I always like to understand the cause and effect of food as this helps me design my daily diet based on whole foods. When we eat, along with our food we also take in gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide along with whatever other gases within “reach”. When our body digests our food, among the by-products are gases. Tiny amounts of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and methane combine with hydrogen sulphide and ammonia in the large intestine to give gas its smell resulting in flatulence or commonly know as fart. Certain foods like beans and cabbages releases more gas when it is digested. If you have a lot of gas after eating dairy products such as ice cream, yogurt and milk, it is an indication that the body has trouble digesting lactose or more commonly known as lactose-intolerant. For some, it also causes diarrhoea as well as stomach cramps.
- vegetables such as artichokes, broccoli, leeks, cauliflower, cabbage, garlic, onions, beans, Brussels sprouts, and turnips.
- cereals, such as wheat or oats.
- pulses, including beans and lentils.
- dairy produce.
- yeast in baked products, such as bread.
- cashews.
In Malaysia, sometimes these types of food are deemed as “sejuk” or cold – not because of the temperature but because it causes gas. Within our local diets, the some of the widely consumed vegetables are long beans, cabbage, bean sprouts (tauge) and onions.
Our local fruits that are rich in enzymes that assist the digestion process include papaya (betik), pineapple (nenas), calamansi (limau kasturi), lime (limau nipis) and Roselle (asam belanda) although technically it is known as calyx and not fruit. All these are planted at the farm – following totally organic practices – and something that I incorporate into my normal diet. These plants are what I hope others will plant in their homes, if not all, some, as they are local hence well-suited to our weather and relatively easy to grow.
I further challenged myself to experiment different ways of consuming it as well as combinations to further make it easier to consume as natural food. The outcome: the dehydrated form, the fermented enzyme form and the vinegar form resulting in many ways of including it into my normal daily diet preventing boredom.
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