Paleo Quick Tip of the Day #74- The ONE thing you NEED to add to your Paleo diet!

pqtd 74 The ONE Paleo thing you need to add

Most of us now know to avoid wheat, cut way back on sugar, and eat more good fats- at least I hope you do!  These basic things, along with avoiding processed foods, walking more, getting out in the sunshine every day, and getting plenty (at least 8 hours per night) of sleep will go a long way towards making you healthy and happy.  

But there is one additional thing that, if you add into your lifestyle, will make it more truly ancestral or paleo, and jumpstart your health into a really high level of health, vibrant wellness, and extreme fitness!  

This thing is really easy- make sure you get a forkful or so of a fermented veggie each and every day!  Sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, pickled beets- it doesn’t really matter, and it’s probably even better to mix them up, but you just need to do it!  The probiotics in such fermented vegetables are extremely concentrated- in fact, there would be literally hundreds of times more good bacteria in naturally fermented veggies than in a probiotic supplement or pill.

And why do you need probiotics?  They are vital to building and maintaining a healthy gut biome within yourself!  A healthy gut will heal and maintain the integrity of your digestive tract, which is undoubtedly compromised badly from a lifetime of eating grains and sugars, and “leaky” in a way that makes you subject to autoimmune diseases.  And it helps to know that the number ONE killer of humans in the modern age is autoimmune disease, which is largely completely preventable with proper eating and lifestyle!

This is a really easy, cheap, and actually pleasant way to protect your health, since fermented foods are actually quite tasty and inexpensive, especially in small amounts.  Just make sure you get a naturally fermented type of veggie, not the mass market pickles and sauerkraut that line the supermarket shelves- those are “fake” pickles and sauerkraut, with no live cultures in them- they are just “flavored” with white, sterile vinegar, and are largely empty of nutrition

You could ideally culture your own, but for now just buy a couple of types from the store- Trader Joe’s has some great ones, as does Whole Foods and even standard groceries and farmer’s markets usually carry some good naturally fermented types as well.  One well known and widely carried brand is “Bubbies”; and trust me, if you have never had a naturally fermented pickle before, they are vastly superior in flavor as well as in health benefits! 

Kimchi, the Korean fermented condiment is generally always the real deal, being naturally fermented, and is a great option.  Just remember, a forkful a day, keeps the doctor away, says PaleoJay!