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Once or twice a year, my friend Holly and I go to a beautiful Korean women's spa. After the soaking, scrubbing and steaming, we have lunch in their small café. The meals are simple, usually rice with egg, tofu, chicken or beef and cooked vegetables. But the best part is the half-dozen bowls of condiments, called banchan, that arrive with the meal. Each one contains raw, pickled or fermented vegetables and sprouts. These unique flavors make the meal come alive.

Not only do these foods add flavor and zip to grains, beans, meats and cooked vegetables, they are helpful for the gut. Two major food components that aid digestion are enzymes and probiotics, or friendly bacteria. These are found in foods that are raw, pickled, fermented or cultured. Most traditional cuisines include these as part of the meal. Some examples are pickled ginger, miso, aged vinegar, traditionally-brewed soy sauce, beer, sour cream, kimchee, slaws and salsas.

Many believe that some of our common maladies (gas, bloating, food intolerances, skin problems) may stem from poor digestion. When digestion is off, our bodies are communicating with us. If we pay attention to and address these first symptoms of unease, we may prevent trouble down the road. In the new third edition of my cookbook, Feeding the Whole Family, I recommend that we pay more attention to the digestive capability of a meal when designing it — not only by choosing more fresh, whole, unrefined foods, but by including lively condiments and side dishes each day that boost the digestive fire with enzymes and friendly microorganisms.

Raw, Raw, Raw Enzymes are found in several places. Our bodies host metabolic enzymes and digestive enzymes, mostly manufactured by the pancreas. Foods also contain enzymes that can help break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Enzymes are present in food that has not been heated to over 116 degrees (or to the point at which it is too hot to touch). The enzymes from raw or lightly heated foods can stimulate the release of digestive enzymes in the mouth and continue activating digestion in the stomach.

SWEET PEPPER RELISH This brightly colored concoction is easy to make, keeps well in the refrigerator and adds a zesty flavor and crispy texture to anything. Amazing served with cheese and crackers. I like it on sandwiches or as a side to rice and other grains. 1 cup finely diced red, orange or yellow bell pepper 1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar Pinch of sea salt Cut peppers and jalapeños into a tiny 1/4" dice and place in a clean jar. Add sugar, vinegar and salt and stir to mix. Put a lid on the jar and keep in the refrigerator. The flavors deepen with time. Preparation time: 10 - 15 minutes Makes 1 cup PUMPKIN SEED PARSLEY GARNISH This garnish adds a great texture and sharp flavor to smooth dishes like soup. Sprinkle some on creamy soups or well-cooked grains. The fresh parsley adds dark, leafy green nutrients and digestibility to any dish it's served with. 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds 2 cloves garlic 1/4 cup parsley 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 3 - 4 tablespoons olive oil Heat a dry skillet to medium. Add pumpkin seeds and keep them moving with a wooden spoon. After a few minutes, they will begin to pop, puff up and give off a nutty aroma. Remove from heat. Place toasted pumpkin seeds with all other ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until you have a coarse mixture. The toasted seeds, garlic and parsley can also be finely chopped by hand. Prep time: 5 minutes Makes 3/4 cup CYNTHIA'S YOGURT CUCUMBER TOPPING (RAITA) (Website Exclusive) Recipes reprinted with permission from Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods by Cynthia Lair (Sasquatch Books, 2008), 3rd ed. Diet and Nutrition: A Holistic Approach by Rudolph Ballantine, M.D. (Himalayan Institute Press, 1978) The Slow Down Diet: Eating for Pleasure, Energy, & Weight Loss by Marc David (Healing Arts Publishing, 2005) Nourishing Traditions, 2nd ed., rev., by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. (New Trends, 2000) Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods by Sandor Ellix Katz (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2003) Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, 8th ed., by Weston A. Price (Price-Pottenger Foundation, 2008) Riedler, J., et al, "Exposure to Farming in Early Life and Development of Asthma and Allergy" The Lancet, Vol. 358, Issue 9288, 06 - October 2001

Most traditional societies incorporate a serving of raw, enzyme-rich foods into their daily diets. The standard green salad served before or after the meal is a familiar example. Including some amount of raw food with every meal can be stimulating as well as refreshing. Raw foods also tend to contain more bacteria and microorganisms than cooked food, which may stimulate the immune system and help populate the gut with beneficial flora.

Don't kill the friendlies How the immune system develops and how it reacts to foods are influenced by gut flora. It is estimated that more than 400 species of bacteria, weighing up to 3 ½ pounds, inhabit our digestive tracts. It is important to have enough healthy bacteria to maintain optimal health. They help keep the intestines clean and free of parasites. They manufacture omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin K and the B vitamins. In addition, healthy bacteria make up about 75 percent of our immune cells.

Things that destroy the friendly bacteria in our bodies include antibiotics (taken directly or from our food supply), chlorinated water and stress. In our ultra-clean society, we sometimes don't ingest enough friendly bacteria. Often we overuse antibiotics, which wipe out both the good and bad bacteria in our systems. Without a sufficient population of friendly microorganisms, we are more vulnerable to illness.

It's alive! Wine, olives, sourdough bread, kombucha, kefir, natto, chocolate, vanilla, Tabasco, tamari, crème fraiche, amazake, horseradish, raw apple cider vinegar, chutney and injera are just a few examples of cultured or fermented foods. When food ferments, the sugars transform into other carbohydrates, alcohols and organic acids by growing healthy microorganisms. Under favorable fermentation conditions, the food will not grow undesirable microorganisms, thus preserving the food from spoiling. This was a huge help prior to having refrigerators. Culturing and fermenting foods also helps retain and enhance nutrients. Plus these processes add a zippy flavor and texture to some of our blander staple foods. Bonanza!

The ancient techniques of culturing and fermenting help foods develop enzymes and probiotics. Regularly ingesting friendly bacteria helps the good guys outnumber the bad guys in our gut. These methods also "pre-digest" some elements of foods, making them easier for us to digest. A good example is yogurt, in which the often troublesome lactose is transformed into easier-to-digest lactic acid by the cultures added to the milk.

To create a food that contains probiotics, either the bacteria proliferate because the food is allowed to age or microorganisms (cultures) are added to the food and more bacteria develop. Sauerkraut is an example of a food that has been aged to develop its friendly bacteria. Cabbage, salt and time are all you need. Tempeh is an example of a food that has microorganisms added to it. A culture called Rhizopus oligosporus (mold spores) is added to cooked soybeans. The mixture is packed in special bags and incubated on trays at about 86 - 88 degrees for 24 hours. The result is a ¾-inch-thick cake or patty. (See also Fun with Fermented Foods, Issue #9).

Cultured shopping Not all raw, cultured, fermented or pickled foods are alike. For the best raw food, you want to choose organic, local produce. Pesticides and fungicides kill the harmful pests that may destroy a plant, but they also kill microorganisms that may help our guts when ingested. Foods that have been washed and bagged for transportation tend to be missing some of the good local bacteria. Shop at farmers markets or buy produce through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program so that you have lively produce to use.

Read labels Any product that has been pasteurized has had all the bacteria — good and bad — cooked out of it. Powdered miso, for example, is lifeless because the soy has been heated to such a high degree the beneficial organisms have been destroyed. Pickles and sauerkraut are also often pasteurized to extend shelf life. The better, livelier products will be found in the refrigerated section of a well-stocked natural-foods grocery store, or you can make them yourself.

Go beyond just slapping some lettuce on your sandwich. Explore some of the condiments that other countries have used as a part of their traditional cuisine for centuries. Find some easy recipes that ring your chimes and plop some homemade condiments on your grains, vegetables, beans, fish or chicken. Serve these lively foods and excite the bellies of your family and friends.

Cynthia Lair has taught whole-foods cooking at Bastyr University since 1994. She is the author of Feeding the Young Athlete and Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods (Sasquatch Books, 2008), 3rd ed. She also teaches for the University of Washington School of Nursing Complimentary Alternative Medicine program.

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