YE Yang recently won the PGA golf championship and in the process demolished the invincibility of Tiger Woods as unbeatable when leading the final round. Not only that, Korean golfers are making their presence felt. If you don’t believe, the recent Canadian Women’s Open leaderboard says ‘South Korean unless otherwise stated’. That says a lot. Could it be because they eat so much KimChi?
Well, it may not make us great athletes but here are some of the plusses of eating kimchi.
Professor Miri Kim of Chungnam National University has found isocyanate and sulfide in Chinese cabbage and radish, which are what kimchi basically is. These bio-chemicals are effective in preventing cancer and detoxifying heavy metals in liver, kidney, and small intestine
Another thing also favors eating kimchi. According to Professor Kun Yung Park (Department of Food & Nutrition, Pusan National University), the vitamin A and C in the red hot pepper powder suppresses the growth of cancer cells.
The fermentation process produces lactobacilli, an organic acid which suppress harmful bacteria and stimulate beneficial bacteria, prevent constipation, clean intestines and prevent colon cancer.
There is much more. Garlic contains Allicin which helps reduce the chance of developing liver, stomach, and thyroid cancer and capsaicin in the pepper reduce the chance of lung cancer. In addition, the Indole-3-Carbinol contained in Chinese cabbage helps reduce the chance of developing stomach cancer.
Are you worried that the spiciness will cause gastritis? Well, there is no proof that this is so. On the other hand the garlic and pepper powder kills bacteria and that would include Helicobacter Pylori.
According to the researchers at Family Medicine Department of Seoul Asan Medical Center, eating kimchi lowers homocysteine in blood which helps in preventing cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and hardening of the arteries. Research also shows that kimchi remarkably decreased the cholesterol level, which helps in preventing the hardening of arteries.
Kimchi has been found to be abundant in anti-oxidation substances. What this means is that this slows down the aging of our skin. Isn’t this last part just good enough reason to consume more of that spicy stuff?
There is so much more goodness in kimchi. It prevents fatty liver, is alkaline which helps after eating meat and fatty food. That explains why we can eat and stuff a heavy meal and yet feel so good after!
Honestly, even without all the healthy benefits, kimchi taken chilled has always been my favorite.
