Fermented foods can add depth to your diet

Health benefits come from the live microbes that thrive in foods such as yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut.

Image: © marekuliasz/Getty Images

Pickles and sauerkraut might not be the first examples that jump to mind when you think of health foods. But a growing body of research shows that a diet that includes a regular intake of fermented foods can bring benefits.

Fermented foods are preserved using an age-old process that not only boosts the food's shelf life and nutritional value but can give your body a dose of healthful probiotics — live micro-organisms crucial to good digestion.