Why gut healing is important for healing from joint pain, chronic pain and arthritis?
I often share on the Rock Your Unique Nutrition tik tok and Instagram pages that the inflammation that fuels chronic joint pain and arthritis is rooted and starts in inflammation in the gut first. This is why gut healing and gut health is key to healing arthritis and joint pain.
Above all, Okra itself is gut healing. For instance, okra supports gut health because of its fiber, its nutrients, its antioxidants, and gelatinous-ness ( also described as slimy). Yes, this slimness in okra is actually really healing for the gut, it coats the gut lining, and supports with restoring the health of the gut.
This is my favorite way to enjoy this healing food without getting turned off by its gelatinous nature.
Lacto-Fermented Okra
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 0 mins – Ferment on the counter for 5 -7 days
Serves: 10
Ingredients
1 pound okra, stems trimmed
6 garlic cloves, left whole with skin removed
1 – 2 Tibetian Hot Pepper or other red hot pepper
8 cups of filtered or spring water
1- 2 tablespoons of sea salt (use less if using Himalayan salt)
What else you’ll need:
- Two wide-mouth quart-sized mason jars with lids
- cheesecloth
Instructions
- Prepare raw or freshly picked whole okra by trimming the stems. Make sure you don’t cut off the stem base and expose seeds or the inner parts of the okra. This will make the pickled okra very slimy. Just the tip of the stem is to be trimmed.
- Put 3 cloves of garlic in each mason jar then fill the jar with the okra standing upright. Add two pepper as you go and fill the jar until it is tightly packed upright, in one layer.
- In a bowl, mix the sea salt and water until it’s fully dissolved.
- Pour the sea saltwater mixture into the jar and make sure it covers the okra and peppers. Don’t fill the jar all the way to the top, make sure you leave about 1 – 2 inches from the top of the jar.
- Cover jars with cheesecloth and use rubber bands to secure them.
- Let the jar sit in a dark cool corner of your kitchen for 5 – 14 days. You should start seeing bubble action.
- Taste every 5 days for flavor development( It will be salty but that mellows out over time and is necessary for the fermentation process)
- Once it’s 5 to 14 days remove the cheesecloth and close the jar with a mason jar lid. Then, keep it in the refrigerator for up to a year, to slow down the fermentation.
Note:
This is a method of pickling with brine (saltwater) another traditional method of pickling. The other traditional method is with hot vinegar. However, I prefer this method because it is richer in enzymes and probiotics than the vinegar method, and I enjoy the flavor.
This probiotic-rich okra pickle stays crunchy, not slimy, and improves in flavor as the months go on. In general, I make this in October after a big okra harvest from my garden and enjoy it through May the following year when I’m planting more okra.
You can play with this recipe, by adding other spices like peppercorns mustard seed, and herbs.
We love this as a taco topping!
To get more gut-healing recipes and learn about the gut health and chronic joint pain connection check out The 7-Day Gut Healing Recipes For Chronic Pain and Joint Pain.
References for all health claims in this post can be found:
Blum, Susan S., et al. Healing Arthritis: Your 3-Step Guide to Conquering Arthritis Naturally. Orion Spring, 2017.
Laurence, Emily. “7 Benefits of Okra, According to an RD.” Well+Good, 17 Nov. 2021, https://www.wellandgood.com/benefits-of-okra/.