Bibimbap aug 2016

Bibimbap a

Teachers Magazine Jeollanamdo • Volume 4 • Issue 1

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EST. 2013 • Volume 4 • Issue 1• June 2016

For questions and comments concerning articles please contact the writer via their emails listed at the end of their articles

For general inquiries contact: BibimbapNews@gmail.com general managment

Chris Devison chrisofficeofeducation@yahoo.com Dinh Nguyen d11nguye@gmail.com Lindsay Ross Ross6520@gmail.com copy editors

Colin Bishoff art director

Dinh Nguyen production team

Chris Devison Dinh Nguyen Joe Campbell Elizabeth Anne Susan Sahab Lindsay Ross Colin Bishoff Madeleine Grace photographers

Dinh Nguyen Joe Campbell Susan Sahab

The Editorial Team

{bibimbap{

Chris Devison is the Provincial Coordinator for the Jeollanamdo Language Program. He has lived in South Korea for almost 10 years, and has spent six of those years in his current position.

Aside from assisting public school teachers with their contract and school life, he has a keen interest in health and wellness.

Having lived in both Western and Eastern cultures, he has a strong understanding of the healthiest practices of both worlds.

Before coming to South Korea, Dinh Nguyen was a Canadian journalist. He has 6 years experience as an editor, reporter, and desktop publishing designer. After obtaining his CELTA in 2012, he moved to Yeosu to follow his passion for teaching and traveling.

He also holds a CELTA YLE, and have completed two DELTA certificates. He is the co-founder of ESL Nomads.

Shortly after completing his English degree at the University of Georgia, Colin Bishoff moved to South Korea in 2015 to pursue his dream of experiencing Asian culture. He has a passion for his native language in both its written and spoken forms, and he greatly respects the difference between a dash and a hyphen. An avid runner, Colin can often be found winding his way alongside the rice fields of glorious Yeonggwang.

Lindsay Ross is a Canadian teacher living in Mokpo. After getting her bachelor of education in 2011, she taught with JLP for four years at the middle and high school levels. She now works at a university in Naju. Among other articles, Lindsay researches and puts together the event calendar and Korean language sections for Bibimbap.

Elizabeth Anne has taught at all levels in public schools in South Korea since 2002, and at an International School on China’s east coast. While at University she studied Food Science, Nutrition and Biology in addition to Elementary Teaching. She grew up in multi-cultural New Zealand which influenced her to explore other cultures and food.

Madeleine Grace is an EFL teacher in Yeosu. Prior to pursuing teaching, she earned a BFA in Photography and Design. She has worked for JLP since 2015 and worked at a private academy prior to that in Mokpo. Her journey to EFL teacher includes traveling to Dubai, Nepal, and several other countries to research ESL and EFL professionals. She also has earned her M. ED in ESL Curriculum Design.

Susan Sahab is an English teacher in Hwasun and is currently starting her second year in Korea. As an Art History major, she is passionate about both the historical and aesthetic significance of art and photography. Her passions include photography, music, cooking, and illustration. In an attempt to continue her art while teaching, in her free time she teaches traditional art classes at the Gwangju International Center and tries to shoot as often as possible..

front cover photo :

Joe Campbell

All non-credited photos are used under public domain

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After completing his degree and travelling around Canada extensively, Joseph Campbell recently moved to South Korea to teach English and immerse himself in a foreign and fascinating culture.

He is always looking for something new to learn, and you won’t find many topics that don’t interest him.

Behind the cover

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Upcoming holiday and event calendar

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Using TED Ed in the classroom

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Letter from the Coordinator: Money and contract

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Photo essay: The Suncheon Bay National Garden

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Photo: Teachers of Korea The Recipe Box: A microwave banana muffin recipe Healthy Musings: Gut health, the lastest trend

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Upcoming holidays and events dinh nguyen

Holidays September 14, 15, 16

Chuseok (Korea)

June 16 – August 28:

Summer Splash & Fantastic Summer Night (에버랜드썸머스플래쉬&썸머 나이트;

August 23-28:

Chuncheon Dakgalbi (Spicy Chicken) & Makguksu (Noodles) Festival (춘천닭갈비막국수축제;

Everland, Gyeonggi-do)

Gangwon-do)

June 25 – August 28:

August 25-28:

Cool Summer Festival (서울랜드워터페스티벌; Gyeonggi-do)

July 15 – September 25:

Dong Gang International Photo Festival (동강국제사진제; Gangwon-do)

July 22 – August 31:

Rose of Sharon Festival of The Garden of Morning Calm (무궁화축제; Gyeonggi-do)

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September

August

Yeongdong Grape Festival (영동 포도축제; Chungcheongbuk-do)

August 26-28:

Busan International Rock Festival (부산록페스티벌; Busan)

August 27 – September 4:

Muju Firefly Festival (무주반딧불축제; Jeollabuk-do)

September 1-4:

Goesan Red Pepper Festival (괴산고추축제; Chungcheongbuk-do)

September 1-11:

Hyoseok Cultural Festival (평창 효석문화제; Gangwondo)

September 2-4:

Hongseong Historical Person Festival (홍성역사인물축제; Chungcheongnam-do)

September 2-4:

The Great Battle of Myeongryang Festival (명량대첩축제; Jeollanam-do)

September and October September 2-4:

September 29 – October 3:

September 30 – October 4:

October 7-9:

(횡성한우축제; Gangwon-do)

(수원화성문화제; Gyeonggi-do)

September 30 – October 3:

October 7-9:

(강릉커피축제; Gangwon-do)

(동래읍성 역사축제; Busan)

October 1-3:

October 8-9:

(자라섬국제재즈 페스티벌; Gyeonggi-do)

(이태원지구촌축제; Seoul)

Hoengseong Hanu (Korean Cattle) Festival

(남양주다산문화제; Gyeonggi-do)

Anseong Namsadang (Art & Culture) Baudeogi Festival (안성남사당 바우덕이축제;

September 2-4:

Gyeonggi-do)

NamyangjuDasan Culture Festival

JangsuHanurangSagwarang Festival (장수 한우랑사과랑축제; Jeollabuk-do)

September 29 – October 2:

Busan Jagalchi (Seafood Market) Festival (부산자갈치축제; Busan)

September 3 – November 30:

Busan Biennale

(부산비엔날레; Busan)

September 29 – October 3:

September 6-11:

(김제 지평선축제;

Wonju Dynamic Dancing Carnival (원주 다이내믹댄싱카니발; Gangwon-do)

September 8:

Seoul Drama Awards (서울드라마어워즈 2016; Seoul)

Gimje Horizon Festival

Wonju Hanji (Traditional Korean Paper) Festival (원주한지문화제; Gangwon-do)

September 29 – October 3:

(대전 효문화뿌리축제; Daejeon)

(춘천인형극제; Gangwon-do)

September 23-25:

September 29 – October 3:

(완주와일드푸드축제; Jeollabuk-do)

September 24 – October 2:

Baekje Cultural Festival

October 1-3:

(파주 북소리; Gyeonggi-do)

September 29 – October 2:

September 23-25:

Wanju Wild Food Festival

Jarasum International Jazz Festival

Paju Book Festival

Jeollabuk-do)

Chuncheon Puppet Festival

Hyo Culture Ppuri Festival

Gangneung Coffee Festival

October 1-16:

Jinju Namgang Yudeung (Lantern) Festival

(전주세계소리축제; Jeollabuk-do)

Itaewon Global Village Festival October 12-16:

Ganggyeong Fermented Seafood Festival (강경 발효젓갈축제; Chungcheongnam-do)

October 13-16:

Yeongdong Nan-Gye Korean Traditional Music Festival

October 1-23:

(영동난계국악축제; Chungcheongbuk-do)

(부산 원아시아페스티벌; Busan)

October 13-14:

October 2:

(한국민속예술축제및 전국청소년 민속예술제; Jeollabuk-do)

(한일축제한마당; Seoul)

October 13-16:

Korea-Japan Festival October 2-6:

September 30 – October 9:

Dongnaeeupseong History Festival

(진주남강유등축제; Gyeongsangnam-do)

Busan One Asia Festival

Jeonju International Sori (Music) Festival

Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival

Gyeryong Military Culture Festival

Korean Folk Art Festival

Sunchang Fermented Soybean Festival (순창장류축제; Jeollabuk-do)

October 15-23:

(백제문화제; Chungcheongnam-do)

Andong Mask Dance Festival

(계룡군문화축제; Chungcheongnam-do)

September 24 – October 3:

(안동국제탈춤페스티벌; Gyeongsangbuk-do)

October 5-9:

Yeongju PunggiInsam (Ginseng) Festival (영주풍기인삼축제; Gyeongsangbuk-do)

September 30 – October 30:

GochangMoyang Fortress Festival (고창모양성제; Jeollabuk-do)

October 19-23:

GeumsanInsam (Ginseng) Festival (금산인삼축제; Chungcheongnam-do)

September 24 – October 15:

Seoul International Dance Festival

Seoul Performing Arts Festival (서울국제공연예술제; Seoul)

September 30 – October 2:

September 28 – October 2:

Bupyeong Pungmul(Farmer’s Music) Festival

(서울거리예술축제; Seoul)

(부평풍물대축제; Incheon)

September 28 – October 2:

September 30 – October 10:

(천안흥타령춤축제; Chungcheongnam-do)

(산청한방약초축제; Gyeongsangnam-do)

(서울세계무용축제; Seoul)

Seoul Street Art Festival

Cheonan World Dance Festival

October 6-15:

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) (부산국제영화제; Busan)

October 6-9:

HanseongBaekje Cultural Festival (한성백제문화제; Seoul)

Sancheong Medicinal Herb Festival

October 7-9:

Seosan Haemieupseong Fortress Festival (서산해미읍성역사체험축제; Chungcheongnam-do)

Icheon Rice Cultural Festival (이천쌀문화축제; Gyeonggi-do)

October 22:

Busan Fireworks Festival (부산 불꽃축제; Busan)

Compiled by Lindsay Ross If you would like to have your event listed in Bibimbap, please contact: Ross6520@gmail.com 5

dinh nguyen

Using TEDEd to Create Lessons

A helpful tool to make the classroom more engaging

madeleine grace english teacher

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or those of you who are unaware, TED Ed is an educational branch of the TED Talks online web series. The website was created for educators to share and show lessons that they are doing in their classrooms or have developed with other teachers. The site provides a wealth of knowledge that is easy to use, has interactive qualities, and helps create a community of teacher sharing on an academic level. TED Ed is a great resource for high-level middle school and high school students who need extra materials to practice their English skills.

The videos also contain subtitles in several languages, including Korean, to help lower-level English learners. The library is constantly growing and being edited, so it is worth checking the site periodically for updated topics.

How to Maximize Usage of This Site Every lesson that is uploaded to the site includes a video, a quiz, a review, and a variety of discussion topics. Depending on the level of the class you are teaching, the video might be the only part you use.

The rest of the materials TED Ed pro6

vides might only be used to develop your own level-appropriate materials. While on the main page of a lesson, you will see a button that says “Customize This Lesson." A teacher can customize lessons and upload their own versions to the site for other teachers to review and use. This is an invaluable tool because you can see how other teachers have taught the same lesson and gain more ideas/inspiration for your own classes. Considering that most of us are living and working in environments that provide little feedback, and a small network with whom we can communicate, seeing these different versions of the same material is a wonderful resource to access. You can also pay it forward by uploading your customized lesson for other teachers to view and download. (note: all customized lessons are reviewed by the site staff before they are posted.)

For the “Tech” Kind of Teacher When you create an account with the site, it asks you if you are a teacher or a student, and what field you teach. Those of you with students that can use computers during a regular class or while participating

in afterschool club can use TED Ed maximize the teacher-student experience.

A teacher account allows you to set up homework or quiz assignments.

Your students can then sign up for an account to complete the given work.

This allows you see who is doing the assigned materials and keep track of all students’ progress.

Real Life Testing of TED ED My experimentation with TED Ed started in March of 2016. I decided to use the materials to help supplement my Grade 2 high school students. The goal was to use one TED Ed lesson per month to help reinforce the material and try to obtain a higher level of engagement.

At the start of the class, I would give an overview, which included a vocabulary introduction, and viewing the video with subtitles on. After watching the video for the first time, we would chat about the video as an entire class for about five minutes.

The students would then be given set of five questions to answer while re-watching the video (sans subtitles). If the class was lowerlevel, there was a third showing of the video with the subtitles turned

back on. As a class, we would do the digital quiz provided by TED ED as a quick review of the materials. All the students were then broken into groups of four to five students to answer group discussion questions.

When the questions do not match the students’ level, more suitable ones were created. The most positive part of these lessons was that they allowed students to work on listening, speaking, and writing all in the same lesson. The small group work helped the shy students; the class discussions were great for the vocal students; and almost everyone participated.

According to a poll conducted after two TED ED Lessons, my studens’ reactions have been as follows: 85 per cent, positive, 5 per cent, unhappy, and 10 per cent, indifferent.

It appears as though the level of interest and engagement has also gone up across all the participating classes.

Overall, I think this is a great resource for teachers looking for fresh ideas and ways to engage more students. You can find the TED Ed webside by clicking here.

Wanted Volunteer photographers and writers. If interested, please contact: BibimbapNews@gmail.com

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The Money Side of Teaching in Korea An overview of everything financial surrounding your contract

The Basics Your first responsibility is to discuss your finances with your co-teacher, who will speak to your admin officer on your behalf. Give your co-teacher a breakdown of what you expect so they can use it as a guideline when communicating with the admin office. You’ll be surprised by how little the co-teachers may actually know, as the co-teaching responsibility does not come with any formal training. It may also be your co-teacher’s first time in this position.

Letter from the Coordinator

N

ew teachers often ask about finances when they first start. While an overview is covered in orientation, the topic can still be a little confusing. During the first couple months in Korea it is quite normal to be unsure of your finances. There’s a lot to keep straight and everything is new and there is so much going on. There are numerous things to consider, and by doing so, we can make sure the administration offices at our school handle our finances correctly and prevent issues further down the road.

Administration officials change schools and often positions every few years.

There’s a good chance your official is handling a Native English Speaking Teacher (NEST) for the very first time. Even if they have experience handling a NEST’s finances in the past, the previous teacher may have been on a different salary level or from a different country than you are.

This may change the process a bit, and make it more difficult for the finical officer.

In a reactive society like Korea, it is imperative to take a proactive approach to make sure your finances are handled correctly. Trust me when I say that it is much more difficult to handle things that were done incorrectly, especially over a long period of time, than it is to correct them before the problem starts.

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Then, after your first pay period, get a pay stub. I can’t stress the importance of this enough.

A pay stub will enable you to make sure everything is correct and will provide a starting point to fix anything that is not.

You should talk to your co-teacher about getting a pay stub (원천징수) from your school’s administrative office. Some admin offices may be reluctant, as it’s extra work on their part, but they can easily prepare one for you. Not only is it easy for them to do so, but it is also your right as an employee to receive one each month.

Your co-teachers should have all been given a handbook titled “원어민영어보조교사초청.활 용, 처음부터끝까지 (Native English Teachers Guidebook, From Beginning to End),”which contains information regarding your contract as well as copies of all the documents pertaining to you. A copy of a paystub can be found on page 155 of the 2015 edition, which is the most recent edition we have handed out.

Salary Levels, Deductions, and Allowances All right, let’s delve deeper into the finances so you know what to expect.

To start, check to make sure you are at the correct salary level. We have four salary levels: Level3 (2,000,000KRW), Level2 (2,300,000 KRW), Level 1 (2,500,000KRW), and an additional “Special” salary level (2,700,000KRW). Entry-level employees meeting the minimum requirements begin at Level 3. After working at Level 3 and/or 2 for one year, teachers automatically advance to the next salary

level regardless of their original starting salary. However, only after working for two consecutive years at Level 1will an employee move to the special level.

These amounts are base salaries only and do not include other additional payments such as the multiple-school allowance or rural allowance. I will discuss each of these later on. From these amounts we can expect several deductions, which should all be outlined on your pay stub.

A few things apply only to the first few months of your contract. First of all, you will work only a portion of August (or whatever month your contract started in): from August 21st—the contract start date—to the end of the month. You should be paid for this period and expect to see the money by your first pay period at the latest.

You are also entitled to a settlement allowance of 300,000 KRW. This is your money to help you settle in and is not to buy those items listed in the contract under the housing article.

The school must provide those things from the budget that was allotted to them to cover the expenses of having a NEST. If they incur further expenses, they can apply to the local office (RLP contracts) or the Provincial Office of Education (JLP contracts).The settlement allowance can be used to buy other things you feel you need, to reimburse expenses incurred in the screening process, or to do basically whatever you please with.

In addition to this settlement allowance is an entrance allowance. This should be given within a month of your contract start date, or at the latest, along with your first paycheck. This amount is 1,300,000 KRW and is actually considered a loan for the first six months of the contract. If you work six months, this loan is waived and you do not have to pay the money back.

In order to receive money for the portion of the first month worked, the settlement allowance, and the entrance allowance, you must open a Korean bank account so there is a record of the financial transaction. Setting up a bank account should be a priority as soon as your ARC arrives.

Lastly, there is a damage deposit of 600,000KRW to be taken from your monthly salary in increments of 200,000 over each of the first three months. This is not only for the apartment, but also for making sure that any adjustments are taken care of at the end of your contract. There is always a health insurance adjustment that needs dealing with, so do not expect this money to be returned to you on the last day of your contract. It will be sent to you about one or two months after your last day of work.

Taxes Tax is a major concern for many, and if you are Canadian or Irish, you must pay taxes. Teachers of all other nationalities can be tax-free for their first two years of employment in Korea provided they submit a certificate of residency.

This can be obtained by contacting your home tax authority and must be submitted in order for you to be tax-free; if not, your school should tax you until you submit the form. The current tax rate is about 6.1 per cent.

Korea uses an automatic tax withholding system where employers must withhold funds to cover their employees’ tax obligations. This should be done on a monthly basis if you are paying taxes, but it can also be done in one lump sum at the end of the tax year (February). If the office miscalculates the tax, you can expect a small adjustment at year-end tax time. It is recommended you opt for the monthly deduction (which the school should be doing anyway) as it helps you to avoid being hit with a large lumpsum deduction when you are ready to go home.

Pension Pension is another consideration which depends on your nationality. Americans, Australians, and Canadians are all eligible for it and should see a deduction of 4.5% of their salary.

This is matched by the school and can be collected as a lump-sum when the teacher leaves Korea.

Other nationalities are not eligible for pension and therefore are not deducted. There is an ex-

ception for teachers from the UK, who must still pay the contribution but don’t receive the benefit at the end because of agreements between the UK and Korean governments.

Severance Pay On a brighter note, all teachers—regardless of nationality—will receive a severance for their time worked with their schools. Keep in mind that, due to immigration regulations designed to encourage people to complete their entire first contracts; any teacher who does not complete the first full oneyear contract will lose this severance.

Health Insurance During your time employed in Korea, the public school must provide you with health insurance, and you will see a monthly deduction which is matched by your school. The current rate is about 6.6%: half paid by you and the other half shouldered by your school. There is also a small deduction for seniors’ care, which is about 0.25 per cent.

Miscellaneous Deductions and Fees Other deductions can include cafeteria fees or a party/friendship fund. Usually, the cafeteria fee is a set limit, regardless of how often you eat there, and is in the range of 60,000 KRW/ month. You usually cannot opt to eat there if and when you please, as the food needs to be prepared well in advance. The party fund helps to pay for school events, dinners, snacks for volleyball etc., and may be about 30,000/month.

Multiple-School and Rural Allowances

A copy of the most recent pay stub template.

After the first contract is completed, teachers are paid up until the date they work, regardless of whether or not the current contract has been fully completed. Teachers do not see a deduction from their monthly salary for this. This is paid by the school and is determined by factoring out an average daily salary for your final ninety days worked and then multiplying it by thirty for one year’s severance.

If you worked multiple years, the same equation is used to find your severance for each of the years worked. This is completed at the end of your employment with the JLP, not after each contract year.

The last two things to consider are the multipleschool and rural allowances. If you work at multiple schools, you should receive an extra 100,000 KRW (one additional school) or 150,000 (two or more additional schools) for every month you work there. I say for the months you work there because if you do not work there one month (during winter vacation, for instance), you will not receive this additional money. Those being placed in Jindo, Goheung, Shinan, or Wando will receive an extra200,000 each month as a rural allowance. This is to help with additional travel costs and to act as an incentive for people to work in these areas.

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with these things and look them over with your co-teacher. Then when you receive a paystub, cross reference to make sure everything is in order. Again, it is important to do this at the start of your contract to avoid any potential issues down the road.

Best wishes and good luck!

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Photo Essay

A World of Colour

The Suncheon Bay National Garden is a conservation area that has attracted over 400 million visitors since 2013.

Continued on page 11

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By Dinh Nguyen

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Continued from page 10 Left: The Suncheon Bay National Garden is especially popular among Korean adults and the elderly.

Most schools in the area have likely taken their teachers and students to the conservation area at one point. Here, a Korean man guides his father's wheelchair through one of the bay's many art installations.

The art and gardens are created by Korean artists, and some from other parts of the world.

Top right From neighboring cities, NESTs and their co-teachers from Yeosu and Suncheon explore the Garden together.

Middle right: The Bridge of Dreams, where wishes from students hang on the walls.

Bottom right: The Garden is known for its artistic spiral hills that often appear on advertisement.

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Continued from page 13 Bottom left: The 1.112 km² garden is home to 860,000 trees and 650,000 autumn flowers like roses, sunflowers, and cosmos flowers.

Top left: With so many plant life, comes insect.

Middle left: Visitors can enjoy a selection of garden recreations from around the world. Here we have a miniature traditional Korean house as part of the country's garden display Middle: A water fosset is on display as part of a Turkish garden.

Right: Like other themed gardens, the Thai recreation came with architecture from its country.

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sausan sahab

Teachers of Korea

Susan Sahab

What are some things you will miss about Korea and some you won't?

"I miss the variety and authenticity of foods from different cultures. I really miss my mom's cooking, cheese, and authentic Chinese food, not that jjajjamyeon nonsense. So I love coming to Seoul just for food. Things I won't miss? I won't be missing ajummas pushing and shoving everyone out of the way." ­­Natalie; Suncheon

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joe campbell

Banana Muffin Brunch Day The Recipe Box

Elizabeth Anne

A microwave recipe that is worth sharing Microwave Banana Muffins Recipe (Makes 6)

F

ancy waking up on the weekend to the delicious smell of banana muffins wafting through your kitchen?

Fancy savoring the delicate nuances on your taste buds, and relishing the experience accompanied by a cup of coffee? You are not alone. Join the global banana-muffin craze! Rumor has it that every nation has its own spin on banana muffins.

Ingredients • 1/4 cup grapeseed oil • 1/4 cup milk or water • 1 egg, beaten • 1/2 cup mashed banana • 1/2 cup sugar, white or brown • 3/4 cup sifted cake and cookie

flour (this flour is softer than bread flour) • 3/4 teaspoon baking powder • 1/4 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

I have baked these several times while in Korea. It is a tried and true recipe, and now you have an opportunity to amaze everyone around you with your own variations. You could add maple syrup, coconut flakes, zest from a Jeju citrus fruit, dried fruit, nuts, or even pre-cooked sweet potato. It’s time to be a top banana in the kitch!

Before you go bananas, all you need for this recipe are paper muffin liners, and individual silicone muffin moulds, both available from Home Plus stores found in larger city centers in Jeollanamdo. It would be helpful if you could also find a round plastic tray to set them on in the microwave oven. So in a nutshell, set the silicone moulds on a plastic tray in a circle, then put the paper muffin liners inside the silicone moulds to hold their shapes. Wait! You say you can’t find muffin moulds and the like? No problem. Pour the batter into a 20-23cm greased round plastic container and transform your mix into a cake.

Are you ready to cook up a storm?

Want to share this cultural experience with your friends and co-teachers?

You can easily double the recipe to make an even dozen. It really made my co-teachers smile when I brought them to work one Friday morning. After all, variety is the spice of life.

Directions 1 In a medium bowl combine oil, 4 milk, egg, banana and sugar.

Microwave at 700W for 7 minutes.

2

5

Add sifted flour(break up any lumps with a fork/whisk if you don’t have a sieve), nuts, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir only until flour is moistened.

3

Put paper muffin cups inside individual silicone muffin moulds.

Put these onto a round plastic microwave tray.

Test with a toothpick when done. If the toothpick has batter on it, then cook for another few seconds.

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Cool before turning out, and store in a covered container.

Nut topping

4 Spoon 5 dessertspoons of mix into each cup.

1 Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed), 1/4 cup chopped nuts, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon.

***Prepare nut topping if desired (or alternatively, sprinkle with cinnamon).

2 Blend in 1 tablespoon butter and sprinkle on top of muffins.

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joe campbell

Gut Check

An exploration of the latest trend in health Healthy Musings

Chris Devison

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here seems to be a new rage in health and wellbeing -‘Gut Health.' To be honest, although I have heard a lot about it, I have a lot to learn and I’m sure others do too.

For this month’s instalment of my healthy living column, I’ve decided to touch on this in the hope of bringing clarity to the issue for myself and others. Then,those who wish to can take the necessary steps to improve their gut health in an attempt to improve their general wellbeing.

“What is gut health?” Immediately, I think of various gastrointestinal conditions related to our GI tract, and then branch off into more common and less severe conditions such as general unwanted gas and bloating.

However, this is gut health in the most basic sense and does not go into other areas such as our immunity and its effects on our brains.

First, it is useful to look at what exactly our gut’s function is in our body. Everything we put in our mouth enters our gut where it could be potentially absorbed into our bloodstream. Our gut has immune cells which will distinguish what is good and bad and determines what should be done with it next. If our gut is healthy, with a high good bacteria count and a low bad bacteria count, then it can perform this task more efficiently.

If the opposite is true and we are exposed to various harmful toxins from our environment, our gut can not function properly and as a result more toxins enter our bloodstream. This is when we find ourselves with weakened immunity and more health problems.

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Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed you may have issues with your stomach or digestion? Our gut is full of nerves and neurotransmitters that are linked directly to the brain. Research into

this link is just beginning, but has already been investigating a link between a healthy gut and increased serotonin, and a decrease in certain behavioral disorders.

This is still a relatively new area of research, but will likely produce some exciting discoveries. I expect we will see various studies discussing the link between gut health and various diseases and conditions in the near future.

Below is a simple recipe so you cancan use to ferment your own vegetables at home. These act as a great side dish to accompany a meal or an addition to salads or sandwiches, helping to provide a rich source of probiotics which increase our gut’s natural flora and strengthen the immune system.

Simple Fermented Vegetables

This discussion leads us to the question of what we can do to improve our gut health.First, many factors in our environment directly affect the health of our gut.

A common concern is the use or overuse of antibiotics. Although these are effective in killing pathogens in our body, they do just that, wiping out good bacteria too.

Another issue is people tend to be overly hygienic these days. Antibacterial sprays and lotions can eliminate the exposure to germs our body needs, or the good bacteria we need to build a healthy immune system.

It is important to give your digestive system a rest from time to time. Intermittent fasting can help provide a boost to your immunity while giving your digestive system a well-needed rest. Typically people tend to eat too much. Avoid constantly snacking and try to eat smaller regular meals consisting of foods that are easy to digest.

Next, and likely most important, we should try to increase our good bacteria intake though the consumption of foods high in probiotics. These consist of kimchi, sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables. Also, kefir, healthy versions of yogurts, kombucha, miso and tempeh have high good bacteria counts. Try to eat organic when possible, as pesticides also kill healthy bacteria.

Blend apple, water, starter culture, and salt together, and add the vegetables.

I add the following to the brine mixture: Shredded green cabbage, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, and chopped ginger, chopped garlic, a stick of cinnamon, and a halved hot pepper.

You can use as much or little of the above to suit your taste. When all the ingredients are mixed well, store the mixture in glass jars, making sure there is enough liquid to cover all of it. Place whole cabbage leaves on top to fill any remaining space and then tightly secure the lid. This mixture should be stored at room temperature away from direct sunlight for at least a week. Refrigerate it for another week, to allow the flavors time to mix, before eating it.

Ingredients •1

apple or Asian pear (bacteria needs sugar to grow)

• Grapeseed •

oil

4 cups of filtered water

• Starter

culture

• Vegetables

of your choice