Are there health benefits from consuming live-cultured foods?  Many people think so.  Some of us  —  including many Curious Farm customers and students — have noticed profound positive changes in our digestion, mental clarity, and mood from regular enjoyment of sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles and other live-cultured foods.

Below, you’ll find an ever-growing round-up of some recent research and articles about the potential health benefits of live cultured foods.  If you find an article or study of interest, please send me a link!  Thank you.

Bacteria’s Little Secret by Isaac Eliaz, MD, MS, LAc; guest blogger on Maria Rodale’s Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen blog.

Fermented and Cultured Foods:  The Surprising Health Benefits by Cynthia Lair, PCC Markets Sound Consumer, March 2013

Tending the Body’s Microbial Garden by Carl Zimmer, The New York Times, June 18th, 2012.

Two Studies Explore the Potential Health Benefits of Probiotics from the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine

Probiotics’ Potential — Research  Suggests Beneficial Bacteria May Support Immune Health from Today’s Dietician

A Gut-Full of Probiotics for Your Neurological Well-Being from Science Daily

Mind-Gut Connection:  Why Intestinal Bacteria May Have Important Effects on Your Brain from AlterNet

World’s Healthiest Foods:  Kimchi  from Health Magazine

Is Sauerkraut the Next Chicken Soup?  from ABC News