At last, I ended the fasting period and got my summer body! Every year at this season, at the beginning of summer, my physical state upsets due to my weak liver since birth. Fasting reduces the liver fat stored during the winter and gives me a better liver state. That is why I have to fast this season.
Through that experience, I found that fermented foods give us a healthy physical state on a low-carb diet. Today, I will talk about it.
How to have a better physical state
Sometimes, we might want a better physical state. Like me, some might have a bad physical condition during the changing seasons.
I have struggled with it since childhood. My weak liver caused a lot of troubles, such as allergies, a shabby skin state, feeling heavy in the body, and persistent fevers. After growing up and becoming independent, I had to rely on vitamin tablets. I had to deal with my bad physical condition.
How to maintain a low-carb diet
My encounter with a low-carb diet dramatically changed it. Perhaps my liver is not good at carbohydrate metabolism. Reducing carbs and increasing protein improved my physical state. It freed me from all vitamin tablets. A low-carb diet worked well, at least for my liver.
However, a low-carb diet is hard to maintain. Although it is great initially, the effect will be lost after several weeks or months. It worsens our skin state, such as inflammation or eczema. Many people who tried it, including me, seem to have experienced it, as far as I know.
Despite that, I kept trying it, even a little, because I didn’t want to return to my old physical state.
Then I finally found the key to a successful low-carb diet. It is adding a small portion of fermented foods to daily meals.
Two organs that influence our health
Let me explain the logic behind that.
Two main organs influence our health, as follows:
- A healthy liver gives us a lighter, more energetic body. A low-carb diet works well because it reduces our unnecessary liver fat.
- A healthy gut gives us better skin and mental conditions. Fermented foods work well for this.
Then, our guts have two kinds of digestive bacteria, as follows:
- “Good” bacteria maintain our gut activity healthily. They digest and absorb nutrients.
- “Bad” bacteria that digest mainly protein. They are necessary, but they also create toxic by-products when digesting protein. If good bacteria are reduced, toxic by-products cause physical problems, such as skin issues or mental stress.
Why a low-carb diet is hard to maintain
They allow us to explain why we often feel it is hard to maintain a low-carb diet.
If we begin a low-carb diet, it works well for our livers. However, it also impacts our guts negatively because it increases the bad bacteria in our guts.
The good bacteria can live for weeks or months in our guts, but they decline, little by little. In addition, we usually reduce fermented foods at the same time as reducing carbs. That is why we feel it is hard to maintain a low-carb diet after weeks or months.
To solve that problem, we can add a small portion of fermented foods, such as yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, or natto, to our daily meals. Fermented foods are probiotics that increase good bacteria. That will prevent the negative impact of a low-carb diet.
A tactic to maintain our health
It gives us a tactic to maintain our health.
- Fasting works for our liver. If we feel that our bodies are heavy, fasting or reducing the amount of food we eat would work.
- Fermented foods work for our gut. If we have shabby skin, eating fermented foods would work.
Perhaps many people don’t need to fast. It is a way for someone with a weak liver, like me.
Recommendation for having fermented foods
On the other hand, I recommend that many people have fermented foods, regardless of whether having a low-carb diet or not. It gives us healthy guts and helps us feel better.
Try adding fermented foods if you have a physical upset with shabby skin. A small portion is enough. Don’t add heat above 60 degrees Celsius because it kills good bacteria. Perhaps it takes 5 to 7 days to take effect. Keep eating them every day.
Of course, eating fermented food too much would also break the balance. It will cause anemia or a lack of concentration. Perhaps a small portion a day is enough after we have healthy guts.
By the way, fermented foods put a burden on the liver. Although many people can ignore it, it affects people with weak livers, like me. It is too hard to balance for those with weak livers, isn’t it?!
Conclusion
The above is why adding fermented foods is the key to a successful low-carb diet.
We have to balance the health of the liver and gut. This way gave me a better physical condition.
This logic might help us have a good physical and mental state.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope to see you in the next one.
