The gut microbiome plays a vital role in our overall wellness. We perform better when we're well.

Various factors affect the bacterial composition of our gut microbiome. These include elements as diverse as our food choices (present and past), the timing and the method of our birth, our health, whether we take medications, whether we have pets, our physical activity, hydration and stress levels, where we live, the indigenous microorganism in our surroundings, etc.*

While some of these factors are not within our control, our food choices are.

More and more people are waking up to the idea that our food choices have a major impact on our health.

In a quest for nurturing gut wellness, many turn to fermented foods. We've seen this growing trend in the past few years; no surprises there.

What we do find surprising, though, is that an ever-increasing number of consumers prefer to make their own fermented foods at home rather than buy ready-made versions in the store. They are wary of potential shortcuts. No factory will have your well-being in mind as much as you do.

Customers may wonder about the fermentation length of store-bought fermented dairy, for example. They have no way of knowing whether a factory-made product was fermented for the ideal duration or only for the bare minimum. 

Longer fermentation, in many cases, allows beneficial bacteria to proliferate to an ideal level. 

Similarly, customers may wonder whether sparkly drinks touted as probiotic are carbonated naturally through long fermentation by probiotic cultures, or are merely soft drinks, carbonated artificially, to which probiotics were added at the end. 

Awareness is essential for making food choices that are suited to one's preferences.

Many consumers turn away from commercial shortcuts and seek alternatives more closely aligned with the core principles of artisanal fermentation and the naturalness of the real thing: fermenting at home, using simple ingredients with a starter culture that kick-starts the process, and letting time do the rest. 

Quality fermentation takes time, there's no way around it. Beneficial bacteria need time to proliferate. 

The yield is a living food, rich in active beneficial bacteria. 

If making your own long-proliferation homemade fermented food is what you're after, check out Cutting Edge Cultures' starter cultures for home use:

• Dairy:
  • Our probiotic Yogurt Plus starter needs to be fermented for 8 hours
  • Our Easy Kefir starter needs to be fermented for 24 hours (no grains)
  • Our L. Reuteri Superfood starter needs to be fermented for 36 hours
  • Our L. Gasseri Superfood starter needs to be fermented for 36 hours
• Probiotic beverages:
  • Our Kefir Soda Starter will ferment and fizz your choice of fruit juice or coconut water over several days, creating a naturally sparkling, exquisite, refreshing, probiotic beverage.

*Reference: https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2023/04/06/Danone-North-America-on-gut-health-and-the-microbiome-They-have-a-bigger-role-than-we-thought