Are fermented foods allowed on the AIP?
This question causes a lot of confusion and debate for those on the AIP, but the simple answer is “Yes!” You will find fermented foods recommended as part of a healthy AIP Diet in Dr. Sarah Ballantyne’s handbook – The Autoimmune Protocol (if you haven’t picked it up yet, I recommend it for EVERY person on the AIP – click here.)
Adding fermented food and drinks can be a very healing addition to your AIP menu, however, I can tell you from experience that they may not be for everyone, at least in the beginning.
Caution and care should be exercised choosing products and adding things like kombucha, sauerkraut and other ferments to your diet. I encourage you to follow the advice of your nutritional consultant and/or Functional Medicine Practitioner to ensure that ferments are right for your personal medical condition and nutritional needs. If you’re not seeing a professional, at the VERY least be sure to keep very careful track of symptoms and reactions after consuming them, and start out with very small quantities.
Why would ferments cause problems? They’re supposed to be the bees-knees for adding more of the “good guys” to our gastrointestinal arsenal, strengthening our microbiome! Here are a couple of quick reasons to ponder – 1) Kombucha contain compounds called FODMAPS which are specific types of carbohydrates that can cause digestive distress in many people (especially those with Gastrointestinal Issues/IBS and SIBO), 2) Because it’s unpasturized it can contain different types of bacteria and yeasts that actually promote growth of opportunistic bad bacteria that can lead to more problems! A bitter beginner option when it comes to fermented foods would be sauerkraut or kimchi.
Still think you might want to jump on the ferment wagon? Feeling a little overwhelmed? I’m not surprised!
There are a lot of fermented products on the market – are any acceptable for AIP? What ingredients should I look for? Should I try making my own instead? Is that even safe? How much and how often should I consume ferments?
Learn more below from the experts:
A Practical Guide to Fermented Foods for Autoimmune Disease
Everything you need to know about Kombucha – a whole series of articles to dive into!
If you’re looking for Recipes to make your own AIP compliant ferments, try using the search feature in our Facebook Group … try searching “ferment” “pickle” “sauerkraut” “kombucha” or what ever you’re trying to make.