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In a study published in Experimental and Toxicologic Pathology in 2012, t he researchers used two strains of lactic acid bacteria to ferment beetroot juice (aka beet kvass ), and administered a chemical carcinogen to induce abnormal changes in the colons of rats (sad). The results were astonishing. Rats exposed to the carcinogen alone developed an average of 59 aberrant crypt foci (abnormal colon cells that are early indicators of colorectal development). In the animals receiving both the carcinogen and fermented beetroot juice, the average fell to just 26. That represents a reduction of approximately 56%. Researchers also found a substantial reduction in larger abnormal growth patterns containing more than four crypts, from an average of 52 to just 18. Even more interesting, the researchers examined whether fecal water from the animals could damage intestinal cells. They used a human intestinal cell model, to assess toxicity and DNA damage. Fecal water from the carcinogen-exposed ani...