FERMENTED foods are the bees knees if you want to improve your gut health and digestion.
But these types of foods could have other health benefits too – including weight loss.
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A new study from South Korea has found kimchi, a tub of which costs less than £5 in supermarkets and pennies to eat every day, has anti-obesity effects.
The research investigated changes in anthropometric measurements, such as BMI, blood biomarkers, and gut microbiomes in 55 overweight adults – including both males and females.
Participants consumed three capsules containing kimchi powder for two weeks.
The research team then analysed the changes in their body fat composition and found the group that consumed kimchi showed a 2.6 per cent decrease in body fat.
The control group that didn’t take the kimchi capsules showed a 4.7 per cent increase in body fat, showing a statistically significant difference between the two groups.
The analysis of the microbiomes of the participants revealed kimchi consumption resulted in an increase in the beneficial gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila, which has been reported to reduce inflammation, and a reduction in the number of Proteobacteria, which are associated with obesity.
Dr Hae-Choon Chang, Director of the World Institute of Kimchi who carried out the study, said: “The results of a preclinical study and a clinical trial have systematically verified the anti-obesity effects of kimchi, and present scientific evidence that would help to make the excellent properties of kimchi widely known, thereby laying the foundation for the growth of kimchi as a health food well recognised around the world.”
Fermented foods and gut health
There is growing evidence for the benefits of fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi.
These foods have undergone a process of fermentation, which promotes the growth of probiotics, which can support your health.
Catherine Nash a Gastroenterology Dietitian at Oxford Gastro Dietitians, said: “Your gut contains its own ecosystem with thousands of different types of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, yeasts and fungi.
“There is a huge push on gut health at the moment, and one of the ways of looking after the gut is by encouraging the gut ecosystem – or biome – to be as diverse as possible.
“Eating fermented foods can help increase diversity of the microbiota in your gut and if we nurture and look after our gut, it has the potential to create other positive effects in the body.”
Here we look at more benefits of eating kimchi, as well as other gut friendly foods and their health benefits – from better skin to improved mental health.
1. Kimchi – best for weight loss and preventing hair loss
Liv Morrison, clinical dietitian and nutritionist at heath and wellbeing app Kic, said: “Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented food, with a spicy and sour flavour, usually consumed on the side of meals.”
The ingredients can vary but kimchi is usually made by salting and fermenting cabbage, radish or cucumber and includes other ingredients like garlic and onion.
“Because it’s a fermented food it adds good bacteria to your gut. It contains fibre which is beneficial to build up good bacteria and also contains important vitamins like Vitamin A and C,” said Catherine.
As well as benefits for your gut and weight loss, kimchi has been found to thicken hair and even reverse the balding process.
A small study from 2019 looked at men in the early stages of hair loss who consumed kimchi twice a day. After one month, the average number of hairs had increased from 85 per square centimetre to 90, then to 92 after four months.
You can find kimchi in most supermarkets in the Asian section, including in Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.
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2. Sauerkraut – best for digestion
Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage. While sauerkraut translates to sour cabbage in German, the dish was first developed in China over 2,000 years ago.
Like kimchi, sauerkraut contains probiotics that support digestive gut health as well as vitamins A and C.
Clinical trials have found that sauerkraut can help improve symptoms for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Other studies have found evidence that probiotics found in fermented food like sauerkraut seem to have a potential role in both the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Liv says: “Both kimchi and sauerkraut are powerful anti-inflammatory foods, with human studies showing regular consumption to have numerous health benefits.
“These include lowering cholesterol, body fat and blood sugars, preventing the development of various cancers, particularly colon and breast cancer, preventing heart disease and narrowing of arteries and improving immunity and metabolic health.”
Sauerkraut is very easy to make at home with just three ingredients – cabbage, water and salt – and a jar.
You can then add the fermented cabbage to a ham sandwhich, toss it in a salad or make it into a dip.
Or, find it in the supermarket – it’s often labelled as Polish, Bavarian – or in a health food store.
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3. Kefir – best for skin
Kefir is a fermented drink made of milk and kefir grains – colonies of yeast – which looks and tastes like thin yoghurt but with extra tanginess.
It’s become a staple item in most milk fridges in supermarkets but is also made into yoghurts, too. Usually these have flavourings, but you can make it at home, too, as long as you have the right kit.
Kefir is one of the most well-researched types of fermented foods with strong links to improved gut health and digestion.
Research has found drinking kefir can improve skin health by bolstering the skin barrier, including one study that the homemade stuff improved atopic dermatitis (eczema).
Therefore, it could be a good choice for those with chronic skin conditions, as a compromised skin barrier allows for the worsening of skin conditions and allergies, too.
Meanwhile, high calcium levels in milk-based kefirs can contribute to healthy bones, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
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4. Natto – best for bones
Liv says: “Natto is a traditional Japanese dish often eaten for breakfast or as a snack, made from fermented whole soybeans.
“As soybeans are quite bland in flavour, natto’s taste can range depending on what seasoning you want to use.”
When served natto has a pungent smell and is sticky.
Natto is high in dietary fibre among several vitamins and minerals, which means it is useful for digestion and alleviating constipation.
Liv says: “Natto is nutrient-rich, particularly high in calcium, vitamin K, iron and potassium. These are great for reducing blood pressure, improving kidney and heart function, bone density and immunity.”
Fibre is also beneficial for preventing bowel cancer and heart disease, and can manage weight.
Japanese researchers recommended menopausal women eat natto because after studying middle-aged women, it was most associated with reduced bone loss.
5. Tempeh – best for menopause
Tempeh is also made with fermented soybeans. Originating from Indonesia, it is similar to tofu and often used as a protein-rich alternative to meat.
Like natto, tempeh is high in fibre and can help improve gut health and cholesterol levels.
And it could also help menopausal women because it contains isoflavones, which are plant hormones that mimic some of estrogen’s effects in the body.
Isoflavones may help reduce hot flashes and night sweats that are common during menopause.
A 2021 study found that a soy-rich diet reduced moderate to severe hot flashes by up to 84 per cent.
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6. Yoghurt – best for mental health
Many people enjoy yoghurts, which are made by fermenting milk, as part of a healthy diet, but they can also be beneficial for mental health.
Research has found that certain types of bacteria found in yoghurt could potentially improve mood and the symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Liv says: “Probiotic foods that have been shown to provide mental health benefits are called psychobiotics.
“Well-researched, natural sources of psychobiotics include Greek yoghurt, kefir, kimchi and tempeh.
“There are many strains of good bacteria that have been shown to influence mood via our immune system pathways.
“This is called microbiota-gut-brain signalling, which is a fancy term for how our gut bacteria communicate with our brain to create physical changes.
“This area of research is pretty new, so we are still a while away from being able to prescribe specific strains of bacteria for treatment of mental health conditions.
“Regardless, the research is promising and there’s no harm in including natural fermented foods now.”
To get the best of yoghurt, go for the natural kind, not the sweetened sugary stuff.
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Make your own fermented foods
Sauerkraut
In her TikTok, recipe maker and @Leelalicious explains how to make sauerkraut at home.
First, shred around one kilo of cabbage. Then mix it with one tablespoon of salt, and optional shredded carrot and caraway seeds.
Massage the ingredients together until liquid is produced by the cabbage.
Put everything into a mason jar and use some kind of weight to keep the cabbage submerged under the liquid. You can buy fermentation crocks, jars and kits online, too.
Leave to ferment for one to four weeks at room temperature. In the first week, check if the cabbage is submerged in the liquid and push down if not.
Taste the sauerkraut and when it is to your desired taste, refrigerate and eat when desired.
Kimchi
Kimchi takes a little more time and ingredients, which you may be best sourcing at an Asian market.
In their video, @two.plaid.aprons start by salting 3kg of napa cabbage, covering it in a bowl and weighing it down for at least two hours. You’ll need about two cups of Kosher salt. The cabbage is rotated every 30 minutes or so.
To make the marinade, make rice flour paste (30g rice flour and 355ml of water) and leave to cool.
Blend a large apple, onion, 20 garlic cloves, two-inch knob of ginger, and a 118ml of fish sauce. Then, add 220g of gochugaru.
Mix together the marinade and rice flour paste, then add in 500g Korean radish, 170g carrot, and 113g Asian chives (all optional).
Once the cabbage is done salting, rinse with water and squeeze out excess water. Carefully mix into the marinade.
Tightly pack the mixture into a glass container, leaving room between the top of the mixture and the lid. It will be ready to eat once chilled, but you can let it ferment.
Find the full recipe here.
