What are Kimchi’s Overall health Benefits
Kimchi is a fermented food that originated in Korea. This food is staple in Korean kitchens and it is estimated that the average Korean consumes 40 pounds of Kimchi per year. It is also believed that Kimchi’s health benefits are the result of the combination of several superfood ingredients and the process of lacto-fermentation. Kimchi is primarily and traditionally made of cabbage, daikon radish, onions, red pepper, ginger and garlic and often includes some variety of seafood such as shrimp and fish sauce. The mixture is fermented for a period of time which creates a rich source of probiotics that promote a healthy gut. By introducing Kimchi into the gut studies have shown that a better ability to assimilate and process nutrients occurs. Further, the body can take advantage of the helpful bacteria and benefit the immune system as a result. Kimchi anticancer benefits and kimchi’s bacteria also possess chemo preventive effects have been studied recently due to the lactic acid bacteria. Kimchi health benefits are also realized due to the introduction of antioxidant-rich cruciferous vegetables and allacin-rich onions and garlic working in synergy to help the liver detoxify. A link has become discovered between metabolic syndrome and healthy gut in a study that has been conducted on mice. The health benefits of Kimchi would be again in the establishing of a healthy colony of a variety of lactobacilli strains. These strains then assist in a more regulated metabolism which heps prevent issues of the metabolic syndrome such as diabetes and obestity. A study shows that some of the health benefits of kimchi include: “Net differences in the systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, percent body fat, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol in the fermented kimchi group were significantly greater than those in the fresh kimchi group.” The study compared the use of fresh unfermented kimchi vs the fermented variety. This again show the synergy and importance of adding fermented foods such as kimchi to the diet.
