16 Comments
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Chris Masterjohn, PhD

I wasn't quite ready for this, I must say.

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Mar 3, 2023Liked by Chris Masterjohn, PhD

Really appreciate the rigorous research and time taken to explain to laypeople like myself.

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Mar 3, 2023Liked by Chris Masterjohn, PhD

I have been learning about soaking, sprouting and fermenting this last year. We cold soak our rice, lentils and flour.

My mom was uncomfortable with many kinds of raw foods, from runny eggs to rare meat to yogurt to lactofermented pickles. Now, I comfortably make yogurt and raw relish, and eat my steak rare.

It's sad that the health importance of soaks and ferments is not well known, probably out of fear or inconvenience.

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Mar 3, 2023Liked by Chris Masterjohn, PhD

This is fascinating and i had no idea about this!

I've been interested in the microbiome for a while now, specifically around how it relates to mental health. It seems that this field is still very much in its infancy.

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Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023

> The greatest error in microbiome research is generalizing from experimental animals to humans, without accounting for the fact that the experimental animals literally eat their microbiome in a process known as coprophagy.

Reply: Good day Chris. We have talked briefly about how Koreans eat sweet potatoes. This article ( I haven't read the whole article) goes to the heart of the matter as far as traditional Koreans (and Asians) prior to the US presence in South Korea. They eat loads of fermented foods with each meal. Lactic acid fermented foods like Kim Chi. There is soy bean paste or Doenjang, and many many more.

One of the reasons for all these fermented foods is historically they lacked refrigeration. So to preserve the hard work of growing food, they learned to ferment. Traditional homes and farms are deeply integrated with the fermentation of food. I am learning from my Korean wife lots of little knacks that the Korean's traditionally use prior to the arrival of western refrigeration. It all leads to health building life enhancing fermented foods. One thing though. refrigeration saves time and work of fermenting foods. It is becoming a dying art since the arrival of modern refrigeration and corporate food.

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So, eat shit and live?

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