Sauerkraut Test Divulges Shocking Probiotic Count
It was recently reported that sauerkraut topped the charts of probiotics, surpassing that of over-the -counter probiotics purchased.
Dr. Mercola sent his sauerkraut off to a lab and reported the findings of probiotics saying, “We had it analyzed. We found in a 4-6 ounce serving of the fermented vegetables there were literally ten trillion bacteria.” That means 2 ounces of home fermented sauerkraut had more probiotics than a bottle of 100 count probiotic capsules. Translated this means one 16 ounce of sauerkraut is equal to 8 bottles of probiotics.
He says there’s two ways a lab can analyze the microbial presence in the sauerkraut,”One is to measure the quantity of bacteria growing and then the more expensive process is to speciate the different types of bacteria. We’re in the process of doing that now.”
In The Gluten Summit, 2013, Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, told Dr. Tom O’Bryan, “āWith every mouthful of sauerkraut youāre consuming billions of beneficial microbes which will be killing the pathogens in your gut driving them out and replenishing the beneficial flora in your digestive tract.ā
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The probiotic count of store-bought, shelf stable sauerkraut does not compare to home-brewed sauerkraut. Click here to learn how to make your own. Click here to learn how to make sauerkraut at home and here to learn how to make kraut juice, a more gentle on the stomach probiotic for those with leaky gut. People who do have unbalanced gut flora with an overpopulation of bad gut bacteria pathogens experience die-off symptoms such as diarrhea, rash, cold-like symptoms, flu-like symptoms, etc. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride recommends starting with one teaspoon and looking for die-off symptoms then gradually increasing the amount daily or weekly depending on what your body can handle. To read more click here. To see another test on mice with sauerkraut click here.
Die off symptoms are accompanied with inflammation. Healing and inflammation do not go hand in hand. It is important to keep inflammation down so healing can take place therefore it is important to keep the amount of die off down to just below a noticeable state.
Cabbage is high in anti-inflammatory properties, vitamins A and C. Cabbage also reduces lipids in the bloodstream. When cabbage is fermented into sauerkraut the fermentation process opens up the cell walls accessing a higher ratio of vitamins. It has been said that sauerkraut has 200 times more vitamin C than the head of cabbage before fermentation.
The African Journal of Science and Research (AJSR) said, “Healthy colons of humans contain some beneficial bacteria which feed on digestive wastes, thereby producing lactic acid. Without these beneficial bacteria, the digestive tracts become a thriving zone for 
pathogenic bacteria and yeasts, resulting in candidiasis. However, it is suggested that the consumption of lacto-fermented sauerkraut could help re-establish lactobacilli.”
Bacteria in your body outnumber your cells by about 10 to 1.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, author GAPS (affiliate link) says 90% of our body is made up of microbes.
In 1807 French psychiatrist Phillipe Pinel said, āThe primary seat of insanity generally is in the region of the 
stomach and intestines.ā Pinel is known as the father of modern psychiatry and came to this quote after working with mental patients for many years.
Sauerkraut is high in tyrosine, an amino acid that affects many aspects of the body including blood pressure regulation and dopamine. To learn how to make your own sauerkraut in three easy steps click here.
*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, CGP, D.PSc. who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. She works as a Certified GAPS Practitioner who sees clients in her office, Skype and phone. She has been published in Wise Traditions, spoken at two Weston A. Price Conferences, Certified GAPS Practitioner Trainings, has been on many radio shows, television shows and writes for Nourishing Plot. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Aspergerās syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia, through food, she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. She is a Chapter Leader for The Weston A. Price Foundation. becky.nourishingplot@hotmail.com
āGAPSā¢ and Gut and Psychology Syndromeā¢ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The right of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patent and Designs Act 1988.
Sauerkrat contains large amounts of tyramine. Tyramine is neurotransmitter releasing agent. In other words, itās a chemical that induces the release of feel good brain chemicals. This includes our friend, dopamine! – See more at: http://www.oysterbed7.com/2012/07/oysters-and-sauerkraut.html#sthash.tIQKHwB4.dpuf
Tag:Food
99 Comments
What kind of inflammation can a child experience? My son had a rash appear and flu and diahrrea symptoms after we eliminated dairy and gluten 3 weeks earlier. Also doing feingold too :-). This was such a great read!
Lisa, have you looked into GAPS diet or BED? Look at these videos on the bottom of my Autism Page on my website, they are short and very informative. The diets do way more than Feingold. http://buttercuppuppies.com/autismseizures.html
Great article, and I especially love this statement: “Die off symptoms are accompanied with inflammation. Healing and inflammation do not go hand in hand.” I totally agree. Thanks for helping to spread the word that a “healing crisis” isn’t necessary, or even beneficial, to healing.
Tyramine is not an amino acid. I believe you may be referring to tyrosine.
thank you josie! i completely remember fixing that! thanks for catching my mistake – i must not have saved it properly. so much to learn.
I remember Dr Mercola’s talk and it was the homemade sauerkraut made with a starter culture packet that had these high numbers. The homemade with just salt/whey did not have as high of numbers.
the talk where dr. mercola said this is linked on the article. it was interview with sandor katz, the godfather of fermentation. in the interview sandor and dr. mercola discussed using starter cultures with no salt. sandor said his findings and papers showed more strains with the salt and natural enzymes from the vegetables vs the isolated strains from the starter culture. sandor explained he used a starter culture twice, out of thousands of brews, because the only difference it made was it lowered the ph faster at the beginning but made no difference in the end. in the interview dr. mercola explained he would try it with his Himalayan salt form there on. can you please link the interview where dr. mercola says otherwise. i would love to see it!
I don’t think there is a link. It is a purchased conference talk from the WAPF conference last year in Atlanta. 2013. Do you have the talks? I do have them and can point you to it, but not publicly here. How can I contact you more privately? This would be great to figure out because I stopped doing my salt ferment after that talk and started using the culture. I’d like to find out what is best. The talk I heard was around November 11th, 2013. I wonder if the Sandor interview was before or after that date?
I will stay tuned here for an update. I am very interested as well because I plan to make homemade sauerkraut.
Different bacterias dominate in population depending on the pH at the time. Introducing bacteria early on in the piece may not be a good idea. It ‘s not be the ideal pH for what you’re trying to introduce, therefore failing to flourish. Each veg has its own native microflora that can grown in a crock environment, which changes as the pH changes.
to bad he discovered this now they will take all the good stuff out of the sauerkraut and put it in bottles and we will be eating non nutritional food again
Hmmm yeah, they will have to pasteurise the kraut now, God forbid anyone should ever be exposed to bacteria….!
It sounds so very interesting and easy to make. I have high blood pressure and asthma my entire life, now maybe COPD and literally can barely breath with sinusitis. will this help my problems and …… how does store bought compare. I have some, but haven’t cabbage and home bound so I want to go try some right now, but it probably has preservatives in it and other bad stuff. Could sinusitis and lungs be healed? I also have a hernia, swallow problem, food gets stuck and can NEVER sleep , until I wear out and then get rested a couple days and back to insomnia. I hope this stuff words on some of my problems. ;o))
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Hi Brenda. I’ve been suffering from asthma for approx. 30 years and was getting really really bad 2 years ago. My doctor had me tested for COPD and pulmonary fibrosis with no definite prognosis. Finally my doctor told me to take kĆ©fir to try to boost my immune system. After 5 weeks of taking it with no improvement, I developed a huge fever for a day. From then on, I started improving a little bit every day up to the point where I could run up a flight of stairs without coughing. My life changed completely. I was also able to reduce my medications considerably. KĆ©fir is a probiotic (5 billions bacterias per tablespoon) so yes ! probiotics are good for you. I never tried sauerkraut but I’m sure it would do the job !!!
wow! thanks jocelyne for posting this! in honor of you i’m going to go have some kefir now.
Regarding your hernia, which sounds like it may be a hiatal hernia: my mother suffered from that for years and used Prilosec daily for heartburn. Near the end of her life she started taking magnesium citrate at my request for something else, and after a few weeks told me that she hadn’t had to take Prilosec recently because she hadn’t needed it. I had read that magnesium is good for spasms (including asthma) and nervous system disorders, but did a little further research and found some discussions online about magnesium being a remedy for valve/sphincter disorders. In a related vein, I am prone to leaky bladder but noticed that the problem vanished during a recent trip; I figured out that I had taken my vitamins/minerals religiously during that trip. I tried to isolate which supplement did the trick and am fairly sure it was the magnesium. If you try it, let us know how it works out. Magnesium is supposed to be good for insomnia as well, I hear.
i agree – magnesium is amazing and from what i understand 90% of america is low. i take magnesium malate every day, more than is recommended and it makes a large difference. i wonder is taking magnesium citrate along with malate is more beneficial. hmmmm…. more research to be done for sure. although i was taking both together until just last week so now i’m not sure. hopefully someone more intelligent on this will pipe up.
Brenda, beets are incredible for the lungs, eyes, and preventing and even treating cancer. Athletes are now drinking beet juice because it helps them get more oxygen with every breath. It increases their endurance. I have no time for dealing with fresh beets, so I just buy them canned, rinse them in a colander to get the salt off, and put them in a salad. Or by themselves with red wine vinegar and a dash of cloves. I started eating them for their cancer benefit, but quickly noticed their effect on diminishing my eye floaters.
You may have acid reflux (GERD) which causes swallowing issues & foid getting stuck.
Hi Brenda, the autoimmune paleo diet and daily magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) baths help me with chronic inflammation, gastric reflux, and insomnia. If you try it, I recommend being prepared with a lot of snacks and meals.
Where is the recipe ?
linked. it says “click here to learn how to make…” click on the blue underlined part that says click here
Great article. Thank you for what you are doing with this blog!
Quick typo alert – “He says thereās two ways a lav can analyze the microbial presence in the sauerkraut” It had me chuckling, though!!
wow! thanks for the assist!!!!
I’d take this more seriously if you weren’t quoting that quack Joe Mercola.
If you really want to help folks you should head over to Science Based Medicine – Here’s a good article that addresses Food Fears as promoted by the likes of Mercola, Mike Adams and the “Food Babe”. http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/food-fears/
What is the source of all your venim? I found absolutely no mention of any of your 3 mentioned ‘so called quacks’. Such a duffer.
Great article, one near and dear to our hearts here at Sonoma Brinery. I agree that the shelf stable products do not offer benefits that raw sauerkraut does. If you don’t have time to make your own, check you local stores in the refrigerated sections, like the product we make here, there is raw sauerkraut available, inexpensively, that is only done with salt, water and mother nature. Thank you for sharing this great information. Its great in scrambled eggs, on tacos, in mac and cheese, hundreds of ways to eat it besides right out of the package or on a hot dog! š
After a 9 month long series of oral surgeries w. anti-biotics, I began buying Bubbies Sauerkraut, and then a Kimchi, both w. live cultures, non-pasteurized. But the prices, not cheap, so I began making my own kraut, then kimchi. So much happier now, as are friends who are now enjoying it and making their own as well.
I have gone back to using just salt, no starter. No problem.
Just do it! Whether you are using Food As Medicine, or just want a tasty, nutritious condiment to go with your meals, kraut and kimchi offer what you need.
Late to this one, but is there ANY information on how many of the fermented bacteria actually make it past the upper stomach acids and into the lower intestinal tract, etc. . .?
Thanks.
That’s what has drawn me to this conversation, again. I’m curious as to how much pro-biotic survives stomach acid.
Obviously not all is destroyed. Is any even destroyed?
in order to have disease you have inflammation and a reduction in stomach acid. this creates a downward spiral with the end results being and auto-immune disease. these people create so little stomach acid on their own that they have overactive stomach acid to compensate – this results in GERD, burping, hiccups, stomach acid buildup, etc. these individuals respond very well on digestive enzymes: HCL and pepsin like this one: (http://www.amazon.com/Doctors-Best-Betaine-Capsules-120-Count/dp/B000NRTXGW/ref=as_sl_pc_ss_til?tag=nourishingp0c-20&linkCode=w01&linkId=FJNB7VND3R5RSQZE&creativeASIN=B000NRTXGW) it produces the stomach acid that your body was ceasing to produce, this helps aid in digesting food. if you have disease of any sort your stomach acid is compormised and the probiotic foods being killed by stomach acid is a non-issue. people that are considered canary-in-the-coalmines, those who eat food-ish items and get sick immediately from the fact that it is not nourishing food tell you that sauerkrauts, kim chi, kefir, yogurt, etc are all highly beneficial to their systems. this is evident through their behavior, their transit time and the end-product in the toilet.
Great article. Its sad how so many medicines that can help us can be found right in our kitchen or garden but so many Americans are drowning in medical debt.
Why do people keep spreading the myth that sauerkraut has a higher Vitamin C content than cabbage? Every nutrition site that provides nutrient breakdowns of food items consistently shows that sauerkraut is lower in Vitamin C than cabbage.
It is my understanding the cabbage used, organic, gmo, pasteurization, etc makes a difference.
Body ecology site says otherwise:
Sauerkraut: A Superior Source of Vitamin C
Raw cabbage on its own already contains moderate amounts of vitamin Cāaround 30 mg per cup.
When you ferment cabbage into sauerkraut, its vitamin C and antioxidant levels skyrocket. (4)
According to researchers at Cornell University, levels of antioxidants and vitamin C in sauerkraut range from 57 to 695 mgāwith raw, fermented red cabbage having the highest levels of vitamin C, hitting almost 700 mg per cup.
Besides boasting high levels of vitamin C, sauerkraut also contains other antioxidants that protect against stress and fight disease. The beneficial probiotics in sauerkraut inoculate the gut and further fortify the immune system. Sauerkraut and other raw, fermented foods made with cabbage, like Kimchi, are true superfoods that have a long history of protecting the body when resources were scarce.
I agree with Shawn Diggs above.
The devil is in the detail or the logic … lol!
One cup of raw cabbage contains x, y .z .. etc.
That same one cup of cabbage becomes around one quarter (approx) cup of sauerkraut, due to extraction of liquid from the brine plus the fermentation process so….. one quarter cup of sauerkraut has the same nutritional value as say, one cup of cabbage.
Its like comparing fresh fruit to dried or tomato paste or sauce to fresh tomatoes or fruit to fruit juice. Or yoghurt to greek yoghurt (which is regular yoghurt minus the whey)
The sauerkraut is concentrated. Nothing miraculous occurs to mysteriously increase the nutritional content, other than the immense multiplication of bacteria to provide probiotic value to the fermented vegetable in question.
As its been a while since I mad sauerkraut so if the conversion is 1 cup cabbage to one half cup sauerkraut, the principle is the same.
actually the bacteria in the fermentation make the extra vitamin C and vitamin A. So there is more than just the volume of cabbage. see http://modernfarmer.com/2014/04/magical-sour-cabbage-sauerkraut-helped-save-age-sail/
A good read, thak you. Does anyone know if the probiotics survive ‘normal’ cooking temperatures, please?
No, probiotics die when heated. Good enzymes remain.
Do you put the lids on loosely or tightly?
I’ve done both. Not too tight but not tight with the quarter turn back like if I’m canning. I generally just put them on, don’t give it much thought.
We have always cooked our sauerkraut, how does this affect the probiotic numbers?
Heat kills the probiotic factor. You still have good enzymes there so it’s still beneficial, just different.
Well written and provides excellent, documented information. I, too, have seen first hand the effects of food as opposed to food-ish on behavior, mental state, as well as weight gain. All of your articles are fantastic! I’ll help spread the word, always linking back to you and sharing on social media š
1) does shelf-stable store bought sauerkraut have ANY probiotics if it was not fresh-fermented first?
2) can fresh-fermented sauerkraut subsequently be canned at home for storage convenience and if so how much probiotic value does it have?
thank you.
l. rogers
It depends but probably not.
Yes it can be canned but the heat kills the probiotic.
I just started this on advice from a new doctor that I decided to see. I get my sauerkraut from the Amish Market. I also have a son with Autism and would love to learn more about a diet to help him. Do you have any ideas where I can find info to create something like that?
thank you in advance.
Hi Becky,
Which provides more strains and higher counts of porbiotics Kefir or cultured vegetables? Thank you
Each has a purpose to overcome different pathogenic strains. It’s not a matter of more, it’s a matter of balance and rebuilding what is needed.
How would you suggest starting sauerkraut if even a small amount seems to cause loose stools? Maybe just the juice?
Yes. Some with even the deepest damage have to start by putting one drop of juice in a glass of water, then taking one drop of that.
Dear Becky How long (how many weeks) should I ferment my sauerkraut to get ten trillion probiotics per 4-6 ounces like Dr. Mercola
I have had toenail fungus on and off (mostly on) all of my adult life…I am now 71 years old! I have consumed bottles of probiotics but the fungus persisted. I began fermenting my own sauerkraut six months ago and I am happy to report that my toenail fungus is GONE! The kraut evidently survives all the way into my intestine and then into the bloodstream to attack the fungus in my toes. NICE!
I find this so encouraging. People get so caught up in supplements they can forget what most supplements are based on myself included. Iām awaiting my next batch of sauerkraut and Iām actually salivating at the thoughts of it another good sign!