Sauerkraut health benefits?

barry island

I have been suffering with a mystery ailment which has been steadily worsening for more than twelve months now. due to the GP's covid restrictions meaning no in person consultations I haven't been able to get a diagnosis added to male reluctance to confront the situation it has dragged on for so long. I have now been diagnosed as having diverticulitis, well there's a name to it but what now, apart from tests that I'm still waiting for results from, how to treat diverticulitis, well the only information that I have is from various websites regarding what to eat or what not to eat which is not a given, as when suffering from an attack or after an attack low fibre foods must be eaten whereas at other times to maintain good gut health high fibre food should be eaten. So I'm investigating foods for gut maintenance one of which is unpasteurized sauerkraut, has anyone eaten this and what are the benefits, I know what the drawbacks are it's very salty!

nutcutlet

Kefir is good for the microbiome, being another fermented food and lacks salt. 

barry island

Yes I'm taking kefir capsules from boots but have seen that it is easy to make once you have the seed I may try that.

Dovefromabove

Rinse the sauerkraut a bit before using. 

barry island

@Dovefromabove That makes sense I will do that, I've only had about a tablespoon full so far but it is much too salty.

Dovefromabove

A German friend told me to put an amount into a sieve and just pour a little cold water over it and then leave the sieve over a bowl to drain. It’s far too salty otherwise. It’s what she does so it’s what I do, and I really enjoy it like that. Hope you do too. 

Great with a sausage and apple casserole with lots of mustard. 

😋 

tui34

Yes, I do @barry island  I heat the sauerkraut on top of boiling potatoes.  You can have your usual meat with it.  I must say that I like a dollop of sour cream on it.  Crush the boiled potatoes on top of it.   

Probiotics such as yoghurt is good for the gut.  As is Kombucha which is  fermented tea.  You can buy it in health shops - very expensive.  As with Kefir -- you need the "mother" plant - as you would do with ginger beer.  Easy to make.  Google will help you to get the plant.  But it has to be kept going as it is alive.  I have tried to cultivate it - but without success.  Yoghurt and sauerkraut are good weekly probiotics.

I buy the sauerkraut either tinned, bottled or at the deli counter.  Get cooked sauerkraut - not uncooked.  It shouldn't be expensive.

tui34

PS.  Natural yoghurt - no sugar added.  Brasse!

fidgetbones

I have IBS triggered by rapeseed oil.  I won't go into detail, but basically two hours after ingesting it, I end up in the toilet for two hours with excruciating cramps. Since Putin invaded Ukraine, a lot of items that used to contain sunflower oil , now contain rapeseed.   If I avoid it completely I am fine.  I know a physiotherapist /masseur who had bright red arms from using a "pure vegetable oil" that cleared up rapidly when he changed to a different oil, and as soon as the rapeseed flowers and the fields around us turn yellow, I used to whack in a huge order from the wholesalers for antihistamines , and sure enough, before a few day had passed the amount of prescriptions for hay fever went through the roof.  It took me a long time to pin it down, as it is not recognised as an allergen.  I used to have random attacks, but not know why. In the last two years I have noticed it appearing in more and more processed foods, consequently I have to make most of my food from scratch.  It is even in cakes and used to coat dried fruit in packets, so I spend a lot of time reading labels.

 All I can say is try  avoiding it for a couple of weeks and see how you go.

Dovefromabove

I’m sure you know this @fidgetbones but oil-seed rape is from the mustard family,  and of course mustard is a common allergen. Are you ok with mustard? 

McRazz

barry island said:

Yes I'm taking kefir capsules from boots but have seen that it is easy to make once you have the seed I may try that.

If i can offer a little advice its ditch the capsules and go for live cultures. Its cheaper and reaches your gut more effectively. I can't remember the resource but there was a study last year that concluded no trace of capsuled treatments reached the gut, however the live cultured stuff did...

Lidl do big cartons of Kefir for just under £2 in various flavours. 

If you want the true benefit of Kraut then you must go for uncooked as the heating/canning process denatures it.