Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Plug Your Nose, And Heal Your Body! Healthful Benefits of Kimchi


Kimchi, Lower Blood Sugar, Lower Cholesterol
 

Calling All Kimchi eaters.  Have you ever been in that awkward situation where you are walking down the street, minding your own business, eating a bowl of Kimchi and people start giving you the "stink eye"?  Today we will provide you fuel to point the finger back at them and laugh because your blood sugar levels and cholesterol are dropping just for reading this article!

Much to the dismay of my wife and family I am a big fan of Kimchi. I love the strong aroma, spice, and crunch.  I also happen to love anything made from cabbage (except cabbage patch dolls... they just creep me out).

But I am learning that there are some great health benefits to consuming Kimchi and Sauerkraut . I come from Polish and German roots so my love affair with Sauerkraut is a given.  The benefits are too good to pass up!

Antioxidants:  The Journal of Bio science and Bioengineering conducted a study on the antioxidant levels of fermented Kimchi.  The study found that the higher the fermentation of Kimchi, the higher the antioxidants.  A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food revealed that eating a healthy amount of kimchi daily lowered LDL "bad" cholesterol levels, and also significantly reduced fasting blood sugar levels. The key point (in my opinion) is that these levels were significantly lowered in just 7 days!
"100 volunteers were assigned to 2 dietary groups, low (15 g/day) and high (210 g/day) kimchi intake, and were housed together in a dormitory for 7 days. Identical meals except with different amount of kimchi were provided and subjects were instructed to maintain their normal physical activity. Concentrations of fasting blood glucose (FBG), total glucose, total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL)-C significantly decreased in both groups after 7 days of kimchi intake, but the effects were dose dependent. Lipid lowering effects of kimchi were more profound in the subjects with total cholesterol and LDL-C level over 190 and 130 mg/dL, respectively, in both groups. FBG was significantly decreased in the high kimchi intake as compared to the low intake group. In conclusion, greater consumption of kimchi improved FBG and serum total cholesterol in young healthy adults."
I have now both heard and read reports in multiple media venues that discuss the healthful benefits of fermented foods, like Kimchi and Sauerkraut.  If you love the taste, this is an easy experiment for you.  If you don't like the taste, it might be hard to swallow literally and figuratively.  If you are in a place where LDL, and FBS just don't seem to be responding, it certainly can't hurt to try this for one week.

 As a reward for being an awesome readership I make you this promise: We will NEVER discuss the health benefits of Haggis!

1 DAY AND A LIFETIME TO GO!



Kimchi, Diabetes, Lower Blood Sugar, Lower Cholesterol

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