History / Epidemiology
Fermented rice is common across diverse geographies - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, AP, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam, Bangladesh
If it were not beneficial, fermented rice would not be common both in Kerala and Bangladesh. It would have been local to one particular region. Also, fermented rice is eaten with onion and chilli in most of the places including Bangladesh. The reason for this is in ayurveda. Fermented rice is 'cold' food. Onion and chilli are 'hot' food. So, it is important to eat a hot food along with fermented rice, otherwise, it could be unhealthy.
(http://www.curejoy.com/content/hot-cold-foods-ayurveda/)
Science
Phytic acid: Structure
So why are we letting rice for fermenting ? Have you ever thought about it ?
In rice grains, the phosphorous molecules are well bound to the phytic acid moiety making them unavailable to the human body when we eat it.
Additionally, these phytic acids are tightly bound with the essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, resulting in to low bio availability. Thus in its native forms, the phytic acids are anti-nutrient inhibiting the key digestive enzymes in our body including pepsin, amylase and trypsin. So when you ferment the rice, all those essential minerals and nutrients get released into the body making us more healthy. Thats it :)
(https://www.quora.com/How-good-is-Pazhaya-soru-Fermented-Rice-for-breakfast)
Benefits of Fermented Rice
*Pazhyam Kanji * Best rated Breakfast
American Nutrition Association says that the previous day's soaked rice is the best for breakfast, used to be the staple diet in Kerala and Tamilnadu, not so long ago...
Rice (Tanjana Facts)
Traditionally rice is cooked in the afternoon and excess water is drained. After the rice cools down to room temperature, it is soaked fully in water and stored in an earthen clay pot. This covered pot with soaked rice is left overnight at regular room temperature. The rice would ferment by the next morning and is eaten for breakfast. Traditionally, it is eaten with a side dish, raw onion or green chili. Some prefer to drain excess water and eat it with yogurt and a slight sprinkle of salt.
The lactic acid bacteria break down the anti-nutritional factors in rice resulting in an improved bioavailability of micro-nutrients and minerals such as iron, potassium and calcium by several thousand percentage points. For example, after 12 hours of fermentation of 100 grams of rice, the availability of iron changed from 3.4 mg to 73.91mg (an increase of 2073%).
In the agrarian communities of South East Asia, fermented rice played a big role in the lives of people. It gave the energy, the nutrition and the cooling effect that they needed for a full day of manual labor. Unfortunately, people moving up the food chain (or wealth chain, rather) looked down on fermented rice as the pauper’s food and ignored the great nutritional value it provides.
Food scientists who researched on the food practices among various regions in the world and concluded that the South Asia’s tradition of consuming the previous day's cooked rice soaked in plain water overnight, in the morning next day, as break-fast, is the best. It has the rare B6 B12 vitamins which are not otherwise easily available in other food supplements. This rice generates and harbors trillions of beneficial bacteria that help digestion and has many disease fighting and immunity developing agents. The bacteria that grow in the intestines due to this rice safeguard the internal organs and keep them fit and ready. Consuming this rice helps quicker digestion and wards off ageing, bone related ailments and muscular pains. Brown rice is the best for this as its nutrients are retained intact.
American Nutrition Association has listed the following benefits if you stick to the practice of consuming such soaked rice.
• Consuming this rice as breakfast keeps the body light and also energetic.
• Beneficial bacteria get produced in abundance for the body.
• Stomach ailments disappear when this is consumed in the morning as excessive and harmful heat retained in the body is neutralized.
• As this food is very fibrous, it removes constipation and also dullness in the body.
• Blood pressure is normalized and hypertension subsides appreciably.
• Body feels less tired due to this food as a result of which one feels fresh throughout the day.
• This removes allergy induced problems and also skin-related ailments.
• It removes all types of ulcers in the body.
• Fresh infections are kept at bay due to consuming this rice.
• It helps in maintaining youthful and radiant look.
Consuming this takes away your body’s craving for tea or coffee. This is the richest source of vitamin B12 for vegans. So, do not throw away that extra rice you had cooked. It could be the healthiest breakfast you will ever have.
(https://www.quora.com/How-good-is-Pazhaya-soru-Fermented-Rice-for-breakfast)
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1. More mineral: The following minerals are more bio-available in fermented rice compared to normal rice. As per research by Assam Agricultural University, after 12 hours of fermentation
Iron - 3.4mg in 100 grams of rice, 74mg in 100 grams of fermented rice.
Calcium - went up from 21mg to 850 mg
Potassium - went upto to 839 mg
Sodium - came down from 475 mg to 303 mg
Zinc - increased in fermented rice (from another source)
Madhumita Barooah, who worked along with Gunajit Goswami of the department to isolate the bacteria, said cooked rice had an element that prevented the availability of minerals like iron, potassium, sodium and calcium in high quantities.
Even after slight fermentation (three hours), the breakdown of the nutritional inhibitor by the lactic acid bacteria increased the mineral content manifold, she added.
“Although rice is an important source of dietary energy and nutrients, it is not a good source of metabolic micro-nutrients because of the presence of anti-nutritional factors such as phytic acid. Cereal grains such as rice also contain oligosaccharides that are not easily digestible because of absence of an enzyme in the human intestinal mucosa. Fermentation allows for breakdown of this and easy digestion,” Barooah said.
The dish is slightly sweet and sour in taste because of fermentation by the lactic acid bacteria.
It is considered to be a coolant during summer.
(https://www.telegraphindia.com/1110804/jsp/northeast/story_14328967.jsp)
2. Prevents fatigue and provides strength: People who eat fermented rice are strong and can take work strenuous in nature.
Example - on quora, one guy explains how during his NCC days, he was strong and sturdy during early morning session while others used to faint. This cadet's mother used to feed him fermented rice early in the morning as dosa/idly was not possible at 5.30am.
3. Clears constipation: Fermented Rice is a natural laxative. It has healthy bacteria that help the bowel movement, without any side effects of the medications.
4. Cures ulcer: Micro-organisms are produced during the fermentation process and the pH levels are balanced in the stomach. It also replaces the gut with healthy bacteria.
5. Produces collagen, Beauty care product: Fermented rice is considered as one of the beauty secrets of Asia. It helps in the production of collagen, which is necessary to maintain the elasticity of the skin. It also repairs the dead skin cells and produces the skin with necessary vitamin E to make it look younger.
6. Reduces Blood Pressure: Fermented rice is a rich source of Potassium. Research shows that when the level of intake of potassium is high, it will reduce the blood pressure.
7. Secretes breast milk in feeding mothers: Fermented rice has a good source of lactic acid and helps secrete good flow of milk for the baby.
(http://boostuplife.com/fermented-rice-benefits/)
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Fermented foods help in brain / psychiatric diseases.
The purposeful application of fermentation in food and beverage preparation, as a means to provide palatability, nutritional value, preservative, and medicinal properties, is an ancient practice. Fermented foods and beverages continue to make a significant contribution to the overall patterns of traditional dietary practices. As our knowledge of the human microbiome increases, including its connection to mental health (for example, anxiety and depression), it is becoming increasingly clear that there are untold connections between our resident microbes and many aspects of physiology. Of relevance to this research are new findings concerning the ways in which fermentation alters dietary items pre-consumption, and in turn, the ways in which fermentation-enriched chemicals (for example, lactoferrin, bioactive peptides) and newly formed phytochemicals (for example, unique flavonoids) may act upon our own intestinal microbiota profile. Here, we argue that the consumption of fermented foods may be particularly relevant to the emerging research linking traditional dietary practices and positive mental health. The extent to which traditional dietary items may mitigate inflammation and oxidative stress may be controlled, at least to some degree, by microbiota. It is our contention that properly controlled fermentation may often amplify the specific nutrient and phytochemical content of foods, the ultimate value of which may associated with mental health; furthermore, we also argue that the microbes (for example, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria species) associated with fermented foods may also influence brain health via direct and indirect pathways.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3904694/
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During my school days (1978) I was an NCC cadet and was always selected for participating in the Republic day parade at Chennai. The parade starts from fishermen colony in Foreshore estate beach (opposite AIR) and ends at Madras University Centenary auditorium, about 3.25 km, going thru the Kamarajar Salai (then called North Beach Road).
The practice sessions used to start 10 days before, and continued daily, until 24 January and then the final parade on 26
January. All NCC cadets are supposed to report by 6.30 am (Contingents from the Army, Navy, Airforce and Police, RPF, CRPF would be also there). This means I have to leave home at 5.30 am from Chetput and get my first 27B bus, get down at Kannagi statue and walk back to behind the light house to join the squads.
Many cadets used to swoon during the march, but not me! The secret was my mother’s special “pazhaya soru recipe”. It was too early to cook proper idly, dosai breakfast, so she used to take the last night’s cooked rice, socked in water. Add curd and salt and the side dishes are small sambar onions and green chillies. This energy used to take me up to 10.30 am when we are given food at University centenary auditorium after the march.
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It also restores healthy intestinal flora (bacteria) and relieves all diseases related to stomach and intestines, like dueodenal ulcers, infectious colitis, Ischemic colitis, Radiation colitis, Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, Diverticular disease, Hemorrhoids, Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease , candida infections etc.
It is the bacteria cells that also contribute to the bulk of feces that when reduced is one of the factor for constipation.
I stopped water therapy and ate refined foods for a month and made my levels go to the upper side of normal. Then ate fermented rice and fermented barley using organic-whole-milk-yogurt for 10 days and checked my blood parameters before and after this regimen.
| Eating Fermented Food | Home checked Values | Hospital checked Values | |
| Day-1 | Day-10 | Day 20 | |
| Fasting sugar (mg/dl) | 92 | 71 | |
| 2hrs after meal (mg/dl) | 123 | 106 | |
| Cholesterol (mg/dl) | 193 | 172 | |
| Triglycerides (mg/dl) | 155 | 125 | |
| Weight (pounds) | 152 | 144 | |
| Blood Pressure | 123/80 | 101/70 | 99/71 |
Excellent information, of outstanding value. Comprehensive. I've been having this occasionally. Enjoy it. Thanks.
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