PICKLES-a very important part of our digestive process

Pickles play an important role in our digestive process:

1.  Help in the digestion and absorption of grains
2.  Stimulate appetite
3.  Are a good source of fiber
4.  A good source for absorbing salt
5.  A good way to preserve vegetables

Macrobiotic pickles are ones commonly made use roasted salted rice bran.  The utilization and absorption of a food is a difficult process requiring many steps. Pickles play an active role in many of these steps.
Simply, grains are a Complex Carbohydrate.  A carbohydrate is a molecule commonly found throughout the biological world, mainly in plants.  That is made up of Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen.  The most commonly known is Glucose.  The terms, Simple sugar, Simple carbohydrate, saccharide and monosaharide are names for the same thing.  This monosacharide is the base unit (glucose), the building block to make Complex carbohydrates.  In Grains, hundreds of glucose molecules or units are linked together.  The intestines can only absorb the simplest sugars:  Mono and D1(2) sachardies.  The Grain molecule must be broken down into these base units in order to be absorbed and utilized as food in our bodies.
The breaking down process is accomplished by 3 things: 

1.  Chewing-the only physical action of digestion.  In this process, the Grains is torn apart to expose the Complex carbohydrates if you don't chew grains well, it cannot be digested and absorbed.  This is the main reason chewing so emphasized in macrobiotic practice.  Chewing also promotes secretion of:
2.  Enzymes-Enzymes are molecules which catalize (promote and greatly speed up) chemical processes or reaction in our body.  In this case, the process to simple carbohydrate is very important.  The salivary enzyme called Amaylase plays a key role here.  Other Enzymes work in the intestinal track.
3.  Bacteria-also work on the break down of the Grains.  When bread dough uses a fermented or bacteria hosting starter, breaking down of the wheat has already begun.  Old rice is easier to digest because bacteria have begun to break it down.  In our intestines, there are millions of bacteria that live right at the sights of food absorption.  This area with the bacteria is known as your Intestinal Flora.  Here the final breaking down of food occurs before absorption.

Pickles play a role with enzymes and bacteria.  The main worker here is a bacteria known as Lactobacillus, prevalent in pickles.  Lactobacilli aid pancreatic enzymes in the breakdown of complex carbohydrates.  Lactobacilli also produce lactic acid, an important food for the bacteria in the intestinal flora. Pickles help strengthen the intestinal flora.
When making pickles, in our case, rice bran, a process technically known as Lactic Acid Fermentation is occurring.  The key is the early establishment of Lactobaccilli before other bacteria which spoil can multiply.  The latter cannot tolerate the high acidity created by lactobaccilli.
I make quick summer pickles and winter pickles.  With quick summer pickles fermentation is so fast there is no need to do anything.  I rub celtic grey sea salt by hand into cut cabbage or other vegetables.  You can use a pickle press or a rock and a plate to apply pressure.  15 minutes.
Winter pickles, the vegetables are encased in a rice bran/celtic sea salt/water mixture.  It is recommended to flip the vegetables from the bottom to the top so the Lactobacillus can be established.  The pressure will be reduced and the lactic acid fermentation will be allowed to go from 1-6 months, depending on how Yang one wants the pickles.  To halt fermentation, pickle crock is simply refrigerated.  Take out pickles are removed to needed.  Just know the more water in the vegetables, the faster they pickle.
If you are over 40 or come from a farm; remember how pickles were always served as part of a meal.  In Japan, a slice of pickle is always served.