Fermented rice water is an ancient remedy especially common in Asian cultures. It’s also the subject of health research, including studies in the past couple of years, that shows how it can help rid the body of pathogenic bacteria and heal damaged intestinal mucosal lining, a condition sometimes called “leaky gut.”
Luke Coutinho, an integrative lifestyle expert and influencer in India, told The Epoch Times that most people with symptoms of gut distress can benefit from fermenting rice and adding it to their diets. It can even take the place of probiotic supplements—except in cases in which there’s a severe gut issue and a proven beneficial probiotic.
It costs only a bit of your time—a few minutes to add water to cooked rice, cover, and allow it to ferment overnight. You don’t need special equipment or knowledge to prepare it.
Ancient Answer for Gut Health
Called rice kanji in India, the same ferment goes by different names in other areas of the world. In Japan, it’s referred to as amazake and may be made with other grains and commonly used as a sweetener.An author and health coach, Mr. Coutinho considers both new and traditional methods for healing the gut and repairing the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that contributes to a fortified intestinal lining and confers health when in proper balance. Fermented rice water is almost always part of his recommended protocol.
“Most cases that come to us involve compromised gut health, which serves as the epicenter of overall health—from brain function and hormonal balance to immunity, metabolic conditions, skin, hair, and more,” he said. “We observe that when we start addressing gut health, many other health issues also improve.”
Replenishing the Microbiome
Fermented rice water is considered a probiotic, meaning it’s full of beneficial bacteria that can promote good health and counter the effects of antibiotics and other products that deplete good gut bacteria.Your gut microbiome might be out of balance if you are experiencing symptoms such as bloating, indigestion, excessive gas, and weakened immunity.
The article pointed out that recent research shows how LAB can improve immunity and gut barrier integrity. LAB have been shown to help modulate dysbiosis, or the imbalance of microbes that allows pathogens to proliferate. LAB contain bacteria from the beneficial genus Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which have a long history of promoting health.
Additional Benefits
Fermented rice water contains phenolic acids, a type of polyphenol, or natural antioxidant found in food.Fermented rice water produces the metabolite butyric acid, which can reduce inflammation in the body. Inflammation is a natural healing response that causes local increases of specialized immune cells in certain areas of the body, but chronic inflammation is associated with many autoimmune health issues.
“While numerous foods can help reduce inflammation or boost immunity, without a healthy gut, their benefits are limited,” Mr. Coutinho said. “The lactic acid bacteria in fermented rice water breaks down anti-nutritional factors in rice, improving the bioavailability of micronutrients and minerals such as iron, potassium, and calcium by several thousand percentage points.”
Increasing Healing Nutrients
Sophia Eng, author of “The Nourishing Asian Kitchen,” likens fermented rice to fermented cabbage. Like rice, cabbage contains nutrients, but when you ferment it to make sauerkraut, you increase micronutrients.A first-generation Vietnamese American, Ms. Eng has a chapter in her book on fermentation and recently took a one-week course on Asian ferments. She uses LAB to nourish the soil on her homestead, too.
“This is such a huge part of the Asian culture, this type of traditional fermentation and fermenting everything. This is what I grew up with. My whole life we just fermented because it was the most economical way, and the most nutritious way,” she said.
Compared to freeze drying, which suspends bacteria, and canning, which kills bacteria, fermenting naturally multiplies bacteria. Ms. Eng said that with soil depletion and decreased nutrients in most grocery store food, fermentation makes sense to improve its health benefits.
Make Fermented Rice Water at Home
Rice fermentation techniques vary, and many studies use only a 12- to 24-hour timeline. You may even ferment only the water used for soaking rice.Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 2 cups water
Directions
- Rinse, wash, and cook rice.
- Place cooked rice in a nonmetal bowl and cover with 2 cups of fresh water. Set a lid over the bowl.
- Allow the water/rice mixture to ferment at room temperature for 12 to 48 hours—until it has a sweet smell.
- Strain, then take one teaspoon to one tablespoon of the liquid on an empty stomach.
- Save about 1/4 cup of the fermented rice water to make another batch without using rice.
Additional Uses for Your Rice Water
You can make cheese with the curds and dilute the liquid to spray on your soil.- Inoculate one quart of rice water with a gallon of milk.
- Cover with cheesecloth in a dark corner of your counter until it separates.
Simple Remedies for the Effects of a Toxic World
Ms. Eng said simple solutions such as fermented rice water are vital because the food supply is increasingly contaminated with antibiotics given to animals and even toxins that act like antibiotics in the human gut, such as glyphosate and other chemicals.“Heavy toxins ... are destroying our gut bacteria. You can take supplement pills or this can be part of your daily life in a very cost-effective and easy way,” she said. “It’s so easy to do. That’s the exciting thing, and we don’t talk about it enough.”
