Fermented Herbs: Part 1 Make Your Own

 An herbal carrot kraut.  Can you guess the herbs? photo from The Resiliency Institute

There are two options for getting more fermented herbs in your life.  See some of the other articles on this blog for reasons why that might be a good idea.  Otherwise here is the first vehicle...

The first is to brew/ferment your own food or drink that contains the herbs you're interested in consuming.  This is a relatively simple option if you have some experience fermenting food.  If you don't,  then it's probably time to get started.  I do teach classes on fermenting foods so you'll either have to come visit Hawaii to take one,  or you'll need to invite me out to give a class in your town.  Or simply check out this video on fermenting veggies.  If you still want to know how much salt to add use 1.5 teaspoon per pound of vegetables. 

Fermented vegetables are usually what I recommend people begin with.  They are not only ridiculously healthy for a number of reasons,  they are fairly simple to make.  But fermented beverages are also simple to make.   If you want personalized help or coaching around either of these shoot me an email or leave a comment.

Adding fresh, dried, or powdered herbs to your vegetable of beverage ferments makes them a potent vehicle for ingesting those very herbs.  In previous posts  you've seen that fermentation increases the absorbability (also referred to as bioavailability: bio-avai-la-bility... what a wonderful word) of the antioxidants and other substances in medicinal herbs.  This is generally true for minerals as well.  Here is an example.  So maybe consuming a fermented food "enhanced" with a beneficial herb might just might be the fermented functional food you've been waiting for.  

In the next post I'll talk about some fermented herbal products on the market.  In the meantime,  get started making your own.  Here is my favorite video explaining how to do just that.  For more questions contact me via my Facebook page: Ferment To Be

Ancient Wines: Thyme, Artemesia, and Their Use in Wine

The authors of this fun-to-read study ('fun' used with reservation) are using archaeological evidence to understand ancient people's botanical medicines. 

The purpose is to discover effective plant compounds that fight against cancer.  

Their approach: Analyze the botanical residue in ancient Egyptian and Chinese wine vessels.  Thyme and the herbs in the Artemisia family are identified as herbs present in the wine that possess some anti-cancer effects.


The authors write:

"Our ancestors might well have discovered

empirically some of the most potent and medicinally effective

plants in their environments, especially in periods of

experimentation as epitomized by the Neolithic Revolutions

beginning 10,000 years ago, after the end of the last Ice

Age. Plants, including herbs, tree resins, and other organics

were ideally dissolved in and dispensed by ancient fermented

beverages, such as wine and beer...By analyzing organic residues inside ancient containers, key natural products and organic compounds of potential medicinal value can be directly detected"

Well, maybe it's more fun to drink the medicine than study it.

Fermented Korean Herbal Medicine

Yet another study that shows lactic acid fermentation can enhance the effectiveness of medicinal herbs.  

The herb in question is Hwangryun-haedok-tang, a Korean traditional herbal medicine used to "treat inflammatory-related diseases, including dermatitis, hepatitis, and gastritis."  

From reading the study it appears to be a multi-herb mixture that includes coptis japonica, Scutellaria baicalensis (skullcap), chinese philodendron, and Scutellaria baicalensis (fruit) 

The authors state:"Fermentation increases the production of active components in medicinal herbs, which beneficially influences health through health-promoting and disease preventing effects....

"Bacteria fermentation not only generates the bioactive components of flavonoid but also changes its structure. Bacterial fermentation de-glycosylates, sulfates, or methylates flavonoids, which influences the absorption rate and metabolism in the liver [25]. The structure change of flavonoid by bacteria fermentation increases the absorption rate and the amounts absorbed, which might elevate the bioactivity and bioavailability of active components [26,27] and might contribute to the beneficial effect on bone [28]."

"This study demonstrated that lactic bacterial fermentation fortifies the inhibitory effect of HRT on osteoclastogenesis and bone loss. These results suggest that fermented HRT might have the beneficial potential on osteoporosis by inhibiting osteoclastogenesis."