I have been a cheerleader here for some time, but this spells out the obvious. Our culture chose to reject raw sauerkraut mostly because it was associated with the foods of the poor. Thus it slid out of favor. Yet those poor in Europe survived winter without contracting scurvy. A lot of our best foods today have gone through a similar cycle of fashionable rejection to a return to common sense.
I personally think that the best breakfast we can possibly eat consists of a good side of kimchee or raw sauerkraut along with a poached kipper and a slice of unleavened bread to avoid the faux bread presently been foisted on us. Yet bacon and eggs with a side of kimchee works as well.
The key to all this is that kimchee is raw sauerkraut on steroids with scant salt as well. You need a little but really not that much or you will ruin it as often happens.
Margie King, GreenMedInfo
http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/07/26/kimchi-packs-proven-health-benefits/
Koreans have been enjoying salted and fermented vegetables known as kimchi for
about 2000 years. It’s typically served with steamed rice at every
Korean meal. But this spicy dish is much more than a condiment.
Researchers in Korea just published a comprehensive review of the health benefits of kimchi as a probiotic. In it they cite 130 studies attesting to the amazing healing properties of this humble food.
Probiotics are the good bacteria populating the gut. The human gut
contains over 400 strains of bacteria and the mix of different strains
in each person is very individual.
Among other things, probiotics:
- promote a strong immune system;
- support healthy digestion;
- improve the amount of nutrients absorbed from food;
- help synthesize certain vitamins;
- protect against tooth decay;
- prevent diarrhea;
- reduce the risk of colon cancer and bladder cancer.
In addition, probiotics in kimchi help the body detoxify from toxins like bisphenol A, heavy metals, perclorate, and organophosphorus pesticides.
The balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut can be disrupted by the use of antibiotics. Gut bacteria is also disturbed by excessive alcohol use, stress,
diseases and toxins. All of these allow harmful bacteria to thrive. To
rebalance the scales, good bacteria or probiotics are needed to
repopulate the gut.
These good bacteria feature prominently in fermented foods like
kimchi. Many bacteria strains are involved in the fermentation of kimchi
but the most prominent is lactic acid bacteria. It’s the source of many
of kimchi’s health benefits.
In addition, all of kimchi’s traditional ingredients are health foods in their own right including cruciferous vegetables, garlic, ginger, and red pepper. Kimchi also contains high levels of vitamins (vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin B complex), minerals (sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and potassium), and dietary fibers.
According
to the new Korean study, research shows that kimchi has a long list of
health actions including anticancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, and
anti-constipation. It promotes brain, skin, and colorectal health. It
reduces cholesterol and blood clots, and has anti-oxidant and anti-aging
properties.
Cancer.
The Korean researchers developed a kimchi recipe to boost its
anticancer effects. They added mustard leaf, Chinese pepper, and
Korean mistletoe extract. In lab tests on human colon cancer cells, the mistletoe extract increased inhibition rate from 62% to 80%.[i]
Animal studies show that kimchi also exhibits tumor suppression
action. Researchers believe the anticancer effects of kimchi are mostly
due to regulation of apoptosis of cancer cells and the inhibition of
inflammation.
Obesity.
Researchers tested the effects of kimchi on body weight in a group of
obese women. Women who supplemented with capsules containing either 3
or 6 grams of freeze-dried kimchi every day achieved a remarkable
decrease in body weight, visceral fat, and body mass index compared with
the control group. Serum triglycerides were also significantly
decreased in the kimchi-supplemented group compared with the control
group.[ii] Other studies show kimchi lowers fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, blood pressure, and leptin levels.[iii]
Lipid Profiles. In a study of 102 healthy Korean
adult men aged 40 to 64 years researchers found eating up to 453 grams
of kimchi a day was linked to higher good HDL cholesterol and lower
levels of the so-called bad LDL cholesterol.[iv]
[ This loudly suggests that our gut profile controls our cholesterol balance - arclein ]
Anti-Aging. Kimchi’s anti-aging benefits come from
its ability to decrease free radical production. Animal studies show
kimchi increases epidermal thickness by up to 37% compared to a control
group. It also increased collagen production
and free radical scavenging. Researchers attribute kimchi’s
anti-oxidant activity to high levels of chlorophyll, vitamin C, carotenoids, and phenolics.
Lactic acid bacteria from kimchi have been shown to have the following probiotic properties[v], [vi]:
- survive the transport in the human GI tract and to colonize the large intestine,
- survive in the stressful environment of the stomach characterized by acidic pH and bile,
- exert antioxidant activities,
- produce antimicrobial substances,
- possess protective effect against cancer development,
- enhance the immune system of the host,
- decrease inflammatory or allergic reactions,
- lower cholesterol, and
- prevent diarrhea and constipation.
Thousands of years ago, the major ingredient in kimchi may have been
radish. Today’s version uses Chinese cabbage developed in the 18th century.
The
Korean researchers estimate there are more than 167 different types of
kimchi. The taste varies with its ingredients, fermentation conditions,
and lactic acid bacteria involved in the fermentation. Other
ingredients popular in kimchi mixtures include watercress, mustard, pear, apple, pine nuts, chestnut, gingko nut, cereals, fishes, crabs, cucumber, green onion, and leeks.
The most popular version in Korea is made by lacto-fermentation of cabbage, radish, green onion, red pepper powder, garlic, ginger, and fermented seafoods (jeotgal).
For more information visit GreenMedInfo’s page on kimchi.
Resources:
[i] Kil
JH: Studies on development of cancer preventive and anticancer kimchi
and its anticancer mechanism [PhD thesis]. Pusan National University,
Busan, Korea, 2004.
[ii] Ahn
SJ: The effect of kimchi powder supplement on the body weight reduction
of obese adult women [MS thesis]. Pusan National University, Busan,
Korea, 2007.
[iii] Kim EK, An SY, Lee MS, Kim TH, Lee HK, Hwang WS, Choe SJ, Kim TY, Han SJ, Kim HJ, Kim DJ, Lee KW: Fermented kimchi reduced body weight and improves metabolic parameters in overweight and obese patients. Nutr Res 2012;31:436–443.
[iv] Kwon
MJ, Chun JH, Song YS, Song YO: Daily kimchi consumption and its
hypolipidemic effect in middle-aged men. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr
1999;28:1144–1150.
[v] Holzapfel
WH: Introduction to prebiotics and probiotics. In: Probiotics in Food
Safety and Human Health. (Goktepe I, Juneja VK, Ahmedna M, eds.) CRC
Taylor and Fransis, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2006, pp. 1–33.
[vi] Ljungh A, Wadstro¨m T: Lactic acid bacteria as probiotics. Curr Issues Intest Microbiol 2006;7:73–90.
About the Author
Margie King is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative
Nutrition®. A Wharton M.B.A. and corporate attorney for 20 years, she
left the world of business to pursue her passion for all things
nutritious. Margie is the author of Nourishing Menopause: The Whole Food Guide to Balancing Your Hormones Naturally. She is also a professional copywriter and natural health, beauty and nutrition writer. To contact Margie,
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