Presenter: Chelsie Falk, ND

Original Date: February 2, 2020

Humans have evolved alongside bacteria internally and externally for all of humanity. There is a growing interest in understanding and researching the human microbiome and numerous health and disease connections have been made pertaining the health of our internal microbial communities. We explore culture in the microbial sense and culture in the human sense as the two collide when we discuss the processes of fermentation, which is found in every civilization across the globe throughout history. Fermented foods and/or the knowledge to make these items have traveled the globe with human migration sometimes against great odds. In this talk we consider how teaching people to ferment foods and beverages in their own homes may have an impact on creating a healthy kitchen microbiome, and thus may positively impact their health through improved internal microbiomes from the regular production and consumption of fermented foods. We also discuss how these techniques are a way to connect back to our ancestral diets.

Encouraging and teaching people/patients/clients how to ferment foods at home may have a positive impact on a broad range of health concerns due to the increased production and consumption of fermented foods, which contain probiotics. Learning these techniques can also be healing for people as it allows them to create autonomy over their food production and foster a connection to non-processed ancestral diets.

1.5 General CEUs approved by OBNM