean water to the butter solids and continue pressing the butter together.
6. Continue adding water, washing, and pouring off the liquid until the water runs clear.
7. Collect the butter into a solid mass and store in the refrigerator. Washed butter will store longer than unwashed butter.

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