The Microbiome and Fermentation: From Human Evolution to Human Transformation

Abstract

There has been a recent surge in both the production and consumption of fermented foods in Western culture. Particularly, lacto-fermented vegetables (LFVs) such as sauerkraut, kimchi and other fermented vegetables have become popular due to their proposed health benefits, including potential probiotic effects in the gut microbiome. However, there is limited data on the mechanisms by which LFV exerts health benefits. This thesis documents how LFV can impact human health by analyzing microbiomes from a systems perspective; from microbes in the soil, to fermented vegetables, to the human gut and even human culture.