In my chronic fatigue days, I felt my body breaking down and my skin screaming out. I responded with fermented foods, among other therapies.

My body demanded more nutrients; I gave it fermented veggies. I was flooded with excess toxins; I gave it fermented beetroot juice. Inflammation crossed the line from helpful to harmful; I gave it shots of fermented turmeric. Oxidative stress in my body tipped into high gear; I gave it antioxidant-rich salsa.

Fermented foods also supported the microbial battle waring inside my gut. Each forkful of ferments and each sip of fermented drinks delivered new fleets of microbial troops that joined the battalion against harmful microbes. It’s a constant battle. Still, as long as the good microbes outnumber the bad guys, I’m in a good place.

Reclaiming my health over 3 years took every ounce of nutrition I could find from foods that agreed with me. Fermentation put nutrition, healing compounds, and microbes on a different level of health compared to non-fermented raw foods.

Additionally, fermented food helped me lock in the bounty inside freshly picked vegetables to enjoy long after shovels and spade forks, rubber boots and straw hats were stored away for the winter. Come January and April, I enjoy the harvest afresh, albeit with a tinge of tang.

Having made a 180-degree recovery back to health, I am using my 4-year nutrition degree, one-year dietetic internship, clinical experience, and yearly mandatory continuing education to connect the dots between fermented foods and human health – or what I like to call ferment and function.

In classes I strive to teach health keeners and fermentation enthusiasts about the wonderful world of ferments for flavour and therapeutic benefits. My fermentation classes first taunt the taste buds, then speak to health of the body and land.

When I’m not enthralled by connecting fermented foods, the gut, and nearly every other system in the body, you’ll find me exploring creation in awe of the Creator and in thankfulness for recovering my life.