Fermented raw foods, such as raw sauerkraut, pickles, seed "cheese",
rejuvelac, sprout milk yogurt, and even raw miso, raw soy sauce, are
important foods for some raw fooders. On the other hand, some raw
fooders refuse to eat fermented foods, or limit their consumption
of fermented foods to one or two specific foods.

The object of this note is begin a discussion on fermented foods, and
their place in raw food lifestyles. To save typing, will use FF as
an abbreviation for fermented foods. Will begin by specifying some
of the positive and negative points of FF, with questions noted.
Note that only lacto-bacillus FF are of interest; yeast based FF
(e.g., alcoholic drinks) are ruled out and are not relevant.

Positive:
+ most FF contain lacto-bacillus (Acidophilus) and promote good
  intestinal bacteria
+ high in enzymes
+ claimed to be pre-digested (by bacteria), hence easier for your
  digestion
+ most FF, except for rejuvelac, are considered tasty
+ seed cheeses and almond cream reportedly help underweight raw-fooders
  gain and maintain body weight (see Ann Wigmore, "Rebuild Your Health",
  pg. 49, for almond cream recipe; her recipe is FF)
+ FF are major part of Ann Wigmore's living foods lifestyle, which has
  been used by many people in healing and overcoming serious illness

Negative:
- most FF are very acid-forming foods; ref: Gabriel Cousens, "Conscious
  Eating", pg. 129.
- claims of easier digestibility are questionable
- soy sauce contains about 1% natural MSG, mono-sodium glutamate;
  ref: Glutamic Acid, Advances in Biochemistry and Physiology; L. J.
  Filer, Jr. et. al. eds., pg. 27. Soy sauce, and possibly miso also,
  can be 0.5-2% alcohol. The MSG and alcohol are products of natural
  fermentation.
- except for yogurt (made from dry culture, not rejuvelac/seed cheese),
  FF are considered "tamasic" by yoga/Ayurveda. Here tamasic means
  that in the long term, the food has a depressing effect. Yoga
  recommends avoiding tamasic foods (meat is considered tamasic).
- rejuvelac, if fermented a few more days with honey added, becomes
  alcoholic; ref: Ann Wigmore, "Rebuild Your Health", pg. 52.
- (the subject question) although often referred to as "living foods",
  FF are generally dead foods. Fermentation is the process of bacterial
  growth in a base food that ultimately dies. For example, a pickled
  carrot or beet will not sprout if planted in the earth; a raw one will.
  Wheat sprouts that have drowned and are decaying in water (rejuvelac)
  will not grow if planted; regular wheat sprouts will grow. In a FF,
  the base food eventually dies; the only living part is the bacteria
  culture that is growing on the base food. The subject question can be
  restated as: does a living bacteria culture on a dead/dying base
  qualify as a "living food"?

Is sprout milk yogurt different from other fermented foods?

* yogurt (dairy yogurt) is considered "sattvic" - balancing, soothing,
  by yoga/Ayurveda. It is the only sattvic FF, all others are tamasic.
* culture growth time very short; growth of culture normally stopped,
  by refrigeration, before culture growth by-products (i.e., acids)
  are at level that is toxic to bacteria (that is how fermentation
  serves as a natural preservative - e.g., sauerkraut, pickles). Yogurt
  has the shortest culture time of any FF.
* also as a result of short culture growth time, yogurt is very similar
  in nature to base food - sprout milk. Indeed, the base food may still
  be "alive" after only 6-10 hours of culture growth. For other FF, base
  food is clearly dead.

I invite others to comment on the above material; additional positive
and negative points are welcome. My personal experience with FF is
that raw sauerkraut, pickles make my stomach ache, (can eat very small
amount without major side effects, but more than small amount causes
problems), rejuvelac tastes awful, and I can't handle the salt in soy
sauce/miso. I am working to develop a recipe for sprout milk yogurt that
is "sattvic", i.e.  does not use rejuvelac or seed cheese as starter.
Others with more positive experiences with FF are invited to comment.

If one ignores the issue of whether FF are living or not, then the most
important factor in deciding whether to consume them, is how you react
to them when you eat them. If the reaction is bad, avoid them, if it
is good then there is no problem.  Here reaction refers to both the
immediate effect and longer term effects.

P.S. those seeking recipes for raw FF are referred to books by Ann
Wigmore, Viktoras Kulvinskas, Gabriel Cousens.

Tom Billings
[log in to unmask]