Kimchi refers to any number of vegetables that have been salted and fermented. Cabbages and radishes are both popular and probably the best-studied, but it certainly doesn’t stop there.
A Natural Process
Although cavemen probably weren’t fermenting their vegetables, that doesn’t mean they didn’t occasionally eat fermented vegetables. Fermentation is a natural process that happens when you combine the right bacteria with sugar. This can and does occur in nature, and when those little guys chomp down on that sugar, they ferment it for us, making it a delicious probiotic.
Eat Your Probiotics
Eating fermented foods introduces the good bacteria into our guts, which is good because we want them to crowd out the bad bacteria. A healthy gut biome is essential for good health. It affects everything from the appearance of our skin to the strength of our immune system.
Too Much of a Good Thing
You also get a good helping of vegetables when you eat kimchi, and while that certainly includes many beneficial nutrients, it should be noted that nothing beats fresh vegetables for nutrients and antioxidants. If you eat so much kimchi that you’re neglecting your salad, you might be in for some health problems.
Mark addressed concerns regarding an overabundance of kimchi.
