Get Body Wise recently came across this VERY interesting article about how the probiotics in cultured foods can actually break down pesticides.  Posted on GreenMedInfo, founder, Sayer Ji explains it all here: “Nasty Pesticide…”

To summarize:

The study published in Letters in Applied Microbiology shows that probiotics in our food are capable of degrading dangerous pesticide residues in wheat, confirming that culturing or fermenting food can significantly improve the safety of what we eat.

Get Body Wise frequently talks about the merits of soaking and sprouting nuts, seeds, legumes and grains as well as the many benefits of cultured, fermented and probiotic rich foods – but the findings of this study shed light on another way in which these traditional methods may reduce the amount of not just natural (ie gluten) but man made toxins, as well.

Researchers commented:

Pesticide residues are an unavoidable part of the environment due to their extensive applications in agriculture. As wheat is a major cultivated cereal, the presence of pesticide residues in wheat is a real concern to human health. Reduction in pesticide residues during fermentation has been studied, but there is a lack of data regarding pesticide residues dissipation during cereal fermentation. Results are confirmation that food-processing techniques can significantly reduce the pesticide residues in food, offering a suitable means to tackle the current scenario of unsafe food.

Previous groundbreaking research found that probiotics from the fermented cabbage-based Korean food, kimchi, are capable of degrading four different insecticides by using them as a source of carbon and phosphorous. In fact, (according to Sayer Ji) probiotics have been found to potentially offset a wide range of modern-day toxic exposures, including Bisphenol A, Chemotherapy, Gluten, Aspirin, and Sodium Nitrate.

Ultimately, the best way to avoid pesticide exposure is to consume organically or biodynamically produced food. But, the truth is we all live in this world and toxins are hard to avoid. Do the best you can and make sure to include fermented, nutrient dense foods daily.