12 Steps to Whole Foods

Preserving Raw Foods with Natural Probiotics
Some wonder if Rejuvelac (also Kombucha and other fermented foods) are alcoholic. There is a very small
amount of alcohol produced naturally in the chemical process of digestion. Your gut, however, produces
alcohol as well, far more than in a fermented tea or grain drink, especially if you eat sugar. In fact, one of the
major causes of indigestion is undigested proteins, as a chronic problem. And the best way to improve that
situation? Eating probiotic-rich foods, because the cultures also help break down those proteins in the gut as
well. The amount of alcohol produced in a natural cultured food is less than 0.005%, compared to beer, which
would be 0.04% or higher.
I read about Rejuvelac 20 years before I began making it. My failure to originally implement this habit was due
to a bit of a controversy about it. My friend, Dr. Brian Clement, director of the Hippocrates Institute in Florida,
said that in the 1980s they tested Rejuvelac to be “contaminated.” I do not believe that just because there are
bad bacteria in some foods that we should avoid those foods. In fact, even in an ideal condition, the human gut
is 10% bad bacteria and 90% good. (Most Americans, according to Dr. Bernard Jensen, have the opposite ratio:
90% bad, 10% good.) I believe that the successful use of Rejuvelac by Ann Wigmore, Max Gerson, and many
other natural and holistic practitioners warrants serious consideration of the practice of making and consuming
this delicious and inexpensive power food. It gives the body higher ability to neutralize and eliminate
organisms that jeopardize our health.
I’ve made a YouTube video showing how to make Rejuvelac. Watch it at http://tinyurl.com/3ubw5bj.
Money-Saving Tips
Everything in this chapter will save you money! Using a gallon of milk to make kefir saves quite a bit of money
over buying it commercially. And growing lots of cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, and beets in your garden allows
you to put up, almost for free, dozens of quarts of raw, fermented vegetables that you may find keep illnesses at
bay throughout the winter. If you have incorporated many of the suggestions in the first eight months of this 12-
step program, you should find that from here on out, your family will be much healthier through the winter.
And Rejuvelac is the most inexpensive habit in this entire course, costing you a nickel a day.
If you have incorporated many of the suggestions in the first eight months of this 12-step program, you should
find that from here on out, your family will be much healthier through the winter. That in itself is a significant
health-care cost savings, in terms of both money and stress.
If you enjoy fermented vegetables and would like many more recipes for fruit chutneys and ways to preserve
more vegetables (radishes, turnips, and more), I recommend Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions. I do not
agree with Fallon’s promotion of heavy use of animal proteins (including flesh), based on my own research and
experience, along with empirical evidence such as that found in The China Study that came out after
Nourishing Traditions was published. (Fallon does, at least, advocate for organic meats and only cultured milk
products.) However, much of her information is very correct, especially the fermented vegetables and fruits and
dairy products chapter, as well as her information on good fats. I also like all the historical information about
the dietary practices of various healthy cultures and the quotes from many nutrition sources in the page
margins. I recommend owning a copy of this important book. 4
If you’re like me, you don’t want to own and milk goats, though I understand they make great pets. So call
around and network to find a small, family farm or ranchette with goats that produce milk, and get on a weekly
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 229